Environmental and social matters

Environmental and social matters

Environmental and social matters

Working collaboratively

Our corporate support teams continue to forge strong working relationships with colleagues across all business areas in Transport Scotland, core Scottish Government and with external partners.

Our HR, Corporate Communications, Health and Safety and Workplace teams were responsible for managing our approach to a continued move to hybrid working and the relocation to our temporary headquarters in Glasgow city centre before we move to a permanent location at 177 Bothwell Street in 2024.

As part of this interim move, we have been able to provide and test a range of working environments and approaches for our people including a range of collaborative working spaces, flexible furniture options and hybrid working technology.

Developing our people

Transport Scotland's ambition is to be a supportive and inclusive employer, with learning at its heart. In May 2022, we launched a new Learning and Development Strategy to nurture a learning culture in Transport Scotland where we develop the right skills at the right time, to help us deliver to the best of our ability for the people of Scotland. This includes a Self-Assessment Toolkit for individuals to consider their short-term learning, Career Conversation Toolkit for long-term goals and identifying Learning Leads in each Directorate to collect and share information to help us identify trends in learning requirements.

Corporate systems

Post-pandemic our information technology teamhas worked closely with colleagues within Scottish Government to ensure that we remain well placed to benefit from new and emerging technologies. This has included the move to Office 365 services, which provide an up-to-date suite of Microsoft Office programmes which are also available from corporately owned mobile phones.

In addition, an upgrade has been delivered to various bespoke business systems used within the organisation. The upgrade to the CODA system used by procurement colleagues being of particular note, as it allows project managers to update procurement records themselves rather than rely on re-entry by procurement administrative staff.

Information management and data protection

We comply with the overarching Scottish Government information governance strategy and the Records Management Plan. All information assets are recorded on the Scottish Government Information Asset Register (IAR). Each of our Directors is the Information Asset Owner (IAO) for their business areas and has been provided with the associated guidance and mandatory IAO training. In line with the Scottish Government Information Governance Strategy, deputy IAOs have also been identified to support the IAOs.

Throughout 2022-23 we have focused on ensuring compliance with key legislation and identifying actions for continuous improvement. This resulted in the delivery of the annual data protection and information governance check and report which included a number of recommendations to sustain existing good practice. This was supplemented by the on-going provision of advice, support and training on information handling policies and procedures.

All data subject rights requests were completed within the statutory timescales. We also continued to monitor correspondence response rates with weekly, monthly, and annual performance returns provided to our Chief Executive, Senior Management Team, and Business Managers.

Sustainability

The Climate Change Team within the Environment and Sustainability team at Transport Scotland lead on corporate climate change mitigation, including the development and implementation of a Carbon Management Plan (CMP), associated targets and statutory annual reporting.

This year, we published the fourth iteration of our Carbon Management Plan: Pathway to Net Zero 2022-27, which sets out Transport Scotland's commitment to meeting the Scottish Government's net zero targets.

The Climate Change Team also leads on climate change adaptation on behalf of Transport Scotland and is responsible for overseeing delivery of the allocated sub-outcomes associated with the second Scottish Climate Change Adaptation Programme (SCCAP2).

Transport Scotland remains committed to delivering a safe, reliable, and well-adapted transport system which is prepared for the impacts associated with climate change. During the next financial year, we will publish our Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR). This work will directly support the third SCCAP, due to be published by the Scottish Government in 2024.

The statistics

Throughout the last year, climate change has continued to be a primary focus for both Scotland and Transport Scotland. The nation is now seeing the effects of climate change and adaptation, alongside mitigation, is becoming a focus to ensure our transportation networks remain resilient.

In response to the Scottish Government's updated Climate Change Plan and net zero targets, in March 2023 Transport Scotland published the next iteration of our CMP. This plan outlines a pathway to 2027 for the agency to meet net zero emissions by reducing the impact on the environment across our corporate functions. We aim to be zero direct emissions by 2025, net zero for scope 2 emissions by 2025 and all indirect emissions net zero by 2045.

Within the CMP, we have redefined our corporate boundary and widened the scope of data collection to include the 'scope of influence'. This is where we aim to identify areas where the agency can work with stakeholders to reduce emissions in our supply chain.

During 2022-23 we have seen a slight reduction in our overall corporate emissions. A hybrid approach to working has been operating and with approximately 43% of staff in our offices on average, our home working emissions have decreased. Increases in occupancy rates alongside an interim move to Atlantic Quay, upon vacating Buchanan House, means we have seen reduced building related emissions, more significantly in gas usage. This has led to building energy savings of 16%. The contribution of Waste energy rather than landfill has seen a substantial saving of 88%.

Business travel has returned to pre-pandemic levels and under the CMP we aim to strengthen our business travel position statement and

Corporate Carbon Emissions 2022-23^[1]

Element	Metric	Baseline 2015-16	Actual in 2021-22	Actual in 2022-23	% change compared to previous year
Total Emissions	tCO2e	22,222	5,795	5,570	- 4%
Gas	tCO2e	265	130	43.69	- 66%
Electricity	tCO2e	20,137	5,480	5,257	- 4%
Water	tCO2e	3.13	0.55	0.48	- 13%
Waste	tCO2e	2.02	4.13	0.50	- 88%
Business Travel	tCO2e	188	26.55	139.79	+ 81%
Commuter Travel	tCO2e	156	7.35	38.79	+ 81%
Home Working	tCO2e	-	146	90	- 38%

ensure that active and public transport is always considered as the first option. Overall, in 2022-23, we have reduced our footprint by 4%.

Next year, we aim to build upon the commitments in our CMP to ensure we meet our ambitious net zero goals, continue to work closely with our colleagues and enhance relationships with stakeholders to facilitate climate action in our supply chain. We will also continue as a leading public sector body in Scotland to sequester carbon on our estate and prime ourselves for meeting net zero emissions whilst supporting nature and local biodiversity.

Social inclusion and community benefits

Women and girls' safety on public transport

In 2022, the Minister for Transport announced that the Scottish Government would consult on the safety of women and girls when using public transport. In response to this, social researchers from Transport Scotland designed and delivered an innovative research programme on the issue of women and girls' safety on public transport.

For the first time, the programme brought together the views of women and girls who use and work on the public transport network, making recommendations geared to improving transport accessibility and therefore women's mobility, and also operational issues for female transport staff.

The final research report was published in March 2023 Women's and girls' views and experiences of personal safety when using public transport / Transport Scotland. This features ten recommendations for the Scottish Government, Local Authorities, Police Scotland, and the British Transport Police. The recommendations were the focus of a parliamentary debate, with a motion passed in the Scottish Parliament to note the recommendations and to take these forward on a cross-party basis.

The work highlights that safety is a concern for women and girls who use or work on public transport as part of their day to day lives. The research concludes that women and girls are being forced to adapt their own behaviour and change their travel habits in order to feel safe on public transport. Safety concerns affect women and girls' mobility and therefore access to services, social and cultural events, and employment.

The recommendations that will be taken forward aim to improve this and bring benefits to women and girls across the country by:

• Improving access and use of public transport – by improving awareness of available tools and support for women and girls who feel vulnerable on public transport; and promoting safe home from work options for transport workers.
• Addressing key concerns of women and girls – by looking at strengthening rules around permissible behaviour and increasing penalties for non-compliance.
• Encouraging relevant organisations to support this agenda – by having effective safeguarding practices in place.

The research has also fed into wider policies such as that on Violence Against Women and Girls, helping to shape interventions which will bring further benefits for women and girls across Scotland.

A9 dualling programme

Ahead of the main construction work, a number of social, community and educational benefits have been delivered as part of advance works contracts related to enabling works near Tomatin Distillery and archaeological investigations.

Advance Works

As part of the advance works near Tomatin Distillery the contractor delivered the following:

• One completed university placement
• Fourteen qualifications achieved by the workforce
• Four jobs advertised and filled through the local job centre
• Six contracts awarded to Small to Medium Enterprises to the combined value of £500,000
• One supply contract awarded to Social Enterprises to the value of £8000.

The project also delivered a number of community engagement activities to benefit the local area including a community enhancement project for the Strathdearn Community Development Trust, which included fencing, installation of a culvert and drainage works to assist with a local community housing project, meetings with the local community council to provide regular contact and updates on the project. In addition, felled timber was donated to a local firewood business, excavated tree stumps were donated to a local sawmill and excavated peat was donated to a local mushroom farm.

Archaeological Investigation

Through our contract for archaeological investigation works our contractor delivered the following:

• Educational outreach engagement sessions with four local schools between December 2022 and February 2023.
• Engagement with over one hundred pupils in both primary and secondary grades
• Three educational archaeology videos covering the three key phases of archaeology including desk study, intrusive and non-intrusive investigation, and post-excavation reporting.

The outreach engagement sessions provided an introduction to archaeology, focusing on all of the key time periods in Scottish archaeology including practical demonstrations and activities such as artefact handling, ecofact handling, crop mark making and Pictish stone symbol painting, which were well received by the local pupils.

Lynebeg ecological pond

We have also funded a package of advance works undertaken on our behalf by Network Rail to deliver a replacement rail bridge at Lynebeg. As part of these works, a replacement ecological pond was constructed to help protect the habitat that supports a rare sub-species of the caddisfly to enable its future translocation to the new pond.

The works also included landscaping works such as wetland planting to further benefit the wider ecology in the area. Work finished in June 2022 and the habitat has time to establish before existing pond vegetation and features will be translocated.

Academy9

We continue to deliver the award-winning, Academy9 educational initiative. In addition to promoting learning in relation to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects in schools, the programme increases pupils' awareness of civil engineering-related careers. Academy9 has this year continued its events with over two hundred pupil and thirty teacher engagements, bringing the total to date to over 7,300 pupil and 890 teacher engagements along the length of the A9.

We continued to deliver an educational programme during the Covid-19 pandemic by digitising some of our core events, where appropriate and practicable, and creating some new online events, both further aligning with the Scottish Government's digital e-learning and teaching strategy. As a result, we now offer a more flexible delivery programme.

Now that schools and their teachers and senior management teams throughout the A9 dualling corridor have returned to a stabilised curriculum, the Academy9 team are delighted to be back in schools delivering a full programme of events and activities in the current academic year.

Academy9's 'Sustainable Solutions – Roads of the Future Challenge – a challenge' event (for primary and secondary pupils) is based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Following a successful event during COP 26 in November 2021, involving schools from the A9 dualling corridor Glasgow and Birmingham, another event was held at the end of May 2023.

Demonstrating that Academy9 is an award-winning initiative, we have been shortlisted in the 'Best Practice – Knowledge Sharing' category at the CIEEM (Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management) Awards 2023 which are to be held in Birmingham in June 2023.

A92/A96 Haudagain improvement

The project has provided 145 community engagement activities, 16 work placements for school pupils, college and university students and employment opportunities for 7 apprentices and 5 graduates. The project continued to provide community benefits through into Spring 2022, with active travel interactive events with local schools.

A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton and A9/A82 Longman junction improvement schemes

As part of the delivery of the A9/A82 Longman Junction Improvement and A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton schemes, Transport Scotland and their consultant, Jacobs, have engaged with several schools and local organisations to provide educational support, supply equipment and to facilitate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) related activities. Engagement has been carried out with a significant number of schools within Inverness and the surrounding areas which has been well received by pupils and teachers alike. In addition to direct engagement with schools, the projects have also facilitated engagement at events or with local organisations, such as the Inverness Science Festival, the Highland Celebration of Engineering, the Highland Home Education Group, a Beaver colony, pre-schools, after school clubs and career fairs.

Sustainable procurement

We continue to undertake our procurement activity in a sustainable manner by ensuring that each project procurement strategy considers sustainability and utilises collaborative contracts where appropriate. As well as including fair work and carbon requirements in our procurements, we remain at the forefront of implementing community benefits into our contracts and promoting our procurements to provide opportunities for SMEs and Supported Businesses. Details of our procurement spend figures will be published in Transport Scotland's Annual Procurement Report later in 2023.

Ferry services

CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) engage regularly with relevant stakeholders and in the market when procuring services so that community benefits reflect relevant community needs across their business. For example, this includes targeted employment and training such as modern apprenticeships and seafarer training; education support initiatives such as placements and school visits; enabling SMEs, third sector and supported businesses to compete for business as contractors or sub-contractors and other community initiatives. They also have a successful community fund to support local causes.

Serco Northlink Ferries (SNF) endeavour where possible to ensure the supply chain is within a 50-mile radius of ports or are island based to allow Serco to support the island economies and mainland communities in which they operate. SNF also sponsor Shetland Junior Football Association for the next two years, and both are working together on designs for the home and away strips.

Onboard SNF promotes products made by the social enterprise COPE Ltd through their brand Shetland Soap, which enables those with learning or physical disabilities to gain employment in Shetland. They also promote food lines that have been produced in Shetland, Orkney, and Caithness. The team work closely with the island craft associations and host 'Meet the Buyer' days on a regular basis.

Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited provide a range of community benefits through provision and maintenance of infrastructure, including the use of locally based contractors and subcontractors. They also have a community fund and are involved in supporting local causes.