Scoring framework developed by Electric Autonomy and the Pembina Institute evaluates adoption, usage, smart charging and engagement for the 26 shortlisted fleets

More than a third of the applicants for this year’s Canadian Clean Fleet Awards have been running electric for at least five years, with the longest running electric fleet clocking in at nearly 15 years. 

The Canadian Clean Fleet Awards was created to recognize these leaders and to learn from them what it takes to transform fleet operations in the age of electrification.

“Fleet electrification is happening today,” says Adam Thorn, the director of clean growth for the Pembina Institute. “This is not a future anymore. This isn’t science fiction. This is happening in our communities now.”

Electric Autonomy and the Pembina Institute partnered on the project, which was first announced at the EV & Charging Expo in Toronto in April. On Tuesday, the 26 finalists were announced in 14 categories. The combined fleets log 51.4 million kilometres annually.

Developing the methodology

Thorn was involved in developing the scoring criteria, along with Chandan Bhardwaj and Taylor Walker, both senior analysts for transportation at the Pembina Institute, and Ilana Weitzman, vice-president of strategic development, clean transportation at Electric Autonomy.

Arriving at the finalists and selecting the winners, however, is no easy task. 

Pembina’s senior analysts developed a weighted approach to the selection with a scoring methodology that recognizes the key elements to fleet electrification.

The scorecard is broken down into four main parts: 

• EV adoption, which includes the number of EVs on fleet, the percentage of EVs in the fleet, length of EV ownership and future EV commitments. 
• EV usage, accounting for daily and annual all-electric vehicle kilometres travelled (eVKT) and the percentage of eVKT in the fleet.
• Smart charging, which looks at managed charging, utility demand response programs, Vehicle to Building (V2B) or Vehicle to Grid (V2G) pilots, shared charging, on-site battery storage and on-site renewable power generation.
• EV engagement and leadership, with a focus on EV society membership, engagement at EV events or conferences, and a general contribution to EV awareness. 

Data was supplied by each fleet and fact-checked with publicly available information.

The “EV Adoption” segment is worth half of all points awarded. As Thorn puts it: “At its core, this is about actually electrifying the vehicles you have [in your fleet].” 

The remaining points are divided equally among the three other segments.

Engagement and leadership

Perhaps most surprising in the methodology is the inclusion of an engagement and leadership element. Thorn, however, stresses that, with fleet electrification still being relatively new, it is essential that those companies looking to electrify can learn from the mistakes and successes of others who already have. 

“It is a complex process,” says Thorn, referring to fleet electrification. “It can be an intimidating process, especially for smaller fleets. 

“We’re very much hoping that these awards can transfer those lessons and help them trickle down to many other fleets.”

Now that the core scoring is complete, Pembina’s analysts will soon look at some of the data in aggregate, such as inferred downstream emissions from electric vehicle kilometres travelled (eVKT), to continue to understand the impact of this group.

Electric Autonomy will also share lessons learned and case studies after the winners’ announcement in November.

Accounting for diversity

The 26 fleets on the shortlist are diverse in company size, number and types of EVs on fleet and in the work they do. The awards categories, including special awards recognizing outsize impact that will be announced on Nov. 4, were developed to account for those differences, so small fleets can be on the same footing as larger fleets for the honours. 

Throughout the process, however, Thorn has seen one similarity that binds together those fleets that made it to the shortlist for the awards.

“The enthusiasm that many fleets have around telling these stories was exciting,” he says. “A lot of these fleets are really proud of the work they’re doing. They know they are leading the way.”

Winners of the Canadian Clean Fleet Awards will be revealed live at the awards ceremony on Nov. 4 in Mississauga, Ont.