My name is Sue Peachey and I live in Batheaston, near Bath. I switched my gas guzzler for an electric car after taking part in the Climate Assembly, which gave ordinary people like me the opportunity to tell politicians how we think they should tackle climate change.
From everything I learned at the Climate Assembly, I now believe that electric cars are the future and will play a vital role in helping us get to net zero.
I’m a Sainsbury’s shopper and it doesn’t make sense to me that I can fill up with petrol at the supermarket but I can’t charge my electric car while I shop.
In Bath and North East Somerset there are only 62 public charging points - just one for every 3000 people - and only 3 rapid charging points. Sainsbury’s doesn’t have a single one in operation.
This is a problem across the country as well. The UK will need nearly half a million electric vehicle charging points by 2030. We currently only have around 5% of that.
According to recent figures, Sainsbury’s comes in sixth after its competitors Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, and Co-op in terms of the number of supermarket locations with charging points, and fourth in terms of the number of supermarket charge points after Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Only a tiny number of their charging points provide rapid charging. This is not good enough.
I want this to change. That’s why I’m asking Sainsbury’s to commit to installing electric vehicle charging points at every supermarket car park in Bath and North East Somerset by 2025, as part of their commitment to tackling the climate emergency.
If you want Sainsbury’s to start installing electric vehicle chargers at their stores in Bath and North East Somerset, please sign my petition now!
Subject: Sainsbury’s: commit to providing electric vehicle charging points
Dear Ruth,
Sainsbury’s has committed to fighting the climate crisis and going Net Zero by 2040. However, I believe Sainsbury’s can do more to help in the fight against climate change - starting with action in my local community in the Bath and North East Somerset constituency.
For electric vehicle owners, a convenient place to recharge away from home is at our major supermarkets, where we spend an average of 45 minutes - plenty of time to top up. Unfortunately, there are no operational electric vehicle charging points at any Sainsbury’s store car parks within Bath and North East Somerset.
According to recent figures, Sainsbury’s comes in sixth after its competitors Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, and Co-op in terms of the number of supermarket locations with charging points, and fourth in terms of the number of supermarket charge points after Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, with only a small number of these being rapid charging points. This is not good enough.
We want this to change and for you to do more. By 2030 we will need to see a huge expansion in electric vehicle charging points across the country, to meet expected growth in demand.
Therefore, we are asking you to expand your commitment to the green transition and support your customers with electric vehicles charging points. We want you to commit to installing a mixture of slow and rapid electric vehicle charging points at every Sainbury’s supermarket car park in Bath and North East Somerset by 2025.
Signed,
[Your name]
[Your e-mail address]
[Your postal address]
[Your postcode]