Environment

The group environmental policy is in place across all our operations. It ensures we comply with legal requirements and follow industry best practice.

Promoting and providing public transport as a less environmentally damaging alternative to many forms of private transport is inherent in our business. We recognise that all vehicle emissions contribute to global warming, and work towards reducing the environmental impact of our operations. We also focus on making efficient use of water and energy.

Reducing emissions

We are making progress in reducing harmful emissions. Here are some recent activities:

• In the last six years, we have invested £450 million in modern buses and trains which are in line with latest EU standards.
• We also introduced 60 gas buses at Arriva Scandinavia. The buses meet the latest EEV (enhanced environmentally friendly vehicles) emission regulations and operate in Helsingborg, Sweden.
• We have been working with 21st Century CPS – a vehicle systems management company - on the feasibility of using a new system, 'ECO Manager', on some of our UK vehicles. This monitors energy usage and will help us operate vehicles as efficiently as possible.
• In Denmark, we operate 29 new Coradia Lint trains, which have Euro III compliant engines. After winning the contract to operate our rail services in the north of the Netherlands for another 15 years, we announced plans to buy 43 new Stadler diesel-electric trains, worth around £70 million. These trains also comply with Euro III standards. The first was successfully introduced into service in November 2006.
• We continue to work with bus manufacturers Mercedes Benz, Volvo, MAN, VDL, Van Hool and Wright Bus. Together we are exploring new engine technology, such as hybrid and hydrogen combustion, that will reduce emissions and noise pollution from new vehicles. We are trialling low-emission vehicles which exceed Euro IV and V standards.

Biofuels

We are investigating the use of different fuels, including ultra-low sulphur diesel, compressed natural gas and palm oil biodiesel, to reduce our environmental impact. Our German operation was the first public transport company in the world to use palm oil biodiesel, in trials involving several trains.

Waste

We aim to dispose of waste in ways that minimise harm to the environment. Waste is separated at source and stored until it can be disposed of in the most appropriate and effective way by specialist contractors. This includes recycling, and reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites.

Arriva across
Europe

View a Flash interactive map of our operations across Europe