Stagecoach unveils its eco route to net-zero

Scottish transport firm Stagecoach Group accused politicians of delivering contradictory policies and mixed messages over climate change as it unveiled a new “sustainability strategy”.

The Perth-based company said it would strive to “help transform society for the better” but warned the UK’s net-zero ambitions will require “radical behaviour change” and incentives to “reward the right choices”.

Stagecoach added its new sustainability blueprint aimed to leverage the “power of public transport” to create better places to live and work.

The firm’s roadmap to becoming a carbon-neutral business by 2050 includes a target of decarbonising operations by 70% by 2035, following a 14% reduction between 2014 and 2019, and initiatives to reduce waste, conserve water and minimise energy use.

It aims to have at least two in five senior management posts filled by women and one-quarter of its whole workforce from ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2026.

In addition, a new “give back” programme will see 0.5% of pre-tax profits going to charity and community causes.

Martin Griffiths, the group’s chief executive, said: “Stagecoach is a force for good and our strategy starts with what we can do in our own business to help transform society for the better.

“But we also need to make changes individually and work together to achieve our goals.

“The country will not deliver on its ambitions by grand strategies or technology change alone.

“We need radical behaviour change and incentives to reward the right choices to make netzero a reality. We need to be more honest about the scale of the challenge and the changes we will need to make to how we live now.”

He added: “Governments need to get real and stop cherry-picking the easy wins. We urgently need practical changes by national and regional government to address contradictory policies and mixed messaging currently being sent to citizens.

“We need an end to the ludicrous situation where some clean air zone plans effectively tax bus passengers making a sustainable choice but do nothing to address diesel cars contributing to the deaths of tens of thousands of people every year.

“Our current tax system and approach to road management puts cars first and is directly resulting in higher fares for people doing the right thing and choosing greener bus travel.”

Mr Griffiths said the biggest opportunity to address climate change and protect communities from extreme weather, poor air quality and road traffic gridlock “strangling” the economy was not from electrifying Britain’s transport system.

He added: “It is from incentivising the country to switch from cars to greener and healthier public transport and active travel.”

Stagecoach’s strategy aims to help create a “greener, smarter, safer, healthier and fairer country”.

It will see investment in new zero-emissions fleets and green technologies over the next 15 years.

FTSE-listed Stagecoach said its ambition was to “go further and faster” as Glasgow gets ready to host the COP26 UN climate change conference in November. It also revealed its intention to sign up to the global Race to Zero campaign, adding it had already started working towards setting sciencebased targets consistent with the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C by 2050.

Its phased plan to fully decarbonise operations will see a switch from clean diesel power, which already has 95% fewer pollutants than standard diesel vehicles, to zero-carbon technologies, including electric and hydrogen.

Mr Griffiths said: “We need the support of government, our customers, our employees, and our supply chain partners and a green recovery from the pandemic to fuel the investment needed to make real change a reality.”

Stagecoach has invested £1 billion in 7,000 new greener vehicles in the past decade, including one of the biggest orders of e-buses in Europe.

BLUE-SKY THINKING: Stagecoach says it will turn away from clean diesel to zero-carbon technologies such as electric and hydrogen power.

Martin Griffiths.