Charging electric cars at Nature's Pride

The Nature's Pride success story 

Nature's Pride is a supplier of more than 500 different types of fresh exotic fruit & vegetables from more than 70 countries. Through many sustainable and transparent partnerships, Nature’s Pride delivers the most unique and the tastiest fresh products to inspire its consumers and their palettes. 

Nature’s Pride is awarded 4 out of 5 stars for the BREEAM Certification. This certification rates every single environmental aspect related to any business; from the materials used for the building’s construction to handlings with local producers, and even the ways in which the staff commutes between home and work. 

Why is Nature's Pride going electric? 

This sustainable mindset is reflected by Nature’s Pride’s office. Its facilities, are energy efficient and powered by various energy sources, including solar energy. 40% of the company-owned cars are hybrid or full-electric, though Michael would like to see more of Nature’s Pride team members switching to full-electric. As Michael Pleijsier, Facility Manager at Nature’s Pride explained: 

"Hybrids and plug-in hybrids are kind of a temporary solution. We’d like to move to full-electric in the next few years. This is why Nature’s Pride doubled its previously installed charging ports earlier this year, from 16 to 32. Now everyone would be able to charge sufficiently during business hours." 

In the past few years, the range has been the biggest obstacle to every driver. Today, this is no longer a barrier. Full-electric cars now perform up to 300+km on a single charge, which is more than enough for everyday commute. Pricing and the variety of accessible cars, however, still remains a challenge. 

Luckily, batteries are becoming cheaper. The impressive new price-range Tesla Model 3 and Chevy Bolt have pulled off is the living proof. Since its market entrance, the cost of car batteries has decreased by 70%. This is expected to drop another 50% in the coming five years.

The role of charging infrastructure in driving mobility 

The average occupancy of Nature’s Pride’s charging ports is 35.8% per week. This is quite a high occupancy rate considering only 40% of the company-owned cars are hybrid (which can’t be charged), plug-in hybrid, or fully electric. 

Nature’s Pride has doubled the number of charging ports on its lot. Today, it has much more charging infrastructure than its current meet actually needs – a strategic move. This way, Nature’s Pride doesn’t just ensure that current EV-driving employees can charge sufficiently, but that it has fully prepared itself for a larger electric fleet. The plan is to transition to a 100% electric fleet in the next few years. As Pleijsier said: 

"EVBox was one of the few charging station providers back when Nature’s Pride installed its first 16 charging ports three years ago. The possibility for full customization of each of our chargers was a nice touch. I think for businesses, this is a good opportunity to directly tie your brand to a sustainable and future-ready product.”