Electric example: A challenge for State companies

Few things are as convincing as someone setting a good example. One of those is someone incurring considerable costs, and maybe no little inconvenience, to set that example. Construction company John Sisk & Son has just done that by announcing it will invest some €2.8m in more than 100 electric vehicles (EVs) to sustain its motor fleet over the next four years.

That move, even if it is encouraged by expected savings of €450,000 in the company’s annual diesel bill, speaks to the ever-more pressing need to cut this economy’s unsustainable carbon footprint. That, however, may not be the move’s greatest value.

It raises an obvious question that seems to have a straightforward enough answer. Why are State and semi-State companies not doing the same? Surely, it is reasonable to wonder why these companies are still buying carbon-dependent vehicles when a leading company shows there is a viable alternative?

It would be a crime to ignore this good example.