East Midlands Trains to take part in Stagecoach’s annual Green Week events

To mark the event, the train company is planning activities between June 2 and June 6.

During the Green Week programme of activities, East Midlands Trains will encourage employees and customers to continue driving forward the green agenda.

This year’s Green Week incorporates World Environment Day on Thursday, 5 June – a widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action when people from all walks of life can come together to ensure a cleaner, greener outlook for future generations.

Stagecoach Group’s 35,000 employees in the UK and North America also have significant environmental achievements to celebrate during Green Week.

In 2010, Stagecoach Group launched Revolution in the Way We Travel, a five-year plan to reduce further the carbon emissions from its transport operations in the UK and North America. The strategy has been supported by an £11million green investment programme. Employee initiatives and eco-teams set up by staff have also helped drive dramatic improvements in energy and carbon efficiency.

The group has delivered its targets 12 months ahead of schedule, and has cut its carbon intensity by 30% in the past five years. It has also achieved an overall absolute reduction of 8% in carbon emissions from buildings and a cut of 3% in annual carbon emissions per vehicle mile from fleet transport.

To maintain the momentum of the group’s programme, work is now under way to develop a new five-year strategy. This will include identifying further cost-effective energy-saving opportunities, continuing investment to make the business greener, and setting new targets around carbon reduction, water consumption and waste recycling rates.

Stagecoach’s annual Green Week aims to raise awareness of environmental issues among staff and passengers through a series of events, which will include:

· Green initiatives held in partnership with a number of local schools

·A series of green giveaway events and roadshows at bus and rail companies across the UK where employees will hand out thousands of eco giveaways to passengers and staff

·Competitions within the company’s UK Bus division for customers to win free travel on their local services, as well as a competition in Canada for free megabus.com travel

·Employee environmental awareness events at many of the Group’s businesses

·Local companies attending green community events

·Paper amnesty schemes at and initiatives to encourage more waste recycling

·Stagecoach green teams getting involved in local environmental projects including litter picks and planting

·‘Leave your car at home’ days held at depots and offices

·Green competitions with top prizes for employees

·‘Wear something Green’ on World Environment Day with proceeds going to local environmental projects

·Walks, jogs and cycling into work events planned for employees.

During Green Week, East Midlands Trains is focusing on activities for local staff and has plans in place for Derby employees to take part in a Commuter Challenge to increase awareness of sustainable transport modes. There will also be a staff travel survey, an employee quiz, environmental tips and the company will be providing information on green measures that are in place across the company. There will be a particular focus on key messages around Cutting down Carbon, being Efficient with Energy and being Water Wise.

Managing Director of East Midlands Trains, David Horne said: “We have made excellent progress on our sustainability strategy over the past five years and our people have made a real difference in reducing the environmental impact of our business. Attracting more people out of cars and on to our rail services is also helping reduce the overall carbon emissions from transport.

“But there is a lot more we still want to achieve and our annual Green Week helps us to continue the momentum by engaging with customers, communities and our employees on how we can all have more sustainable lives.”