QUINCY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Breezeline, formerly Atlantic Broadband, the nation’s eighth-largest cable operator, today announced that the company has begun to deploy electric vehicles (EVs), a key step in its commitment to reduce its operational emissions by 65% by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
The company has deployed the first electric vehicle into what will be a fleet of electric vehicles used by Breezeline sales teams starting this year in New Hampshire and West Virginia, with plans in the coming years to also transition technician vans and trucks to electric. The rear of the vehicles displays the company’s stated commitment of being “On the road to zero emissions.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation accounts for the largest portion (27%) of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions (based on 2020 data). Greenhouse gas emissions, in turn, are a factor in global warming and other negative environmental impacts.
Other Breezeline initiatives designed to reduce the company’s environmental impacts include:
- Breezeline will use Power Purchase Agreements to generate renewable energy and reduce electricity emissions. The company intends to obtain 100% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030, with an approved science-based emissions reduction target.
- Breezeline will also reduce its non-operational emissions by 30%. This includes reducing the environmental impact of equipment used in customer homes. New product innovations like IPTV, which Breezeline has recently introduced, relies on equipment that uses a fraction of the energy of traditional set top boxes.
- Breezeline is also reducing employee commuting hours through the introduction of a FlexWork policy, which became effective this year.
“The greening of our fleet is a key initiative in our long term plan to reduce emissions and to protect the environment,” said Frank van der Post, President of Breezeline. “Our parent company, Cogeco, has led the way through its ongoing commitment to sustainable operations. We are committed to doing the same in our U.S. operations by adopting these emissions reduction targets and seeking improvements that will lead to a sustainable future.”
Cogeco, Breezeline’s parent company, has made care for the environment a key area of focus. The company has been recognized as a leader in sustainability practices and is ranked in the Corporate Knights Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies. The company achieved an “A” score for its 2021 CDP Climate Change response, the only North American telecommunications company on the list (the CDP is a non-profit that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts). Cogeco, a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, also was one of only 45 companies globally to receive the inaugural HRH Prince of Wales Terra Carta Seal last year, which recognizes companies committed to the creation of genuinely sustainable markets.
ABOUT BREEZELINETM
Cogeco US, operating as Breezeline, a subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX: CCA), is the eighth-largest cable operator in the United States. The company provides its residential and business customers with Internet, TV and Voice services in 12 states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Cogeco Communications Inc. also operates in Québec and Ontario, in Canada, under the Cogeco Connexion name. Cogeco Inc.’s subsidiary, Cogeco Media, owns and operates 23 radio stations serving audiences across the province of Québec, as well as a news agency.