Stagecoach achieves green economy and responsible business accreditations

Stagecoach, Britain's biggest bus and coach operator, has achieved two prestigious benchmarks for its commitment to responsible business and driving the green economy.

The public transport group is one of around only 80 companies publicly listed in the UK who have received the new London Stock Exchange (LSE) Green Economy Mark.

Stagecoach is also one of only two public transport groups to achieve the benchmark, which is reserved for companies that generate over 50% of their total annual revenues from products and services that contribute to the global green economy.

The Green Economy Mark identifies sectors that are contributors to a greener, more sustainable economy such as through climate change mitigation and adaptation. It looks beyond solely clean technology companies to highlight businesses driving the transition to a sustainable, low carbon economy.

Stagecoach bus, coach and tram shared transport services provide a significantly greener alternative to the private car. With one double-decker bus able to take more than 70 cars off the road, Stagecoach is a major part of the solution to the climate emergency and declining air quality in Britain's increasingly congested towns and cities.

Independent research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) shows that:

• Stagecoach delivers cleaner communities and saves £12.4million in emissions impact costs, which could power 9,800 homes for a year
• Without Stagecoach bus services, there would be an annual increase of 190,000 tonnes of CO2 through passengers using alternative transport, mainly cars
• £343 million in potential congestion-related savings are delivered by Stagecoach from a reduction of 1.22 billion miles of traffic.

Stagecoach has also cut carbon emissions from its own businesses by 14% over the past five years as it continues efforts to tackle climate change and boost air quality.

Meanwhile, Stagecoach has achieved the FTSE4Good global corporate responsibility standard for the 19th consecutive year. Constituents in the FTSE4Good Index Series have been independently assessed as meeting stringent environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.

Stagecoach was rated as having a percentile rating of 98 out of a maximum of 100, putting it in the top 3% of companies in the Travel and Leisure sector. The ratings for Stagecoach on climate change, pollution and resources, human rights and community, as well as labour standards, were double those of the sector average.

Stagecoach was first selected for the FTSE4Good index in June 2001. The criteria which companies have to meet are shaped by governmental bodies, NGOs, consultants, academics, the investment community and the corporate sector.

Stagecoach Director of Communications Steven Stewart said: "Doing the right thing and growing our business in a sustainable way is central to the way we work. Our people and our services are making a huge positive impact on our communities and local economies, as well as helping tackle the climate emergency.

"But we want to achieve more and we are already working on plans which will make the switch to greener public transport easier, help keep our communities connected, and reduce further our impact on the planet as we work with government to deliver a net-zero Britain."

Stagecoach is progressing the development of a new sustainability strategy for 2020 and beyond in partnership with the Carbon Trust. The strategy will include plans around green fleet investment, buildings efficiency measures and other initiatives, as well as stretching targets to drive further improved performance.

A range of multi-million-pound investments and company-wide sustainability projects have helped drive the environmental improvements. These include the introduction of new greener buses and coaches, investment in eco-driver technology, training for bus drivers and engineering teams, measures to tackle bus idling, and use of state-of-the-art environmental management systems at the company's facilities.

Stagecoach has invested more than £1billion in 7,000 new greener vehicles in the past decade, more than any other operator in the UK. In May, the company announced an £80m investment in a further 350 cleaner vehicles for 2019-20.

From spring 2020, Stagecoach will deliver the first of 50 new electric vehicles as part of a £13m investment in one of what is one of the biggest orders of new e-buses in Europe. Stagecoach is also working with other bus operators across the country to ensure that every new bus is an ultra-low or zero emission vehicle from 2025.

ENDS