Stagecoach Group has been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for its efforts in helping tackle climate change. The award follows a detailed assessment by the Carbon Trust of the environmental performance of the group’s businesses in the UK, mainland Europe and North America between 1 May 2013 and 30 April 2015.

Assessors confirmed that, relative to the turnover of the Group’s business, Stagecoach has reduced its carbon impact by 11.9 per cent.

Stagecoach was first awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for its global operations in 2013, and it has now been re-certified for its continuing work to measure, manage and reduce its global carbon footprint.

The Group has a new five-year sustainability strategy, titled ‘Shared responsibility, shared future’, with additional targets to cut its carbon emissions, as well as to reduce water consumption and improve recycling.

By April 2019, against a baseline of 2013-14, the group is aiming to: reduce buildings carbon emissions by 7 per cent; cut like-for-like fleet transport carbon emissions by 2 per cent; lower water consumption by 9 per cent; and achieve a waste recycling rate of 83 per cent compared to 77 per cent.

“Achieving consistent and continuing improvement is not easy and it requires a real focus day-in, day-out,” says Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach Group chief executive. “It is a tribute to the hard work of our teams around the world, from driving our buses and trains as fuel-efficiently as possible, to saving energy at our depots and offices, conserving water and recycling as much as possible of the materials we use in our daily work.

“Sustainability is the responsibility of us all and we have more work to do. By working together, small individual improvements can collectively make a big difference to our company and the communities we serve.”

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, adds: “We have been working with Stagecoach for a number of years now, helping the group to set ambitious targets to reduce its environmental impact and become more efficient in its use of resources. We are therefore delighted to be able to award Stagecoach with recertification to the Carbon Trust Standard, recognising real achievements in continuing to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. This has resulted in substantial savings on energy and fuel bills, demonstrating the business value in sustainability.”

Stagecoach Group’s certification, which is valid until 30 April 2017, covers all of its bus and rail operations in the UK, mainland Europe, United States and Canada. 

Source: Bus & Coach