GO WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL REPORT 2006

Transcription

1 GO WEST MIDLANDS ENVIRONMENTAL & SOCIAL REPORT 2006

2 CONTENTS 2 The Marketplace 4 The Workplace 6 The Environment 8 The Community IBC Auditing & verifying this report OUR RESPONSIBILITY A message from the Managing Director Welcome to this, our first Corporate Responsibility report. This year is one of transformation for our company, and this report reflects the momentous changes happening to our business. In December 2005, the company became part of the Go-Ahead Group. Earlier in 2006 we acquired the operator of People s Express to double the size of our operations in the West Midlands and changed the name from Birmingham Coach Company to Go West Midlands. Go West Midlands has always adopted a responsible approach to our business.we put people first and were proud to be the first bus company in the West Midlands to gain Investors in People (IiP) accreditation.we continue to be actively involved in IiP in the region. However, as an independent company, we lacked the scale to respond to the broad range of other responsibilities that transport businesses face. The backing of the Go-Ahead Group opens an exciting chapter for us.we can now invest in updating and renewing our bus fleet, providing the high standards of customer comfort, ease of access and environmental performance demanded by the Group. As we are now the second largest operator in the region, we look forward to bringing you the benefits of high quality bus services. As we enter this exciting period, we invite you to send us your views, comments and feedback on what you think we can do to perform better. Philip Kirk Managing Director

3 Go West Midlands Environmental & Social Report WHO WE ARE Birmingham Coach Company and People s Express became one company in March 2006 and was re-named Go West Midlands in August Trading under the name Diamond, we provide local bus services within Birmingham and the Black Country. We employ over 500 people and served over 12 million passengers last year. About The Go-Ahead Group plc Go West Midlands (formerly Birmingham Coach Company) has been part of The Go-Ahead Group plc since December Go-Ahead is a major provider of transport services across the UK employing over 24,000 people and carrying around 800 million passengers. Its operations span bus, rail and aviation services (including parking). The Go-Ahead Group believes that local people make the best decisions on running local services. However, the Group also believes in the importance of a common framework for measuring each company s impact on local communities and the environment.this report describes our performance against the framework developed by the Go-Ahead Group. DUDLEY WOLVERHAMPTON WALSALL SOLIHULL BIRMINGHAM COVENTRY About this report This report describes our performance for the 12 months to 1 July It is divided into four main sections, which describe the impacts that we have on the world around us and how we approach managing these responsibly: Our company structure ensures that local management make local decisions about local services. Marketplace Workplace how we run our services issues that affect the people who work for us Environment how we manage and reduce our impact on the environment Community making the communities where we operate better places to live and work. As part of our annual business planning, we have set targets and goals to improve our social and environmental performance for 2006/7. To keep this report short, we have placed a lot more information on the web

4 2 Go West Midlands Environmental & Social Report 2006 THE MARKETPLACE Our responsibilities in the marketplace Our main social and environmental responsibility is to grow the number of people that use our buses. This is also our commercial imperative. Increasing bus use tackles social exclusion and gives people access to work. It can also reduce the number of vehicles on the road, bringing benefits to the environment. Prior to joining the Go-Ahead Group, as a small independent company operating in a highly competitive market, we had limited opportunity to invest in growth or to develop our social and environmental responsibilities. Now that we have the backing of Go-Ahead, we plan to increase investment in the business.this means that we can increase the frequency of our services, the levels of comfort they offer, and the ease with which people with mobility problems can board them. Two years ago, Go-Ahead s consultations with passengers, employees and other stakeholders established the factors that influence whether people travel by bus: Reliability, convenience and punctuality Accessibility for all Safety and security Affordability These are now priority areas for our business, and we will report our progress in each. Following customer feedback we have revamped our routes to and from Birmingham City Centre. Our responsibility: reliable, convenient and punctual services Getting the right bus in the right place at the right time is at the heart of running a successful bus company.to do this successfully, you need to listen and respond to the needs of passengers. Last year, following passenger feedback, we revamped the services on our routes to and from Birmingham City Centre as well as increasing the frequency of the service along Bristol Road and between Brownhills, Aldridge and Birmingham. Our passengers also told us to improve driver friendliness, and we are embarking on a customer care training programme as a result. This year, we plan to formalise how we receive feedback from passengers and others by establishing a Stakeholder Board. Developed and used successfully by other Go-Ahead companies, the Stakeholder Board brings together employees, individual passengers, large employers and representative bodies to share views and discuss how our services can be improved. We are also improving passenger information. Our company is a member of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Information Services partnership, which has started to introduce real-time waiting time information at bus stops.

5 Go West Midlands The Marketplace 3 Our responsibility: accessibility for all, particularly people with disabilities Traditionally bus design has been geared towards the able-bodied. Low-floor buses fitted with ramps are a major step forward in improving access for all. This is an area where we need to improve our performance. Currently just under half of our bus fleet is low-floor, below the Go-Ahead target of 65%. Our average score has been affected by the lack of low-floor vehicles in our coach fleet.this kind of vehicle can only be made fully accessible by fitting wheelchair lifts but we can report that our bus services have a higher proportion of low-floor vehicles. Over the next few years, we will increase the proportion of low-floor buses in our fleet, in order to meet the Go-Ahead standard and our customer expectations. We have also introduced disability awareness training, and two-thirds of our drivers have so far benefited from this. Our responsibility: safety and security of passengers, employees and the general public Safety of passengers, employees and the general public is very important to us. We have carried out an extensive review of our health and safety policy and procedures using experts from the Go-Ahead Group. As a result, we have developed a health and safety action plan to build on our existing training. We will be setting up a health and safety committee and will train key members of staff at each depot to National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) standards. Go-Ahead companies investment in CCTV equipment has demonstrated how these systems can deter and detect crime. Currently, none of our vehicles carry CCTV but we will seek to use the expertise within the Group to introduce this technology to our fleet. Fitment will be completed within two years. Passenger journeys 12.63m Total vehicle kms travelled 15.73m Passenger vehicle kms 14.71m Low-floor buses (%) Size of bus fleet Average age of fleet: Government-Industry target vs Go West Midlands (years) Average age of fleet 9.9 Government-Industry target (max) 8.0 VOSA PSV vehicle test pass rate Go West Midlands 87.80% National average 85.30% Scheduled km operated buses Go West Midlands 95.29% Industry target 99.50% Our responsibility: affordability to ensure as many as possible can use our services Bus services are an important means of tackling social exclusion. For many households without a private car, the bus is essential for seeking work and staying employed. Our partnership with local job centres under the Fair Deal Scheme offers transport assistance for those attending job interviews. Free travel for older people and the disabled is provided through local authorities.

6 4 Go West Midlands Environmental & Social Report 2006 THE WORKPLACE Our responsibilities in the workplace Our business success and ability to run our services are dependent on every one of the 501 people we employ. Three-quarters of our employees are drivers and their direct contact with passengers shapes our reputation. Our aim is to provide a positive work environment for all our employees, encouraging people to stay with us whilst attracting new recruits to join. We plan to achieve this through a working culture that values each individual regardless of gender, race, age or, where practical, disability, and through an attractive package of employee benefits. Training is essential for employee development and retention. Our responsibility: developing skills Developing our people has always been a priority for us.the company was proud to be the first public transport company in the region to secure accreditation as an Investor in People. Investors in People (IiP) is a nationally recognised standard, which ensures that employees have access to the knowledge, skills and motivation they need to work effectively. We are strong supporters of the standard having seen first-hand how it helps to improve people management. As a pioneer of the standard, we believe it is important to share our experience with other businesses in the region. As part of our commitment to developing skills, we encourage our drivers to secure qualifications. In addition to driving skills, around two-thirds of our drivers have qualified to NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service.

7 Go West Midlands The Workplace 5 Our responsibility: maintaining recruitment levels The challenges of bus driving can make it difficult to recruit and retain good people and driver shortages have affected our service reliability in the past. Since 2004, we have run a recruitment programme for experienced bus drivers from Poland and Lithuania, and this has helped us to improve reliability. We put together a package of support, including training, language lessons and mentoring, to help our new colleagues transition into the team and the wider community. Number of employees 501 Employee turnover rate 7.5% Diversity by gender (Male) Diversity by gender (Female) Diversity by age 16-19: 0.8% 20-29: 14.2% 30-39: 24.6% 40-49: 28.1% 50-59: 22.8% 60-64: 6.9% 65+: 2.6% Developing our people has always been a priority for us.the company was proud to be the first public transport company in the region to secure accreditation as an Investor in People.

8 6 Go West Midlands Environmental & Social Report 2006 THE ENVIRONMENT Our responsibilities to the environment Environmental issues are increasingly a cause of global and local concern. Governments, companies and many individuals are increasingly concerned about the impact of emissions on the world s climate; reducing congestion and improving local air quality are both high on the agenda in our region. Our responsibility is to minimise the environmental impact of our buses. We believe that the bus is part of a sustainable environmental solution for transport. Buses are a vitally important means of tackling local congestion and air quality through reducing the number of vehicles on the road. The Go-Ahead Group believes that its companies have the responsibility to invest in vehicles that are as environmentally friendly as possible.this is why five of the ten most environmentally friendly bus companies in Britain are part of Go-Ahead, including the top four. We have some way to go to match the standards of environmental responsibility expected by Go-Ahead, but we now have the backing to invest in catching up. Our responsibility: local air quality An independent study carried out by The TAS Partnership, one of the most respected transport consultancies in the UK, confirmed that Go-Ahead leads the field in having the most environmentally friendly bus fleets in Britain.The study compared the fleet composition of the 111 largest bus companies in the UK outside London and modelled their vehicle emissions. Go West Midlands is currently just below mid table. We already use Ultra Low Sulphur (ULS) Diesel as our fuel of choice, which is more environmentally friendly than the standard grade. We also operate a rigorous maintenance schedule including a regular emissions test every five weeks. Our systems are independently assessed by the Vehicle Operator Services Agency (VOSA), which carries out annual and random emissions tests. In order to improve our performance, we need to invest in new vehicles and look at the merits of adopting the Go-Ahead practice of retro-fitting emission-reducing Continuously Regenerating Traps (CRTs) to our existing fleet. Next year, we plan to add new vehicles to our fleet, which will set new standards for fuel efficiency.

9 Go West Midlands The Environment 7 VOSA emissions pass rate Go West Midlands 97.74% % of fleet with Euro II engines or above % of fleet with CRT Our modern depot is equipped with the latest equipment to meet our targets for bus reliability. Our responsibility: reducing congestion Since 1980, there has been an 80% increase in road traffic, almost entirely due to an increase in private cars. Increased bus use can help to reduce the congestion that has resulted from this traffic growth. We recognise the need for a balance between the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, buses and other road users, and we work closely with local authorities to achieve this. Air pollution: NOx (g) per passenger journey Air pollution: PM (g) per passenger journey Air pollution: CO 2 (kg) per passenger journey Air pollution: CO (g) per passenger journey Our responsibility: maintaining our fleet Rigorous maintenance is an important part of service reliability and environmental responsibility. Our modern depot is fitted with the latest equipment to allow us to meet our targets for bus reliability. Air pollution: HC (g) per passenger journey Our responsibility: measuring our performance For the second year, the Go-Ahead Group came top of the public transport companies that participated in the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index.The Group scored 89%, a further significant improvement. In the dedicated environment index, we did even better, improving to a score of 91.5%, which included maximum marks for our emissions management performance.

10 8 Go West Midlands Environmental & Social Report 2006 THE COMMUNITY Our responsibilities to the community We are part of the fabric of the communities that we serve. We provide essential services for the millions of people that live and work in Birmingham. We also employ over 500 people and have responsibilities both to them and to their families. Vibrant and successful communities are in everybody s interest. We contribute to our communities through cash and in-kind donations for good causes. In addition, the Go-Ahead Group provides cash donations on behalf of all its operating companies. Under 12s Football The youngsters of a local football club will be sporting new training tops and match kit following a successful application to the company for support. Bus Marshall Scheme We have operated a Bus Marshall Scheme on school services to reduce incidences of vandalism and anti social behaviour, and also liaise with the Safer Travel Team in conjunction with other operators. We plan to review our Community Investment / Liaison programme during the coming year. Vibrant and successful communities are in everybody s interest. We contribute to our communities through cash and in-kind donations for good causes. Community spend 16,878: 3.7% of total Group spend ( 460,944) At a local operating company level community investment is driven through support in kind activities, while the Group Head Office handles direct financial donations. The figures above include an element of both these community investment streams.

11 SUMMARY INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AND AUDIT STATEMENT The SMART Company was commissioned by the Go-Ahead Group plc to undertake an independent review of their Environmental and Social Report for the period July 2005 to June A Senior Consultant, who did not participate in the data gathering and report writing process, conducted the verification. The verification was undertaken using the principles of the assurance standard AA1000: materiality completeness and responsiveness.this is the fifth consecutive year that SMART has provided assurance for Go-Ahead and we have undertaken a rolling programme of audits, ensuring all operating companies have been audited at least once during this period. In 2006 a sample of three operating companies were visited as part of the verification process, as well as a visit to the Group Head Office. Sample checks of the data sources were undertaken and interviews were conducted with members of the management team who had been responsible for data collection. We are therefore satisfied that this report is a reliable and accurate reflection of the performance of the company. A full verification report, containing a more detailed analysis together with recommendations for developing the processes for measuring, managing and reporting Go-Ahead plc s environmental and social impacts, can be found at Zoë Hatherly Senior Consultant,The SMART Company, August 2006 Go-Ahead Go West Midlands is part of The Go-Ahead Group plc. Members of the Group operate bus services (in the South of England, London,West Midlands and the North East of England), commuter train networks, aviation ground handling and parking services. Other companies within the Group are: aviance-uk Brighton & Hove Bus Company Go North East London Central & London General Meteor Metrobus Oxford Bus Company Solent Blue Line Southeastern Southern Railway Southern Vectis Wilts & Dorset There is no report for Southeastern as the rail franchise was not awarded to us until April 2006.

12 More information on how Go West Midlands manages its responsibilities can be found at If you have any comments, views or ideas on how we might improve, or have any thoughts on other issues that we should address in this report, please use the enclosed form or write to: Philip Kirk Managing Director Go West Midlands Cross Quays Business Park Hallbridge Way Tipton Road Tividale Oldbury West Midlands B69 3HY Telephone: This report was put together by The Go-Ahead Group with help from The SMART Company, and designed and produced by Rare Corporate Design, London. Printed by Beacon Press using their environmental print technology which minimises any negative environmental impacts resulting from the printing of this document. includes the use of vegetable based inks, recycling of 87% of dry waste and 95% of cleaning solvents for future use. Beacon Press holds the Queen's Award for Sustainable Development together with ISO14001 and EMAS accreditations. Beacon is a CarbonNeutral company and uses 100% renewable energy, saving tonnes of CO 2 on the production of Go-Ahead s 2006 corporate responsibility reports. Printed on Revive Silk which is made from 75% post consumer waste. In order to minimise the environmental impacts of our reports, Go-Ahead is working with The CarbonNeutral Company to assess and 'offset' the greenhouse gas emissions created by the production and distribution of our annual and corporate responsibility reports tonnes of CO 2 will be balanced through native forestry in Northumberland and Snowdonia, making both these reports CarbonNeutral.