Connect Group has electric vehicle charging point installed at HQ

Swindon-based news distributor the Connect Group has installed an electric car charging point at its Kembrey Park headquarters.

The charging point is only the seventh in the whole of Swindon.

The charging point is sponsored by a grant from Swindon Travel Choices, which has already rolled out successful initiatives with Kembrey Park such as trialling free bus smart cards to encourage different ways of getting to work.

The facility is capable of charging two vehicles at the same time. An electric vehicle will only take around 3.5 hours to fully charge, due to an electric current of around 32 amps. Although Connect Group already has a few electric/hybrid vehicles in its company fleet, the new charging point should increase the number of staff opting for a ‘plug in’ hybrid or electric car.

Simons Parsons, head of group services at Connect Group PLC, has been leading the project and said: “Connect Group is continually looking for new ways in which to reduce its carbon footprint. By having the charging point installed, we hope to encourage the take up of ‘plug in’ hybrid and electric cars and therefore help to reduce our carbon emissions further.”

In August last year, Connect Group PLC successfully re-certified to the Carbon Trust Standard for the third consecutive year.