Intensity metrics
Significantly reduced load factors through the pandemic has driven the key intensity metric of tCO2e / million passenger km to increase by 25.5% between 2019 and 2020. This can be seen in the 47% reduction in passenger kms travelled vs 2019.
| Intensity metrics | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | % change YOY (2019-2020) |
| (tonnes CO2e/£million revenue) | 428 | 430 | 373 | 353 | 321 | 299 | (6.9)% |
| Group Totals (million pass.km) | 37,540 | 41,107 | 42,485 | 44,488 | 46,258 | 24,656 | (46.7)% |
| Traction Carbon Emissions (Scope 1 & 2) (tCO2e/mpkm) | 14.15 | 18.70 | 17.78 | 17.67 | 16.69 | 22.28 | 33.5% |
| Total tCO2e per million pass.km (Scope 1, 2 & 3) | 22.55 | 22.01 | 20.43 | 19.46 | 19.06 | 23.93 | 25.5% |
Absolute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions by scope
Scope 1 emissions (from combustion of fuels) have reduced by 38% in 2020, driven by the significant reductions in vehicle movements during the pandemic. Scope 2 emissions (from electricity usage) have increased by 36%; this is a result of the expansion in the operations of the German Rail business which mobilised an additional contract in the year. This has more than offset the reduction in scope 2 emissions from buildings. This change will continue to accelerate through the other divisions as investment in plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles accelerates and a challenge for 2021 is to ensure that the full scope of emissions from the use of electricity in traction are recorded and reported in the appropriate way. Scope 3 relates to National Express Coach third party operators – which are outside of National Express Group’s direct operational control for emissions reporting.
| tCO2e emissions by scope | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | % change YOY (2019-2020) |
| 1 | 771,922 | 815,788 | 801,061 | 808,650 | 823,582 | 514,106 | (38)% |
| 2 | 66,317 | 95,107 | 60,682 | 48,583 | 49,938 | 67,879 | 36% |
| 3 | 8,257 | 9,620 | 6,127 | 7,627 | 8,221 | 8,641 | 5% |
| Total | 846,496 | 920,516 | 867,870 | 864,859 | 881,741 | 590,545 | (33)% |
Absolute Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions by division
Our total Group emissions decreased significantly year-on-year from 881,741 tCO2e in 2019 to 589,976 tCO2e in 2020. As discussed above passenger kilometers fell further than emissions and this resulted in a decrease in carbon efficiency for the business as a whole. The increase in emissions from the German Rail business is driven by the increase of some 8.6million km per annum over 2019 and 2020.
| Divisional tCO2e | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | % change YOY (2019-2020) |
| ALSA | 311,985 | 319,397 | 313,608 | 317,812 | 324,007 | 234,477 | (27.63)% |
| Bahrain | 12,862 | 21,698 | 20,506 | 20,433 | 22,833 | 20,214 | (11.47)% |
| Germany | – | 26,395 | 28,704 | 25,367 | 29,269 | 52,347 | 78.85% |
| National Express Limited* | 106,203 | 110,799 | 105,333 | 101,566 | 101,914 | 63,582 | (37.61)% |
| UK Bus | 138,822 | 138,449 | 132,586 | 128,787 | 125,466 | 79,187 | (36.89)% |
| UK Trains | 43,408 | 44,341 | 4,038 | – | – | – | – |
| US and Canada | 232,577 | 258,183 | 261,913 | 269,916 | 276,693 | 140,168 | (49.34)% |
| Business Travel & Leased Vehicles | 641 | 1,254 | 1,183 | 978 | 1,559 | 569 | (63.48)% |
| Group Total | 846,496 | 920,516 | 867,870 | 864,859 | 881,741 | 590,545 | (33.03)% |
Methodology
The method we have used to calculate GHG emissions is the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (revised edition), together with the latest emission factors from recognised public sources including, but not limited to, Defra, the International Energy Agency, the US Energy Information Administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We have used a materiality threshold of 5% and have accounted for all material sources of GHG emissions and have reported emissions for the period 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2020 in line with our financial statement.
We are committed to ensuring that our GHG accounting system, results and accompanying reports remain robust, continue to enhance our Group-level emission performance year on year and are in compliance with the mandatory requirements of the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) Regulations 2018 (which Regulations implement the government’s policy on Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)). During 2020 we reviewed our business model against the GHG Protocol, with particular reference to the control approach taken when reporting our GHG emissions. The outcome of this review is that emissions from part of our UK Coach fleet are now being reported under Scope 3. This is a change to previous emissions reports where the emissions from the full UK Coach fleet were reported under Scope 1.