Corporate responsibility

Environment

Compliance with standards

Around 10 per cent of the company’s sites are certified to the ISO14001 environmental management standard.

The group has legal compliance as a minimum standard and aims to exceed this wherever practicable. This is a group-wide approach, subject to local legislation, and is tested through appropriate audit procedures.

Across the whole group, we work to exceed legal compliance through trial and adoption of new and novel technologies, and through working in partnership with suppliers to ensure that we are using the most appropriate product or service in the circumstances.

Greenhouse gases

No transport operator can fail to be aware of the broad scientific consensus that greenhouse gases (GHG), including carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of fossil fuels, are implicated in climate change.

All modes of transport can expect to come under increasing scrutiny, reflecting increased concern about the effects of GHG emissions. In doing so there is a balance to be maintained. Access to transport and freedom of movement are not only highly prized aspects of human society, they are also at the heart of economic and social well-being. Public transport has a great deal to offer as part of the answer to maintaining vital mobility, underpinning freedom of movement and economic prosperity while keeping a brake on unnecessary emissions. Furthermore in many cases improved environmental performance goes hand in hand with reduced business costs. That is, lower fuel consumption leads to lower GHG emission and lower spend on fuel.

GHG footprint

Arriva’s GHG footprint has been estimated by the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management (ECCM) from data provided by the company. Arriva’s 2007 operational emissions were estimated as 1,049,998 tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). This represents an increase in absolute emissions of 3,310 tonnes CO2e (0.3 per cent) compared to 2006.

ECCM estimates that the GHG emissions calculations carried out in this study have an associated uncertainty of +/-13 per cent and the final emissions estimate is therefore assigned an overall ‘good’ evaluation in terms of confidence in the data. However, the uncertainty factor means the recorded 0.3 per cent change is too small to be regarded as of any statistical significance.

The assessment includes bus and train fleet fuel consumption, premises energy consumption, waste disposal, company owned vehicles, and refrigerant gas losses, but not business travel. This is consistent with the approach taken for the 2005 and 2006 assessments. The amount of CO2e associated with business travel is believed to be not material in the context of the group as a whole.

The emissions associated with the bus fleet account for 78 per cent of the total, or 816,728 tonnes of CO2e. Train fleet emissions contribute 16 per cent to the total (164,835 tonnes of CO2e), and site energy consumption contributes four per cent to the total (42,020 tonnes of CO2e). Other emissions sources (waste disposal and refrigerant losses) contribute approximately two per cent to overall emissions.

During the assessment period we used biodiesel blends in some bus and train fleets. The reduction in emissions on a ‘tank to wheel’ basis through using biofuels has been included in the results reported in the assessment.

We intend to use our GHG emissions data to identify areas for improvement and increased management focus. In doing so we will also aim to improve the carbon-efficiency of our ancillary functions such as the way we manage our depots and other facilities, and business travel.

GHG emissions reduction target

We are aiming to reduce our GHG emissions footprint, measured on like-for-like operations, by 15 per cent from the 2006 figure, by 2012. We specify ‘like-for-like’ to ensure we can continue to track meaningful progress if we make a major acquisition or disposal, or win a large contract.

Most of Arriva’s GHG footprint, unsurprisingly, is derived from the fuel that powers our buses and trains. This must therefore be the area to focus our efforts in order to make the biggest possible improvements.

Our long-term fuel strategy is:

1. To use what we must as efficiently as possible subject to commercial restrictions and considerations.
2. To make what we use as environmentally friendly as possible.
3. To maximise the social and economic benefit of that fuel use by using it to carry as many passengers as possible.

For many years we have been reducing vehicle emissions in terms of urban air pollutants other than CO2. Much progress has been made through the introduction of progressively cleaner engine technologies, and the high standards of maintenance which keep those vehicles working efficiently and passing regular inspections.

However, over recent years new buses and trains have tended to use more fuel than their predecessors. This has been partly as a side effect of improving emissions of local pollutants, and partly an effect of increased vehicle weights, stemming from improved engine technology and increased equipment specifications, including those to enhance safety, laid down by tendering authorities and regulators.

Our 2012 GHG reduction target is demanding, especially given the heavier fuel consumption of these more recent generations of vehicles which are working their way through our fleets. We are unlikely to meet that target entirely as a result of changes which are within our sole control, but we hope that over time it will be possible to encourage other parties to make changes which help us. Reaching the 15 per cent target, on our present plans, requires us to make assumptions which we consider to be reasonable on the future availability of biofuels, but which will depend on supporting decisions taken by governments and fuel suppliers.

Alternative fuels

Arriva has a record of innovation in identifying viable low emission and renewable fuels, and putting them into service where operationally and commercially practicable. This has several benefits for the group. Fossil-fuel based diesel fuel is a finite resource and we consider it prudent to learn as much as possible about how our existing and potential vehicles may be adapted to operate on different fuels. This learning is shared with fuel suppliers and vehicle manufacturers and helps all parties involved to move into the future with greater confidence and experience. In some countries it enables us to operate at reduced cost, as a result of economic incentives to stimulate the market demand for alternative fuels. It allows us, as service providers, to respond to the expressed public policy objectives of governments at many levels in the communities we serve. Finally, it gives us an important way of reducing our GHG footprint in the medium term.

The diversity of our fleet and operating markets allows us to quickly evaluate the possible benefits and to rapidly implement potential solutions.

In Germany, Arriva is using environmentally friendly biodiesel which reduces CO2 emissions by up to 90 per cent, derived from locally grown rape seed oil, for trains at our PEG and ODEG operations and our Bils bus company.

In Portugal, building on our improvements in upgrading operations to Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD), we have started running 240 buses on a B30 biodiesel blend - a mixture of 30 per cent biodiesel and 70 per cent mineral diesel - which will lead to a net reduction of up to 30 per cent in CO2 emissions for those vehicles.

In the UK we began trials of B20 biodiesel blend using Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME) to reduce carbon emissions by around 20 per cent net for 75 vehicles. The FAME is predominantly a mixture of sustainable soya products, along with used cooking oil and tallow. The trial, moving into the appraisal phase, runs in Blyth, Northumberland, where our buses carry around 130,000 passengers every week.

Biofuels are no less controversial than any other energy source. Arriva, despite its advanced deployment of biofuels in some markets, accepts that the science and politics of biofuels have not yet developed fully and may change over time. In planning a measured extension of our use of biofuels to help meet our GHG emissions reduction targets, we believe we are also contributing towards the public policy objectives expressed by the European Commission and the UK, German and Portuguese governments, all of which envisage increased take-up of biofuels as one measure to combat climate change, and have built that assumption into their own policies. If any such policy objectives change to discourage biofuel use then we will be likely to amend our GHG emissions reduction targets accordingly.

Different driving, different designs

The way our buses are driven has a big impact on fuel consumption and thereby CO2 emissions. Since early 2007 we have been running a project in north-west England to measure individual journeys and how fuel is used. Early results are promising, and are factored into our plans to reach our 2012 GHG emissions reduction target.

We are also experimenting with alternative vehicle designs. Our London business, with Transport for London, is conducting trials of the world’s first hybrid double-decker bus. The bus uses electric motors in tandem with diesel engines to reduce emissions by a potential 40 per cent.

Local air pollution reduction

Since 2001 Arriva has invested more than £480 million in modern buses and trains that are in line with, and sometimes exceed, the latest EU environmental standards. All new buses now meet the strict Euro 4 benchmark, whilst new trains meet the Euro Stage 3A standard, offering steep reductions in emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulate matter less than 10 microns in size.

Although climate change and local air quality issues are generally regarded as the most prominent environmental concern relating to transport companies, other matters such as use of water and waste disposal are still important.

In 2007 we started research into the reduction in our use of energy and water, and the opportunity to use renewable energy within the existing public transport infrastructure. For example, in 43 sites belonging to four of our UK regional bus operations we installed advanced heating controls, incorporating electronic controllers and sensors operating inside and outside buildings. Heating-energy savings in these sites over the first nine months of operations ranged from 32 per cent to 42 per cent, encouraging us to expand the programme in 2008 and investigate similar technologies which could control lighting systems.

The priorities and solutions for managing our environmental impact in one location are often not the same as in another location. There is greater scope for use of solar power in southern Portugal than in Scotland, and a greater need to save water resources in Spain than in the Netherlands. Where we find good practice and innovation delivering benefits, we always look for ways in which other parts of Arriva can benefit.