14 DAY TRIAL // Google is well known for its green initiatives and it's one company that puts its money where its mouth is. It's constantly looking for ways of maximizing the efficiency of its data centers and minimize its carbon footprint. One way it's doing this is by maintaining a fleet of electric vehicles and hybrids which are shared by Google employees.
The company is also encouraging its employees to seek greener modes of transportation and is working on providing recharging stations throughout its parking space at the Googleplex, its main headquarters.
"Over the last few years, several innovative electric vehicle (EV) technologies have emerged in the marketplace and we’ve been working to update our green transportation infrastructure," Rolf Schreiber, technical program manager, Electric Transportation at Google, wrote.
"As a result, we’ve now developed the largest corporate EV charging infrastructure in the country. We’re also including the next generation of plug-in vehicles in Gfleet, our car-sharing program for Googlers," he added.
"The new Gfleet will include more than 30 plug-ins, starting with Chevrolet Volts and Nissan LEAFs, several of which have already arrived and are available for Googlers to use today. We’ll be adding models from other manufacturers as they become available," he explained.
Google started the electric car fleet to make it easier for the employees that use the shuttle system to get around during the day, if they need to get somewhere.
It started with Toyota Priuses, which it fitted with a plug-in recharging system to enable the batteries to charge from the grid rather than just from the car's engine. The company is now adding the latest green models to its fleet and will continue to expand it.
But Google is also making it easier for employees with plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars to commute by providing charging stations, 200 now with another 250 planned. In the end, it wants at least five percent of its parking space to be electrified, so employees can leave their cars to recharge during work hours.