Minimising our environmental impact
The use of public transport provides positive environmental benefits. Emissions of air pollutants are lower per passenger kilometre for trains than cars. The use of trains also plays a vital role in reducing congestion.
This year we funded a tracker poll in attitudes to public transport and the environment. The YouGov poll showed that half of the British people are becoming more concerned about environmental issues, compared to just 5% who said they were becoming less concerned. Of these people, 61% said that they were considering switching some or all of their car journeys to public transport, or that they already had done so.
It also revealed overwhelming support (79%) for more government investment in public transport. In addition, nearly half of those polled also said they would like to see a public information campaign to explain how people can reduce their impact on the planet whilst travelling. These were the most popular answers that would compel people to become more environmentally focused when considering their transport needs.
We have a responsibility to promote the benefits of public transport to both our existing and potential passengers, but we must also ensure that we effectively manage the adverse impacts associated with operating our services and reduce them wherever possible. Our environmental impacts are summarised below.
| Rail operations are associated with a number of environmental impacts, as summarised below. | |
|---|---|
| Climate change | Emissions of carbon dioxide from the operation of trains, buildings, and staff and business travel |
| Air quality | Emissions of nitric oxides, particulates, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide from operation of trains |
| Use of resources - energy | Use of energy to heat and light depots |
| Use of resources-water | Use of water to wash vehicles and for domestic purposes |
| Waste management | Management of waste arising from maintenance activities, offices, and waste derived from customers on trains. |
We monitor our performance in relation to all the above impacts. Emissions are reported as totals but also normalised per passenger kilometre as this represents the unit of output from the business. The exception to this is water usage: this is normalised per vehicle unit, as most of our water is used in vehicle washing.
Our environmental management framework
The UK Rail Division has recently approved a three-year environmental plan which sets challenging improvement targets in all aspects of environmental management. A Rail Division Environmental Strategy Group has been established to guide and monitor its implementation.
Minimum standards for environmental performance are set out in the Group Environmental Management manual. Each operating company and depot is audited against the requirements of this manual and their performance scored. All companies are now working towards achieving certification against the ISO14001 environmental management system standard.
Four out of six operating companies are now accredited. The engineering divisions at First ScotRail and First Great Western have ISO14001 accreditation. First Capital Connect and First GBRf have ISO14001 certificates covering the full scope of their operations.