news

Go-Ahead top of the class when it comes to carbon emissions

Posted: 7 January 2021 | | No comments yet

Go-Ahead has been recognised by climate watchdog the Carbon Disclosure Project for its efforts to make its bus and rail services as green as possible.

go ahead electric bus

Go-Ahead recently launched an all electric bus fleet in Newcastle and Gateshead.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a not-for-profit organisation which reveals and discloses the environmental impact of certain businesses, has awarded UK transport operator Go-Ahead Group the grade of “A-“, which the Go-Ahead believes to be the highest grade awarded to any UK transport operator.

Since 2016, Go-Ahead says it has achieved a 22 per cent absolute reduction in group-wide carbon emissions. During this period, the company has also expanded into Germany, Norway, Singapore and Ireland.

According to the operator, the major winter storm, the so-called “beast from the east” that swept across Britain in February 2018, prompted a review of Go-Ahead’s strategy towards climate change as both rail and bus services were significantly disrupted, in a sign of the impact of increasingly common severe weather incidents.

Go-Ahead is the UK’s largest provider of electric bus services, and the operator of Britain’s first all-electric bus garage in Waterloo, London.

Further measures taken by the group to reduce its environmental impact include making a commitment to run a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035, the installation of solar panels at three UK bus depots, four UK rail depots and one German rail depot, as well as conducting trials of air filtering buses and regenerative braking

Last year, Go-Ahead also launched the first ever fleet of electric buses to operate in the north-east of England, providing 55,000 journeys a year to two million passengers in Newcastle and Gateshead.

Go-Ahead says its newly built electric bus garage in London, Northumberland Park, is the biggest overnight charging electric bus garage in Europe and will become a ‘virtual power station’ by feeding back energy into the National Grid. Go-Ahead is also in talks regarding what has the potential to be Europe’s biggest ever order of hydrogen buses for operation in Crawley and Gatwick.

“Public transport is part of the solution in addressing climate change and poor air quality. Trains and buses provide an environmentally responsible mode of travel, and we’re cutting emissions every year through investment in the very latest technology,” said Go-Ahead’s Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Katy Taylor.

“The ‘Beast from the East’ was a wake-up call to much of Britain on the impact of climate change. We’re delighted that the CDP’s ranking reflects our commitment to contribute to a cleaner, greener world. As a responsible business we will continue to investigate solutions for cutting our carbon footprint even further.”