Fulton Hogan people travel great distances every day throughout New Zealand and Australia to service the infrastructure needs of the communities in which we work. As such, it’s important for the company to look at more sustainable ways to make these trips.
Since October 2013, business improvement team leader, Campbell Sturrock has travelled 5,700 km around New Zealand’s North Island with a zero carbon footprint. How is this possible? Campbell has been working with Fulton Hogan’s newest recruit, a brand new Nissan Leaf – a 24kWh Li-ion battery that powers an 80kW electric motor, generating performance similar to a typical 3-litre V6 petrol-engine car.
Above: Campbell Sturrock drives Fulton Hogan’s first electrical car around the Auckland Region when visiting customers and project sites.
During this time Campbell used an average 0.15kWh of electricity per km, which costs $200 per year in charging costs for 10,000km of travel all the while emitting zero carbon emissions.
With a NZ$50,000 price tag combined with the running and maintenance costs of an electric vehicle, it is relatively cheap compared to other typical petrol or diesel fuelled vehicles. It only takes 4.5 hours to charge the battery to 80%. It can even be charged using a standard external power outlet at home!
A dedicated charging station has been set up in the car park of the head office in Auckland, so other members of the team can use the car when they’re going on site visits or to meet clients. This is just one example of how sustainable technologies can help our people service the communities in which we operate.
