The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has taken another step towards achieving Net Zero by installing six new electric car charging points on its Dunbeg site.
The charging points will be used by staff and students, encouraging a move to electric vehicles. They will also be made available to members of the public, with more than 5,000 people visiting SAMS’ Ocean Explorer Centre every year.
Local firms Westech Electrical Ltd and GH Groundworks carried out the electrical and charge point installation and groundworks. Swarco Ltd completed the commission and supplied the three charging pillars, which each have two 22kw charging points.
Funding came from the University of Highlands and Islands Capital Grant and Energy Saving Trust.
Deputy director of SAMS Professor Axel Miller said: “We wanted to provide charging points for the increasing number of electric vehicles on site. We also felt it was important to make more charging points available to people living and travelling in the West Highlands.
“This is an important step in our Net Zero ambitions and has been a key development in our carbon management plan. I am grateful to the funders and to the team at SAMS for overseeing the installation.”
The charging points are available to anyone who has a ChargePlace Scotland card or the equivalent.
Following the purchase of a Polaris all-terrain vehicle to replace a diesel equivalent, SAMS took delivery of a Nissan Leaf electric car in 2020.
The institute was also declared a cycle friendly employer this year after opening new showers and changing rooms and a cycle shed.
SAMS holds the International Standards Organisation 14001:2015 standard for environmental management and the ISO45001: 2018 standard for health and safety. This is in addition to the ISO 9001 and ISO 17025 quality marks already achieved for many aspects of its commercial activities.
These awards recognise a long-held commitment to safety in the workplace and to reducing environmental impacts and waste at the lab.
The changes are part of SAMS’ new environmental management plan to overhaul many of its practices and are partly informed by a staff-led sustainability group Sea Greens.