Environment
We recognise that through the operation of our business we impact on the environment. We are committed to monitoring and managing these impacts and achieving continuous improvements in performance.
We continue to receive recognition for the work we are doing. At the Green Apple Awards we were presented with a gold award in the Transport, Freight and Highways category. The judges acknowledged that "huge capital investment has led to the UK's largest public transport operator becoming one of the cleanest". We also received the Continuing Environmental Excellence Award at the Network Rail Environment Awards and were runners up in the Scottish Power Environmental Awareness category at the 2006 National Business Awards for Scotland.
Our Environmental Management Framework
The Group sets out minimum performance standards to inform the environmental management systems of local operating companies. We intend that all our UK operating companies will gain ISO14001 accreditation by the end of 2008/2009. To date, eight out of nineteen bus operating companies and two out of six train operating companies have achieved the standard.
Atmospheric Emissions
With the high profile of climate change, our Climate Change Strategy (link opens in a new window) has been an important development. This year the Group emission of carbon dioxide was 1,922,760 tonnes a reduction of 22,000 tonnes on last year against a moving baseline to take account of our new rail franchises. These figures include emissions from our vehicles (over 95% of the total), our buildings and business travel which include UK staff flights and rail journeys. We continue to monitor vehicle emissions of other pollutants. Investment in new vehicles by the UK Bus division and in North America has significantly reduced these figures.
Use of Fuels and Chemicals
We have well-established procedures and processes to minimise our spillage risks. For the fifth successive year, we can report that we have not been prosecuted for any environmental incidents. Any incidents that do occur are thoroughly investigated and lessons learnt are shared across the operating companies.
Use of Energy and Water
We continue to work on reducing energy and water usage at our depots and offices. This year, energy consumption in our UK Bus division has reduced by 18%. In our UK Rail division consumption has increased due to operational growth and development of larger facilities offering improved maintenance capability. Emissions per rail passenger kilometre continue to decrease as a result of passenger growth generated by investment in vehicles and property.
Management of Waste
We are working systematically to reduce our total waste arising and divert waste from landfill wherever feasible. In the UK Bus division, total waste arising has reduced by 9% this year; volumes of interceptor waste decreased by 17%. Our recycling rates have remained relatively consistent but in partnership with Rail Gourmet we have significantly reduced the amount of packaging used in our catering services.
Biodiversity
As part of our commitment to sustainable development we wish to enhance biodiversity wherever possible, as set out in our Biodiversity Policy.We support the Forest of Dreams charity through our recycling initiatives and have an ongoing programme of tree planting for woodland regeneration projects.