3. Environmental and social matters

Information management and data protection

We operate in line with the Scottish Government Information Governance Strategy and Records Management Plan. All information assets are recorded on the Scottish Government Information Asset Register (IAR), with Directors acting as Information Accounting Officers for their areas, supported by guidance, mandatory training, and Deputy Information Accounting Officers (IAOs).

During 2025–26, we focused on compliance and continuous improvement, including completing the annual data protection and information governance assurance exercise and delivering ongoing actions to maintain good practice, supported by advice, training, and guidance.

All data subject rights requests were completed within statutory timescales. Correspondence performance was monitored through regular reporting to the Chief Executive, Senior Management Team, and Business Managers.

Sustainability

The Environment, Climate and Sustainability Directorate 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 under the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties (PBCCD).

In 2023, 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. Since the publication of the CMP, a number of projects have taken place which support our efforts to meet net zero corporate emissions.

The Agency is directorate lead for ‘Outcome 3: Public Services and Infrastructure – Transport System’ under the third Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3) and provides statutory annual reports.

In 2023, we published our Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR), which includes an ambitious Vision for “A transport system which is well adapted and prepared for current and future impacts of climate change, is safe for all users, reliable for everyday journeys, and resilient to weather related impacts.” The ACCAR provides our current approach to adaptation and outlines strategic outcomes for Road, Rail, Aviation and Maritime transport networks, to address the key climate risks affecting Scotland’s transport system.

Progress towards achieving Net Zero Emissions by 2045

We are living in a global climate emergency where the impacts of climate change, caused by human influence, are already being felt in Scotland and across the globe. Climate Change is a primary focus of the Scottish Government, with one of the First Minister’s four priorities being ‘tackling the climate emergency’.

Scotland’s climate change legislation sets a target of net zero emissions by 2045. In response, Transport Scotland developed a Carbon Management Plan outlining how we will achieve net zero across our corporate functions. We achieved our Scope 1 target in September 2025 through upgrades at the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre (TSNCC) and relocating to 177 Bothwell Street, an energy-efficient, gas-free building. At TSNCC, installing an Air Source Heat Pump reduced emissions by 9.34 tCO₂ annually.

To address Scope 2 emissions, we have installed LED lighting, switched the back-up generator to hydrotreated vegetable oil, and are exploring solar options. Emissions have been further reduced by moving to a fully electric office powered by 2.52 GWh of certified renewable energy from Blantyre Muir Wind Farm.

Scope 3 emissions are on track to offset any residual emissions through a number of insetting tree planting schemes which have taken place over the last few years. During 2025-26, a further 5-hectare site was planted and verified under the Woodland Carbon Code.

Within the CMP we have included the scope of influence (scope i), whereby we aim to work with industry partners and stakeholders to reduce their own emissions and aid in meeting the 2045 target. In February 2026, Transport Scotland published a Net Zero Route Map which sets out a clear and evidence-based pathway to eliminate emissions from the operation, maintenance and improvement of the Trunk Road Network (TRN) by 2045. The Route Map establishes a robust emissions baseline and provides a clear, credible pathway to Net Zero. Through continued collaboration with industry partners and operating companies, we will ensure Scotland’s trunk roads remain safe, reliable, and resilient while supporting our national climate commitments.

Approach to Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience (ACCAR)

Many of the climate impacts we have been experiencing in recent years will remain ‘locked in’ for the coming decades. With the rising frequency and intensity of extreme weather events projected to escalate, it is critical that we take urgent action to prepare and protect our transportation networks from further disruption and damages. The ACCAR outlines our current approach and strategic vision for our transport system.

In October 2025, we published the Trunk Road Adaptation Plan (TRAP), which is a key sub-outcome of the ACCAR, and is a significant step in delivering urgent action to prepare and protect our road networks from further disruption and damage. The TRAP identifies where and how the trunk road network is currently affected by climate change, and how these impacts are expected to evolve using climate projections into the 2050s and 2080s.

Corporate Carbon Emissions

Significant progress has been made across all scopes, with emissions reduced by 74% from the 2015–16 baseline to the 2025–26 reporting year. Over the past year, however, total corporate emissions increased by 5.65%. This increase is primarily attributable to changes in data collection and updates to government emission factors, which have resulted in higher reported Scope 3 emissions, contributing to an overall rise in emissions during the reporting period.

In particular, increases have been observed in water, waste, commuter travel and home working emissions. The increase in water emissions reflects the application of updated government emission factors. Higher reported waste emissions are the result of improved data collection and reporting practices. The increase in commuter travel emissions is driven by a revised calculation methodology informed by the latest staff travel survey, while home working emissions have risen due to an updated approach to their calculation.

There have been significant improvements in Scope 1 gas emissions, which decreased by 75% over the past year. This is due to the removal of gas at the TSNCC and a move to a more energy efficient building. Scope 2 emissions increased slightly by 0.71%, driven by higher energy demand, particularly from Roadside Electrical Assets.

During 2026-27, we will enter the final year of the Carbon Management Plan. A programme of energy efficiency projects has been identified at the TSNCC, and we will prioritise behaviour change engagement campaigns with TS staff to support in reducing our emissions towards net zero.

Corporate Carbon Emissions 2025-26

Element	Metric	Baseline 2015-16	Actual in 2024-25	Actual in 2025-26	% change compared to previous year	% of total emissions
Total Emissions	tCO2e	22,222	5,572	5,887	5.65%	N/A
Gas	tCO2e	265	28.84	7.2	-74.49%	0.12%
Electricity	tCO2e	20,137	5,367	5,405.63	0.71%	91.82%
Water	tCO2e	3.13	0.5	1.06	111.37%	0.02%
Waste	tCO2e	2.02	0.15	10.84	7125.63%	0.18%
Business Travel	tCO2e	188	57.11	59.82	4.65%	1.02%
Commuter Travel	tCO2e	156	27.39	131.72	380.89%	2.24%
Home Working	tCO2e	N/A	90.98	271.07	197.94%	4.61%

Sustainable Procurement

Transport Scotland’s Corporate Procurement Strategy for 2025-2026, which was published in July 2025, detailed how procurement activity would support Transport Scotland in achieving our corporate objectives. Our procurement strategy for the reporting period is aligned with the Scottish Government’s Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland 2023-2028 and has a focus on implementing sustainable procurement throughout all our procurement activity. During the reporting period we spent almost £1.2 billion on our procured contracts. Details of our procurement activity including spend figures will be included in Transport Scotland’s Annual Procurement Report, to be published later in 2026.

Each of our significant procurements requires a project procurement strategy, which ensures that project managers consider supported businesses, environmental impact, fair work, community benefits, accessibility and cyber security for all our regulated procurements.

We remain at the forefront of implementing community benefits into our contracts and a wide range of community benefits are delivered though our contracting activity. These include new jobs, training, and work placement opportunities as well as engagements with the communities in which we work, such as school visits, interaction with community groups, and donations to charities. A case study detailing some of the community benefits we have provided will be included within our Annual Procurement Report.