Environmental Management At Our Depot
Our depots are used for maintaining, fuelling and washing our vehicles and are therefore sometimes associated with spillage and incident risks. All our fuel tanks are located above ground, apart from three which are either fitted with leak detection systems or routinely tested and certified.
We provide training and awareness for staff in fuelling and fuel delivery as well as spill response. Central spill reporting procedures allow us to track the spills that do occur and apply lessons learnt.
A number of minor incidents have occurred this year, all of which were contained on-site. Where there was a potential off-site risk we liaised with the Environment Agency or Scottish Environment Protection Agency and agreed an appropriate response. For the fifth successive year we are free from prosecutions for environmental incidents.
At our depots we make serious efforts to improve our efficiency and potential environmental impact by reducing water and energy use and improving waste management.
Water Usage
Our main use of water is for vehicle washing. For a number of years we have sustained reductions in water usage in the bus division as a result of installing water recycling facilities at all our bus washes. This year our water usage has increased due to the introduction of a Group-wide policy (developed in response to customer expectations) that buses should be washed every night. We have also had a number of significant water leaks which have now been repaired.
Individual companies have achieved water reductions. Manchester achieved a 2% reduction by repairing leaking hoses and pipes and installing water optimisers for the urinals. Edinburgh reduced water usage by 10% by installing a more water-efficient bus wash.
Energy Usage
We use energy for heating, lighting and the use of equipment at our depots and stations. During the last 12 months our overall energy consumption has reduced by 18%.
We continue our programme to reduce energy usage in buildings and next year we will be installing electronic heating control systems at 12 of our largest maintenance depots in partnership with Vickers electronics. We are also seeking accreditation under the Carbon Trust Energy Accreditation Scheme.
Glasgow Operations Continue to Reduce Energy
Our operations in Glasgow have been developing an energy and water reduction programme since 2002. The programme has introduced energy monitors and smart meters which monitor and control utilities usage by taking regular readings. In addition, light fittings have been replaced and dawn-to-dusk and movement sensors installed. Inefficient boilers have been replaced with more efficient alternatives and the vehicle washing facility has been replaced. These combined measures have led to a reduction in energy usage of 24%, gas usage of 39% and water usage of 27%.