Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 10 February 2025: Chalhoub Group today announced the addition of electric vehicles (EVs) to its fleet, as the company reiterates its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving its net-zero targets by 2040. The Group has leased six electric vehicles from EV Lab, the Middle East’s first multi-brand electric mobility platform, as part of a phased approach to achieving an all-electric fleet across its entire operations by 2040. Through this lease agreement, Chalhoub Group expects to shift 12% of its e-commerce fulfilment last-mile fleet to electric vehicles, representing a crucial part of its ongoing efforts to reduce Scope 1 emissions and optimise fleet management systems for both customer and business deliveries. Electrifying Chalhoub Group’s fleet will also significantly contribute to an immediate reduction in carbon emissions, as EVs produce three times less CO2 than equivalent petrol vehicles.
Andreu Marco, Chief Operating Officer at Chalhoub Group commented: “A key goal in recent years has been optimising our fleet and enhancing efficiency across our fulfilment services to align with our Group’s value of inspiring, exhilarating and delighting our customers. Working collectively towards our sustainability goals remains a priority, and our new lease agreement with EV Lab represents a significant stride towards achieving our ESG targets.”
The initiative also aligns with the UAE Alliance for Climate Action (UACA) Road 2.0 programme targets, following Chalhoub Group’s pledge made during COP 28 in Dubai in 2023. Road 2.0, powered by UACA, aims to accelerate the transition to green road transport alternatives through early and tangible action from organisations across the UAE transport ecosystem. Endorsed by the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, the initiative encourages early adopters to scale up their implementation of zero-emission vehicles.
The UAE Alliance for Climate Action brings together multi-sectoral stakeholders that collaborate to accelerate decarbonization in the UAE by aligning to science-based targets to achieve the Paris Agreement. UACA aims to achieve this through two pillars: 1) Climate Action: improving the capacity of organizations to be ready to set science-based targets, 2) Collaborative Action: convening stakeholder to enhance the policy environment for decarbonization through one unified voice. As part of Pillar 2, UACA developed the Road2.0 initiative, launched at COP28 with Chalhoub and 14 other signatories, which aims to decarbonize the transport sector, accelerating the transition to Commercial Electric Vehicles. Road2.0 signatories have committed to piloting EVs by December 2024, with a 30% decarbonization of road transport fleet by 2030, 100% decarbonization by 2040.
Florence Bulte, Chief Sustainability Officer at Chalhoub Group said: ” Sustainability is steadily being embedded into every aspect of our operations at Chalhoub Group. By signing the Road 2.0 pledge with UACA at COP 28, we have further accelerated our sustainability efforts and are proud to exceed the 2024 and 2025 targets set by the pledge. Our collaboration with EV Lab marks another significant step towards achieving our science-based reduction targets and aligns with our commitment to pave the way to net-zero.”
Kevin Chalhoub, Founder and CEO of EV Lab, added: “EV Lab continues to offer innovative solutions to embrace sustainable mobility. Our ambition is to support companies across the region in their transition to electrifying their fleets, and this partnership will support Chalhoub Group in achieving its sustainability targets while demonstrating the viability and benefits of electric mobility for other companies in the region.”
Additional fleet-related carbon reduction initiatives by Chalhoub Group include integrating an advanced routing optimization software into its fleet management system. The Group has also implemented night deliveries for B2B services to reduce idling time in traffic and increase fuel efficiency. Additionally, offices and warehouses have been equipped with EV infrastructure to support team members as electric vehicle adoption increases.
Chalhoub Group also plans to expand its electrification efforts to Saudi Arabia in the near future as part of its efforts to push forward on its net-zero agenda and achieve a 100% electric fleet across all operations by 2040.