29/04/2008
- 140,000 trees to be planted in Scotland as part of environmental initiative
- Scheme to save 21,500 tones in CO2 emissions on Fife-Edinburgh route
- Group develops package of solutions to address climate change challenge
Stagecoach today (29 April 2008) launched Scotland’s first carbon neutral bus network.
The ground-breaking environmental initiative, in partnership Scottish charity Global Trees, will see all of Stagecoach's Fife to Edinburgh bus network become carbon neutral for the next five years.
It will cover all services from Dundee, St Andrews, Leven, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Dunfermline, plus intermediate points, as well as Ferrytoll Park and Ride to Edinburgh, Edinburgh Airport, the Gyle shopping centre, Edinburgh Park, Riccarton, Granton and Leith.
The Perth-based bus operator is to plant more than 140,000 trees covering 60 hectares this year, which will absorb the CO2 produced by the buses that carry more than 2.4 million passengers a year.
Stagecoach already uses fuel with 5% biodiesel and a hi-tech fuel additive manufactured using nanotechnology to keep emissions from its 7,000-vehicle bus fleet across the UK to a minimum.
The latest innovative project will see the newly-planted trees absorb the 4,300 tonnes in annual CO2 emissions generated by the Fife-Edinburgh operation over the next five years. It means that all Stagecoach services between Fife and Edinburgh crossing the Forth Road Bridge will be carbon neutral until 2013.
More than 2,200 express services a week operate in and out of the Ferrytoll Park and Ride facility near Inverkeithing, offering departures up to every five minutes and giving a convenient alternative to the car. Ferrytoll already takes around 172,500 cars off the Forth Road Bridge every year, which represents an annual saving of around 1,500 tones in CO2 from trips that would otherwise have been taken by car.
A mix of conifer, broadleaf and native woodlands will be planted as part of the project, which has been externally reviewed by Glasgow Caledonian University and verified by Forest Carbon.
The tree-planting initiative, which will be supported by a major marketing campaign targeted at car users, is part of Stagecoach Group’s environmental strategy to help tackle climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of the company and its customers.
The wide-ranging strategy includes investment in renewable fuels and cleaner engines, state-of-the-art energy efficient facilities, water and waste recycling initiatives and offering businesses green travel incentives for their employees.
Brian Souter, Stagecoach Group Chief Executive, said: “This is an extremely exciting initiative, which is setting the standard for greener, smarter bus travel and helping our customers reduce their own carbon footprint.
“There is an increasing awareness about the impact of people’s behaviour on the environment. We hope this innovative project will promote intelligent car use, encourage more people to get on board public transport and help protect the planet.”
The trees are being planted on Buccleuch Woodlands estates in the south of Scotland under a partnership with Global Trees, a Scottish based charity set up to help people reduce their carbon footprint.
Peter Grant, Founder of Global Trees, said: "It is fantastic that an organisation the size and scope of Stagecoach has become involved with Global Trees and has committed to off-setting its Fife to Edinburgh bus network.
“This is great news for the charity and for Scotland. We hope this move will encourage other businesses across Scotland and the UK to get involved and take a more pro-active stance on the issue of global warming. We're looking forward to working with Brian Souter and his team to help raise awareness of how easy it can be to make a difference."
Dr Charles Russell, Senior Research Fellow - Carbon Management, Caledonian Environment Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University, said: “We have verified the greenhouse gas emissions provided from the robust data logs kept by Stagecoach and calculated the greenhouse gas emissions using the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and UK government reporting practices. Stagecoach have actually increased fuel efficiency by using the latest vehicle engine technology on many of their new buses brought into the fleet.”
Jim Colchester, Woodlands Manager, Buccleuch Woodlands, said: “We are delighted that Stagecoach through Global Trees have decided to off-set these emissions, allowing us to plant 60 hectares of trees in the South of Scotland. This is a fantastic initiative and a great example of businesses taking steps to do what they can to help reduce their environmental impact."
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact:
Steve Stewart, Director of Corporate Communications,
Tel: 01738 442111 (office) or 07764 774680 (mobile)
steven.stewart@stagecoachgroup.com
NOTES TO EDITORS
Images to accompany this news release are available on request.
Stagecoach Group
Stagecoach Group is a leading international public transport group, with extensive operations in the UK, United States and Canada. The company employs around 30,000 people, and operates bus, coach, rail, and tram services.
Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus operators, running around 7,000 buses in nearly 100 towns and cities across the country, from the Highlands of Scotland to south-west England. It includes major city bus operations in Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Manchester, Oxford, Sheffield and Cambridge. In Scotland, Stagecoach operates around 1,300 buses and carries more than 85 million passengers a year.
Last year, Stagecoach launched the UK’s first Bio-Buses as part of a ground-breaking environmental initiative that will allow customers to exchange used cooking oil for discounted bus travel. A fleet of eight vehicles in Kilmarnock is running on 100% biofuel manufactured from used cooking oil and other food industry by-products.
The partnership with Motherwell biodiesel business Argent Energy Ltd is expected to result in a cut of up to 82% in CO2 emissions. Crucially, the bio-diesel is produced from tallow and used cooking oil, both of which are sustainable sources that do not involve the destruction of natural habits or compete with the human food chain.
For the past three years, Stagecoach has been using a fuel additive Envirox™ across its UK fleet, achieving a fuel saving of 5% and a similar decrease in associated emissions. Stagecoach vehicles have now clocked up more than 700 million miles suing the additive, developed by the leading international nanomaterials group Oxonica plc.
Stagecoach has also cut emissions from around 90 of its workplaces across the UK by more than a third after the introduction of a hi-tech energy management system. Gas consumption has been slashed by an average of 36%, while CO2 emissions have been cut by more than 6,200 tonnes a year.
Developed by Manchester-based Vickers Electronics Ltd, the technology uses self-learning predictive programming, coupled with high accuracy temperature sensing. It takes over the control of the existing heating and delivers improved control, staff comfort and dramatic reductions in energy consumption, saving hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
Global Trees
Global Trees works with a range of partners - including Government agencies, the media, businesses, forestry organisations and individuals - to help raise money and plant trees.
Peter Grant, Co-founder of Grant Management and his wife, Colette, set up Global Trees in November 2006 after being inspired by a speech on global warming by former US President Bill Clinton. The couple hope to plant 30 million trees a year through the charity by encouraging a million people to donate at least £5 from their wages every month.
For further information please visit www.globaltrees.co.uk
Buccleuch Woodlands
The Buccleuch family have been renowned for high standards of woodland management for centuries. This tradition has given an outstanding resource covering over 10,000 hectares in the UK with all woodlands managed under long term forest plans and independently accredited to the UK Woodland Assurance standards.
Caledonian Environment Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University
Caledonian Environment Centre is part of Glasgow Caledonian University's School of the Built and Natural Environment. The Caledonian Environment Centre has a dedicated team of professionals with expertise in a varied range of environmental disciplines including waste and resource management, climate change, sustainability, environmental management and education. The Centre has been providing such services for 10 years and is recognised as a leading academic, research and consultancy organisation in the environment sector.
