Quote
“This year we are committed to rolling out carbon saving schemes that will reduce our CO2 emissions by 5,000 tonnes. That is not an easy target to reach by any means but, thankfully, employees across the business, most of whom don’t have specific environmental responsibilities as part of their job, have already come up with solutions that I am confident will help us meet that objective.”
Shane Mc Entee,
Environment Adviser
Short stories
- Government targets
The government has set a target for the UK to reduce carbon emissions from energy and fuel use by 60 per cent by 2050. We are playing our part towards achieving this. In 2007 we achieved a 20 per cent reduction, based on 2006 consumption, in energy use at our premises and Piccadilly lines depots. In 2008, we will seek to further reduce our energy consumption.
- Green travel
Another agenda item for 2008 will be a green travel plan to encourage employees and visitors to ditch their cars and use public transport. Responses to a travel survey carried out in summer 2007 identified that 67 per cent of Tube Lines employees use public transport as their main mode of commuting, 19 per cent come by car, 5 per cent travel by motorbike and 9 per cent walk or use a bike.
These figures compare favourably with the London average identified in Transport for London’s 2007 Travel Demand Survey, however, we believe that with access to the right websites, information and incentives, we can improve even further.
Driving the footprint down
In 2008, we have agreed to have just one environmental business objective targeting something that everyone in the business can contribute to – reducing our carbon footprint.
Our goal is to achieve a reduction of 5,000 tonnes by the end of 2008, which is about 6 per cent of our 2006 emission levels. This has been validated by AEA Energy and Environment as part of the Carbon Trust Carbon Management Scheme.
The largest contributor to this 5,000 tonnes will be the paper waste we recycle from trains and stations as a result of the thousands of newspapers that are left behind daily. In this respect we are leading the way in the public transport sector.
Other contributors include reduced consumption of energy and utilities at Tube Lines premises and the implementation of zero waste to landfill for all embankment stabilisation works carried out in 2008. Roll-out of a safer and more efficient driving programme for the road fleet has the potential to save 318 tonnes of CO2. We also expect to save 33 tonnes of CO2 by carrying out specialist maintenance on the Piccadilly line train wheels in our depots instead of sending them away.
2008 improvement plans
We have also identified a number of improvement actions within our annual environmental improvement plan. These focus on our most significant immediate environmental impacts – noise, waste and materials, pollution, wildlife, energy and utilities, plus also strategic items such as our environmental management system, contract conditions and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Another priority will be the re-certification of Go Green to ISO 14001, the international standard for environmental management, as our three-year certification expires in 2008. We hope to complete our discussions with London Underground which aim to introduce an incentive into our contract to reduce carbon emissions. We also hope to finalise a tool to help project managers make the right decisions when managing noise.
We will also be working towards:
- A joint Tube Lines and London Underground trial to encourage customers to recycle their newspapers
- Introducing site waste management plans
- Completing the drainage upgrade works at Cockfosters depot
- Reviewing planting profiles suitable for expected climate change
- Completing our model station feasibility study
- Developing an energy options portfolio
- Identifying carbon emissions in Six Sigma business cases
- Completing the quantification of the highest priority risks posed by climate change
In the community
In 2008, we will be rolling out a partnership with the London Engineering Project. This will provide our employees with the opportunity to spend approximately one day a year in schools talking about their career and encouraging students to take up a career in engineering. Employees will also be working with teachers to provide them with real-life examples of engineering which they can then use in lessons. We are focusing on schools near to our offices in Canary Wharf and Stratford and also close to the Jubilee and Northern lines in South London.
We also expect the Community Support Fund to continue to thrive in 2008.
