15: Talking Net Zero Episode 15 - Robin Webb & Sam Henegan

This week Robin Webb (Head of Mobility) and Sam Henegan (Associate) of national law firm Shoosmiths, join Sara Sloman to chat about their work in the transition to net zero. Working across the automotive, logistics, marine, aviation and rail sectors, they advise clients on the full range of legal issues they might need help with, especially on the road to net zero. Covering everything from e-scooters to drones and mobility as a service (MaaS), alongside some of the major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), they chat about companies’ net zero policies and future proofing for fleets.  They explain the impact of incentives, such as government grants and tax regimes, and set out why clarity around longer-term incentives is vital to enable fleets to properly plan ahead.  We discover that consumers and employees are now in the driving seat to drive change, and why electric company car fleets are viewed by employees as an incentive to join or stay with a company. In a lively conversation they discuss what issues are driving consumers, which in turn are driving OEMs. For example, consumers want to know the impact of their EV on issues such as deforestation. The impact of Britishvolt’s gigafactory, and how the Brexit deal means that batteries from China is not the ‘future for forever’ are mulled over, before taking a look at Battery as a Service (BaaS), or ‘battery swapping’. Not only does it reduce the cost of a new vehicle, but they reckon it’s a “a really neat offering that will take off in the medium term.”