Small business courier service Sendle has announced the launch of its new AU$160,000 pilot fund to incentives carriers in its network to shift to electric vehicles.
The Future Fleet Fund commenced in January 2025 and will roll out to select suppliers purchase EVs and charging infrastructure with the aim of overcoming the cost hurdles of EV uptake that often face small businesses.
It is the first fund of its kind in the world that targets small parcel delivery services.
Sendle Director of Sustainability Veena Harbaugh says cutting emissions from delivery vehicles is a key part of dropping to overall emission output of the transport sector.
“When it comes to shipping, the biggest emissions are from the delivery vehicles themselves,” Harbaugh says.
“While EV delivery vans are cheaper to run in the long run, their higher upfront costs still lead most businesses to buy diesel of gas vehicles.
“The Future Fleet Fund creates a mechanism for Sendle’s carriers to decarbonise and bridge the gap on the initial investment and operational challenges associated with EV adoption.”
The establishment of the fund is the first step towards an annual program that holds the potential to scale to more partners and investors.
Sendle suppliers will submit bids for vehicle conversion funding to participate, which will include details of the vehicle they seek to replace or would be purchasing, as well as vehicle usage, weight, distance and days in operation.
Those bids will then be evaluated based on potential carbon avoidance impact for the amount of funds sought.
Awarded carriers must then provide documentation of EV purchase and commit to ongoing reporting of vehicle usage, energy source and amount of energy used for charging.
“The Future Fleet Fund is a way of advancing our goal towards net zero shipping and delivering better rates and services for small businesses,” Harbaugh continues.
“Sendle’s deep environmental ethos goes all the way back to the very beginning of the company. Since 2014 we’ve been taking accountability for the carbon emissions that are being released through our network of carriers.”
Sendle was initially launched in Australia in 2014 and now operates in Australia, the US and Canada. It holds headquarters in Sydney, Seattle, Washington and Toronto.
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