Sternfenster invests in EV fleet
Sternfenster has invested in a fleet of Kia EV6 electric cars for its sales team as part of a company-wide sustainability initiative.
Kia claims a range of up to 328 miles on a single charge for the EV6, and says the battery can recharge from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes.
“The pandemic in 2020 accelerated our ambition to move as much of our customer relations online as possible,” said Sternfenster’s sales director, Nathan Court. “As a result, we have one of the industry’s most advanced online portals, allowing us to have more communication than ever before with our customers, giving them the tools to effectively sell windows and doors, including our virtual showroom.
“This feeds into our long-term strategy of reducing our impact on the environment – in this case by removing unnecessary vehicles from the road.
“But there are times when meeting face to face is critical, for example supporting customers with technical queries on site, or assisting with showroom builds.”
The new fleet of electric vehicles is part of Sternfenster’s wider sustainability strategy, which is regularly updated with new initiatives. For example, the company is in the process of broadening its recycling programme to include old windows removed by its customers, thus preventing them going from landfill.
In a bid to continually reduce the energy consumed by Sternfenster’s factory in Lincoln, new energy efficient gas heaters have been installed, and plans are in place to install more solar panels on the roof, which will increase on site energy generation up to 28%.
“We are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, working with our suppliers where possible,” Nathan said.
In January, Sternfenster hosted a roundtable event with its key suppliers to discuss the importance of manufacturing windows and doors sustainably, and to share best practice when it comes to measuring and reducing the industry’s impact on the environment.
The aim of the event was to collectively develop strategies that help reduce carbon emissions and increase recycling, while maximising the commercial opportunities from doing so.
Representatives from Deceuninck, Smart Systems, Saint-Gobain Glass, and Edgetech shared their sustainability journey, and vowed to work together to place greater importance on the environment and communicate this to the end user.