FirstGroup UK achieves ISO 14001 accreditation
Greenwise Staff
25th June 2009
Bus and rail company FirstGroup has become the first UK transport operator to achieve ISO 14001 environmental certification across all of its national businesses.
A total of 20 FirstGroup bus and rail companies have now secured the internationally recognised standard for environmental management. These include First London, First Great Western and First Cymru – the latest business to gain the mark.
ISO 14001, which is awarded to companies that implement an effective environmental management system (EMS), provides a framework that allows businesses to control and reduce their impact on the environment. FirstGroup, which committed to the standard five years ago, said last year alone it had saved around £240,000 through energy reduction initiatives and around £70,000 in waste minimisation schemes thanks to the EMS.
“Across all our companies we have demonstrated a real commitment and focus to environmental improvement,” said Katerina Robinson, FirstGroup’s head of Environment.
Andrew Morris, Business Development director at the BSI Group, which carried out the examination and audits for FirstGroup, said: “ It would have been commendable for any single company to achieve registration under ISO 14001, but to gain certification across all of its UK based businesses is a fantastic achievement for First.”
Sir Moir Lockhead, chief executive of FirstGroup said the company was seeking to “lead the surface transport industry in combating climate change.” The company has committed to reducing its emissions from its UK bus division by 25 per cent and rail division by 20 per cent by 2020 under its Climate Change Strategy.
“We will continue to improve our environmental performance throughout the business as we look to achieve the targets set out in our industry leading Climate Change Strategy,” he said.
Among its environmental achievements in the last year were a three per cent reduction in energy usage across its UK bus and UK rail operations, a six per cent increase in waste recycling in UK Bus, and 11 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from its business travel division. Earlier this year the company, meanwhile, begun trials in Bristol to run a bus powered by fuel made from waste cooking oil from local chip shops and restaurants.
