On the Road to Fleet Electrification in Ontario

Written by Cindy Bailey, Corporate Sustainability Officer at Purolator

The transportation industry is experiencing a significant shift as electric vehicles (EVs) continue to gain momentum in the market.  The transition is well underway and poised to escalate throughout this decade.

In a recent policy brief, the OCC highlighted the importance of decarbonizing large-scale fleets in order to meet Canada’s net-zero goals and attract companies with similarly ambitious climate targets. It touched on the technology, policies and investments needed to drive a wide-scale effort in Ontario.

One thing is for certain: as hinted in the OCC brief, this necessary shift will take coordination and shared efforts between industry, governments and utility companies to achieve a successful transition to a low-carbon economy.

At Purolator, our journey toward fleet decarbonization is rooted in our ambition to be Canada’s greenest courier. Back in 2005, we started to reduce fleet emissions when we introduced more than 500 hybrid-electric vehicles into our operations. In 2020, we began planning for and piloting all-electric vehicles, and in 2023, Purolator announced our $1 billion fleet decarbonization investment plans that will further electrify our Canadian network this decade.

Within our goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, we have set an interim target to electrify 60 per cent of our last-mile vehicles by 2030. This includes purchasing approximately 3,500 EVs for last-mile deliveries and electrifying at least 60 terminals.

To date, we’ve successfully rolled out 100 all-electric delivery trucks at our London, Ont., Quebec City and Richmond, B.C. facilities, and more than 15 electric cargo bikes (e-bikes) and low-speed vehicles in urban centres across Canada: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa. This year, we plan to put 150 more EVs on the road as we continue to make progress against our fleet electrification strategy.

Our experience demonstrates the bold and thoughtful decision-making, meaningful commitments and flexibility necessary for companies to tackle the shift to low-carbon fleets while addressing the inevitable challenges along the way.

Initial challenges for Purolator included finding an appropriate mix of vehicles for different use cases. While e-bikes and low-speed vehicles are useful in urban settings, we needed EVs with longer-range and more cubic capacity and pay-load for sub-urban and rural routes. Another challenge was aging facilities that require significant infrastructure upgrades to support the power requirements of an EV fleet. To develop a fleet electrification roadmap, a deep understanding of the facilities’ current state and limitations was needed, and this was considered alongside other priorities, such as the carbon intensity of provincial electricity grids and deployable EV routes. In the meantime, we had to plan for temporary charging solutions, such as converted shipping containers, to meet our EV deployment targets.

Lessons learned on the path forward

Along this evolving journey, we’ve learned some lessons that I’d like to share. To transition successfully, companies must account for elements such as infrastructure readiness, equipment delays, software needs, supply chain constraints, organizational change management and matching the right vehicle to the right route.

It is also essential to align the approach with corporate values and strategy and ensure senior leaders and internal stakeholders understand and support the transition to EVs. This requires ongoing and transparent communication that explains the why and the how, as well as training for drivers, maintenance staff and others impacted by the change.

External stakeholders including landlords, utilities, municipalities, property managers, fire departments and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) must be engaged early and often while developing and executing an EV deployment plan.

And finally, fail fast and learn faster. Many impacts on operations will be understood only after the fact. Assume “failures” will happen and build in the time and perspective to manage and grow from these outcomes. Also, be agile and ready to shift and adapt as the landscape, both risks and opportunities, quickly evolves.

Beyond these tips for business leaders to consider, it’s important to stress that the shift to low-carbon fleets will very much be a collaborative approach. It’s essential, for example, that governments commit to incentive programs to encourage more investment in vehicles, supply chains and infrastructure. This, combined with zero-emission vehicle sales mandates, will help create the market certainty needed to build out infrastructure and reduce vehicle prices. Further to this, province-wide infrastructure will need to be implemented with thousands more charging stations – especially in key transport corridors.

Ultimately, Ontario’s path forward must involve innovation, flexibility, commitment and teamwork. Through partnerships, co-developed solutions and the sharing of key learnings, business leaders can build flexible strategies to decarbonize their fleets and achieve significant emission reductions.