News 20 December 2018 News from SKAO
Egis Parking Services obtains a certificate on level 4 of the CO2 Performance Ladder
The Dutch parking company Egis Parking Services (EPS) manages a total chain of approximately 2.400 parking machines, 180.000 parking licenses and fiscal enforcement of 150.000 paid parking spaces in Amsterdam. EPS does these activities with the implementation and development of digital innovations. The parking company recently obtained a level 4 certificate of the CO2 Performance Ladder. With this, EPS strives towards a sustainable future by reducing as much carbon emissions as possible with the help of the Ladder.
During the certificate awarding ceremony on Friday the 7th of December, SKAO spoke to Peter Tinselboer, CEO of EPS, Marwan Akle, Quality employee of EPS and Francoise Briaire, manager On-Street Parking of the municipality of Amsterdam. Joining them during the ceremony was Paul van Enckevort, Senior Vice President Western Europe of certifying organization TÜV Nord.
“In all layers of the organization there is a sense of realisation and ambition to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of its services”, says Van Enckevort during the awarding ceremony at the headquarters of EPS in Amsterdam. “I would like to point out that our auditors are thoroughly impressed by how EPS developed the CO2 management system, continuously worked on it and perhaps more importantly: how the organization secured the Ladder and strongly communicated with its employees that conduct the work on a daily basis.”
CO2 reduction
At EPS, we value a sustainability in our management and daily operations. We want to reduce the negative effects of our work on the environment as much as possible”, says Tinselboer. According to the CEO, the company had not focused sufficiently on reducing its emissions in the past. With a certificate on the CO2 Performance Ladder, EPS aims to shift their focus. Next to reducing their environmental impact and CO2 footprint, the parking company aims to adhere to the requirements of its clients. The municipality of Amsterdam has implemented the CO2 Performance Ladder in the tender for parking management and explicitly mentioned that sustainability, innovation and CO2 reduction are of utmost importance.
“The municipality of Amsterdam aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45 percent in 2025. Moreover, Amsterdam has the objective to make its traffic free of emissions to improve the air quality and become climate resistant in 2020”, says Briaire. “It was therefore a logical step for Amsterdam to implement the CO2 Performance Ladder in its tender to make it clear to our contractors what we want to achieve in terms of sustainability and CO2 reduction.” “With a certificate on the CO2 Performance Ladder, we operate in line with the ambitions of the municipality of Amsterdam. Next to that, we structurally work on cutting back our carbon emissions and measuring CO2, which increases awareness among our employees”, Tinselboer adds.
Facilitating sustainability
The employees of EPS have already begun working on sustainability before the implementation of the CO2 Performance Ladder, claims Quality employee Marwan Akle. “The cars which we use to scan and control vehicles on paid parking spaces will soon become fully electric. There are also colleagues that rather control the parking spaces on electric bicycles instead of cars, because they want to exercise while working. This is an option they can take, which we make possible for them”, says Akle. “We facilitate our employees to strive towards sustainability. If we continuously want to innovate and remain a frontrunner in terms of sustainability, then it is a matter of course for us to involve our employees and encourage them therein”, says Tinselboer.
Circular parking machines
To complete the certification on level 4 of the CO2 Performance Ladder, EPS has set the ambition to invest in a fleet of cars that are fully electric in 2022. This will lead to a CO2 reduction of 100 percent. The transition towards wind energy generated from the Netherlands will also lead to less carbon emissions. EPS will use the green energy to power its office building and cars. “We are also looking for ways to generate sustainable power for our parking machines. The machines use up a great amount of electricity, because they have to be accessible 24 hours a day. They require lighting and heating”, says the CEO. “Moreover, we are looking for ways to extend the lifecycle of our parking machines. This has to do with circularity”, says Akle.
Future of digitalisation
The parking machines in Amsterdam are fully digitalised. Often times car drivers make use of paid parking spaces by means of an app on their smartphones, which makes it possible for them to no longer walk to back to the car after using the parking machines and place a ticket in their cars. According to EPS, the convenience of digital parking has removed barriers for car drivers to make use of paid parking spaces. “There are still drivers who like to bypass the system, but the digitalisation of our parking machines enables us to achieve more safety and convenience. In the near future, it will be possible to connect our parking machines to smart street lighting systems, that also enhance safety in the streets”, says Tinselboer.
“Other possibilities to make use of digital and sustainable innovations is the generation of electricity on the parking machines. The generated power can then be shared with other units in the neighborhood that require electricity as well. Next to that, we seek opportunities to make the routes of our cars more efficient in order to save fuel and reach more reduction of CO2. This development can be made possible by means of digital innovations.” EPS aims to expand its activities in other cities in the Netherlands. The company wants to contribute to the digital transition while focusing on continuously minimizing its environmental impact and carbon emissions.