Freight, package and logistics solutions provider, Purolator plans to invest approximately $1 billion to electrify 60% of Canadian network over the next seven year, the largest network spend in the company’s 63-year history.

Purolator will purchase more than 3,500 fully electric last-mile delivery vehicles and electrify more than 60 terminals across Canada. The move is expected to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030 by 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).

“Purolator was the first Canadian courier to launch fully electric curbside-delivery trucks nationally. Our ambition is to be the greenest courier company in Canada, and with this investment, Purolator will take yet another important step toward a more sustainable future and healthier planet,” said John Ferguson, company president and CEO.

The freight delivery company expects to add more than 150 all-electric vehicles to its fleet by 2024, with such models as the Ford E-Transit, Motiv Power Systems EPIC4 and BrightDrop Zevo 600 models.

Purolator has begun deploying 25 Ford E-Transit vans in London, Ontario; Richmond, British Columbia; and Quebec City. A further 55 Motiv and 15 BrightDrop models, with several low-speed vehicles and electric cargo bikes (e-bikes), added later this year.

The company’s 2030 goal will reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 42%, on a path to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In addition to electric vehicles, Purolator will invest in alternative fuels and low-carbon technologies, the use on renewable sources and diversion of more than 70% of its waste from landfill.