Resources such as water, soil and clean air are vital for the quality of life but are limited in their resources. A low-carbon sustainable economy is a key component of Europe's 2020 Growth Strategy and the European Commission is pushing for additional "resource efficiency" producing more value whilst consuming less material, a route to achieving economic, social and environmental goals.
Waste
Our UK businesses recognise the need to manage waste effectively, use and conserve water sustainably and contribute positively to air quality improvements.
The management of the waste strategy involves the continuing education and support of all bus, coach and rail businesses. The adoption of the waste hierarchy, coupled with new elimination and reduction programs, are key elements to hitting the Group's environmental Key Performance Indicators.
We are contributing to a more sustainable economy by building waste reduction opportunities into our design capabilities, offering alternative business models and delivering new and improved services. This strategy drives potential savings through better resource efficiency and realising opportunities for growth.
Download the Waste Management case study
Renewable energy
On-site renewable electricity through Solar PV production continues at our Kings Ferry, Dundee, Acocks Green, Bordesley Green, Perry Barr and West Bromwich sites.
Water stewardship
Our water consumption in 2016 showed a 47.41% reduction.
We voluntarily disclose our water impacts through the Water Disclosure Framework looking at our operational sites and supplier risks (supply chain materiality) to understand and manage all our activities against water scarcity.
To safeguard water resources and help to address the local and global water crisis, we will, disclosure its water envelope via the Water Disclosure project, a voluntary framework which highlights the importance of embedding water stewardship throughout our operations.
Our aim is to continue looking at our operational and supplier risk (supply chain materiality) to understand and manage all our impacts against water resource and water scarcity.
Current and new Water Management practices include:
- Intelligent data gathering - examining our water cycle (water consuming and discharge activities, bill validation, and supply chain resilience) framework
- Development of a standard water performance metric (included in our new environmental KPIs)
- Further investigations into re-use water capabilities, water saving opportunities, and water intervention measures - leak detection analysis
On site water management
Our vehicle washes at our bus and coach depots are achieving 80-90% recycling rates.