Flipkart pledges complete transition to electric vehicles by 2030

NEW DELHI: Walmart-owned e-commerce firm Flipkart has committed to a complete transition to electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 by partnering with Climate Group’s global electric mobility initiative, EV100.

The initiative brings together environment-friendly companies working at accelerating the transition to EVs and making electric transport the new normal by 2030.

"Our commitment to the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative ties in with this larger vision of environmental sustainability and allows us to learn from the most forward-thinking global perspectives as part of the EV100 ecosystem," said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, chief executive, Flipkart Group.

Flipkart said it will integrate electric vehicles to its entire fleet over a 10-year period. This will be done by placing requirements in service contracts, installing charging infrastructure close to its 1,400 supply chain premises, conducting awareness programmes, and incentivising delivery executives to use electric vehicles.

India aims to achieve 30% electric mobility by 2030.

"Sustainability is a key pillar for Flipkart.. we have already deployed EVs in Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar. Pilots have been successfully conducted in Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Lucknow and deployment will begin in September," said Mahesh Pratap Singh, Head - Sustainability and Social Responsibility, Flipkart.

Singh said over the last one year Flipkart has worked to create a network of ecosystem partners to work on designing and manufacturing of EVs optimised for e-commerce.

"...we urge more Indian companies to follow suit, sending a powerful signal of support to policymakers wishing to see a faster roll-out of EVs," said Divya Sharma, India executive director, Climate Group.

Flipkart has already achieved 51% reduction in consumption of plastic packaging and has been encouraging higher use of renewable energy for its power needs. It has been introducing projects to boost energy productivity and zero-liquid discharge of wastewater at its warehouses.