Go-Ahead Group scores highly in carbon disclosure project

The Go-Ahead Group has scored highly for its level of carbon disclosure, according to a new study.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) FTSE 350 Climate Change Report 2012 examines how companies measure and disclose the impact of their businesses. Go-Ahead achieved a disclosure score of 65 and was placed in performance band C, coming second out of the major UK public transport groups.

The score is based on analysis of the responses to CDP’s 2012 questionnaire, which focuses on greenhouse gas emissions, emissions reduction targets and risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

The results are published as the UK Government finalises plans to be the first in the world to introduce mandatory carbon reporting for all companies listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. From April 2013, listed companies will be required to disclose in their annual reports their global emissions from operations both inside and outside the UK.

CDP represents 655 institutional investors with $78trillion in assets under management. It rates business disclosure using a 100-point scale according to four criteria:

• measurement of company carbon emissions
• provision of information on climate-related actions
• reporting on business-specific climate change issues
• use of third party external data verification

The CDP report also allocates a performance band, ranging from A to E, to measure the positive actions of companies in areas including climate change mitigation, adaptation and transparency.

Of UK transport operators, Stagecoach was ranked first in the study, with Go-Ahead second, FirstGroup third and National Express Group fourth.

Go-Ahead is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 20 per cent per passenger journey by 2015 and has achieved a 14 per cent reduction to date. The company has focused on reducing its consumption of bus diesel fuel through a comprehensive programme of driver training and the fitment of driver monitoring equipment on its bus fleet. It was also the first rail operator to introduce regenerative braking on its electric train fleet.