I recently had my first experience driving an electric rental car during a family visit in the Netherlands. At the time of booking nothing indicated that the car of my choice was an EV. Although I had previously tested an EV for about 5 miles this experience was different. At pickup I received a two-minute training: “Here’s the charging cable and here’s where you plug it in. Good luck!” And so, I drove away in my fancy Polestar 2.
The car was an absolute pleasure to drive. Very quiet and fast. Sometimes it was a challenge to respect maximum speed signs. The fully integrated Google Maps setup indicated how much battery charge would be left at my destination, as well as at my return. That was very useful – and started to make me a bit nervous. The Netherlands has the highest density of EV chargers in the world, with 19.3 stations per 100 kilometers (62 miles). Almost every gas station has a charging station attached. Why worry?
After some 400km, I pulled into a fancy charging station to load up. First I needed to download and register with an app. I was ready to plug in! Except, my plug didn’t fit – or so I thought. It turns out there are different types of plugs, and it seemed that mine didn’t fit here. So I went off to find another charging station. With plenty to choose from I easily found and tried two more, only to find after paying 25 euros that the car would take about 5 hours to charge. I unplugged and drove home to figure this puzzle out.
The next morning, after some research, I finally figured out how the plugs worked and where to go — and after 30 minutes my car charge went from 10% to 85%. But my initial excitement about driving electric had cooled a bit. I know that driving an EV provides a boost to the environment. But I’m used to the convenience of filling up at a gas station. I can’t yet see myself chasing charging stations to fill up my car.
Too often sustainable products require people to make a trade-off between quality and convenience – real or perceived. We are all aware of the importance of sustainability, but few of us will give up on conveniences we are used to. It is then up to innovators to create superior products that meet this challenge, and balance convenience with sustainability.
With Earth Day ahead on April 22nd we have several stories this month that bring sustainability innovation to life, including plastic recycling with bacteria and fungi, and a startup that helps people understand and manage their personal carbon footprint. P&G’s innovation expert Monica Penagos explains what it takes to practice Disruptive Innovation, a critical approach to sustainability innovation. We also feature seven leaders who provide their advice on how we can all take small steps to make the world a bit better every day. Beyond sustainability, John Battelle explains that great TV advertising is about creative storytelling, not math optimization.
Until next month!
Stan Joosten & John Battelle,
Editors-In-Chief, Signal360 / Co-founders, Signal P&G
