University Services drives UNM toward sustainability goals with fleet electrification

The University of New Mexico is accelerating its commitment to sustainability with the largest fleet electrification effort in university history. Through a strategic initiative led by University Services, UNM has added four 2023 Ford E-Transit vans and one Ford Mustang Mach-E to its fleet and has installed Level 2 charging stations at its University Boulevard and 915 Camino de Salud facilities to support the transition. The vehicles will be used by Mailing, Shipping & Receiving.

The investment represents a major milestone and a transformative leap in both scale and institutional commitment and advancing sustainability goals while significantly expanding UNM's electric vehicle presence, moving beyond a single full-sized electric vehicle previously operated by UNM Libraries and establishing a scalable model for future fleet electrification efforts.

The initiative is directly tied to UNM 2040: Opportunity Defined, the university's long-range strategic vision, and the UNM Sustainability Strategic Plan, released last October by the Office of Sustainability. Specifically, the project advances the Sustainability Strategic Plan's Goal 4: Transportation, and calls for transitioning the UNM vehicle fleet toward cleaner, more efficient alternatives to support emissions reductions and improve air quality across campus and surrounding communities.

"University Services is leading UNM's fleet electrification and advancing the transportation goals in the 2025 UNM Sustainability Strategic Plan," said Anne Jakle, director of the Office of Sustainability. "Through smart operational planning and strategic infrastructure investment, they're creating a replicable model that will help move the University toward its emissions-reduction and broader sustainability targets."

The achievement is the result of years of planning and preparation. Before purchasing a single vehicle, University Services focused on right-sizing its fleet, optimizing delivery routes, evaluating operational needs, and determining where electric vehicles could be deployed most effectively. By prioritizing efficiency first and electrification second, the department ensured the transition would be both environmentally responsible and operationally sustainable.

"This is the result of years of intentional work," said University Services Business Sr. Business Manager Dora Cavazos. "We made sure we were being smart and efficient before making the investment. That's how you make fleet electrification actually work."

Identifying the vehicles was only one part of the process. University Services also evaluated how electric vehicles would integrate into daily operations, considering parking availability, charging infrastructure, loading zones, vehicle access and overall workflow. To accommodate the transition, the department expanded its parking area, modified existing spaces, and carefully identified the most effective locations for Level 2 chargers-changes that affected both parking and loading operations.

Planning remained essential throughout every phase of the electrification project. The installation of the charging infrastructure alone required nearly six months to complete. During that time, University Services developed an interim charging strategy using existing 110-volt electrical infrastructure to keep the project moving forward. Because charging under the temporary setup could take up to 15 hours to increase a battery's charge by approximately 30 percent, successful implementation required extensive staff coordination and a strong commitment from the entire team.

Now that the Level 2 chargers are operational, charging times have improved dramatically, allowing batteries to reach up to 70 percent capacity in less than six hours. The teamwork, adaptability, and coordination established during the early stages of the transition created a strong foundation for electrification and continue to support the successful operation of the department's growing electric fleet.

Looking ahead, University Services will partner with the Office of Sustainability to collect and analyze data on vehicle and charger usage, sustainability outcomes, and user experience feedback. The department plans to track key metrics including energy consumption, gasoline savings, and carbon dioxide emissions reductions as the vehicles are deployed across daily delivery routes.

"We plan to analyze sustainability metrics such as energy gained, gasoline saved and CO₂ reduction as the fleet continues to be deployed across our daily delivery routes," said Maureen Shaw, University Services business manager. "This data will allow us to track our efforts contributing to UNM 2040 while also helping determine cost savings to the department as fuel costs continue to increase."

The data gathered through the program will help inform future fleet electrification efforts across the university, ensuring this first major step serves as a scalable model for future expansion.

With charging infrastructure in place, electric vehicles on the road, and a data-driven strategy guiding future decisions, University Services has helped to position UNM on a clear path toward a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future, one well-planned mile at a time.