A FAMILY firm in York has bought three electric vans to cut its carbon footprint.

Supply specialist PPS has added the new Maxus eDeliver9 to its fleet of delivery vehicles in a six-figure investment, and installed four rapid charging points at its warehouse in York.

PPS delivers to more than 600 businesses and schools in York, equating to more than 10,500 deliveries per year. Two of the vans will enable PPS to commit to zero emission deliveries in the city.

The third van will replace PPS’s current diesel van serving hundreds of Leeds city centre customers, ensuring thousands more deliveries a year will now be zero emission.

York Press:

Electric vans have a lower payload than their diesel counterparts. PPS conducted a full review of its delivery and route planning strategy, to make zero emission deliveries possible and more efficient.

The business has also recently launched a natural, plant-based cleaning chemical collection, and has had compostable food packaging for years.

Managing director, Joseph Fitzpatrick, said the team was passionate about working towards a more sustainable way of operating.

“We’re one of the first SMEs in Yorkshire to have started investing in electric vehicles as part of its fleet.

"In the past six months alone we’ve invested, or committed to invest, over £250,000 in zero emission vehicles, which is something we’re incredibly proud of.

“We’ve already transferred our external sales team across to electric vehicles - there are now three on the road, with another two on order – so the next natural step for us was to introduce this technology to our delivery fleet.

"Utilising electric vehicle technology as part of our delivery service means that we’re completely removing over 60,000 miles worth of CO2 emissions from the roads every year.

“As well as the addition of the new vans, we’re also encouraging our team members to move to electric vehicles by offering subsidised charging options across all of our sites, as we look towards a cleaner future.”

Based in York and Keighley, PPS provides products that everyone needs, including cleaning products, hand towels, toilet tissue, soap, coffee cups, floor care machines and much more.