Sustainability Report 2012/2013
Sustainability Report 2012/2013
Chief Executive Statement
Welcome to Transport Scotland's Sustainability Report 2012/13. We are continually seeking to reduce our own operational impact on the environment and thus reduce our operational carbon footprint. We have now embedded our Carbon Management Plan and associated Sustainability Reporting as key tasks within our annual business plan.
Over 2012/13 we have seen a small increase of 1% in our operational carbon emissions, due largely to an increase in our building gas consumption resulting from a particularly harsh winter and an unusual grid factor correction. However, we have reduced our carbon emissions from our building electricity consumption use, business travel and commute travel in comparison to 2011/12. I believe that our low carbon behaviours are moving in a positive direction and remain on track to achieve the 16% reduction target by end 2015/16.
Our Green Network of staff volunteers have led the refresh of our Carbon Management Plan (CMP) under the auspice of the Carbon Trusts carbon management revisited programme. We recently published our new CMP v.2, which offers a revised operational carbon target and baseline along with associated projects to support our operational carbon reduction ambitions. During this refresh, we also took the opportunity to alter our CMP and Sustainability Report format from calendar to financial years in line with Scottish Government guidance.
| Element | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12[1] | Actual in 2012/13[1] | FTE Actual in (2011/12) and 2012/13[2] | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator | Finance[3] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Emissions | Transport Scotland | kg/ CO2e | 1,362,024 | 1,267,306 | 1,285,896 | (3136) 3465 | + 1% |  |
- |
| Energy (Scope 1&2 GHG emissions) | Electricity | kg/ CO2e | 522,604 | 482,202 | 475,136 | (1060) 1280 | - 1% |  |
£186,467.68 |
| Gas | kg/ CO2e | 292,766 | 240,489 | 284,294 | (595) 766 | + 15% | |
||
| Travel (Scope 3 GHG emissions) | Business Travel | kg/ CO2e | 186,457 | 165,145 | 152,052 | (409) 409 | - 8% | |
£267,156.73 |
| Commute Travel[4] | kg/ CO2e | 359,100 | 377,154 | 372,009 | (933) 1002 | - 1% | |
- | |
| Waste | Waste | kg/ CO2e | 1,097 | 2,316 | 2,405 | (6) 6 | + 4% | |
£21,450 |
Introduction
As an agency of the Scottish Government, we produced our first Sustainability Report for the calendar year 2011 in February 2013 in accordance with the Scottish Government guidance and in alignment with our first Carbon Management Plan (CMP).
Following participation in the Carbon Trusts carbon management revisited programme between October 2012 and March 2013, we adjusted our baseline and committed to an absolute reduction of our operational carbon footprint by 16% by the end of 2015/16 from a baseline of 1,363 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) in 2010/11. An operational emission figure of 2.83 tCO2e per full-time equivalent staff will also be targeted for 2015/16. The revision and publication of our CMP v2 acts as a clear statement of intent concerning our operational emissions and offers a structured route-map for future action on climate change mitigation associated with our business travel, commuter travel, office energy consumption and office waste.
This Sustainability Report offers a snap shot of our performance based on a revised financial year baseline. As such the data presented in this report is not readily comparable to Sustainability Report 2011. Notable differences between the first and second Sustainability Report are:
- We have added a Total Emissions row for Transport Scotland in the performance summary.
- Energy use now covers our three main offices, namely Buchanan House, Victoria Quay and Atlantic Quay.
- We are reporting on a financial year rather than a calendar year.
- Commute data for 2012/13 is based on sampled data from the last financial year, whereas sustainability report 2011 is based on data from 2008.
- Grey fleet is now captured within the hire car section of the business travel table.
| Energy | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12 | Actual in 2012/13 | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electricity (BH) | kWh | 606,814 | 579,543 | 602,982 | + 4% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 315,768 | 301,577 | 313,774 | |||
| Electricity (VQ) | kWh | 128,864 | 121,163 | 130,728 | + 8% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 67,057 | 63,050 | 68,027 | |||
| Electricity (AQ Traffic Control centre) | kWh | 268,615 | 225,945 | 179,363 | - 20% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 139,779 | 117,575 | 93,335 | |||
| Gas (BH)[5] | kWh | 1,195,269 | 976,757 | 1,190,750 | + 21% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 221,376 | 180,905 | 220,539 | |||
| Gas (VQ) | kWh | 170,179 | 148,170 | 176,937 | + 19% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 31,519 | 27,443 | 32,771 | |||
| Electricity (AQ Traffic Control centre) | kWh | 215,276 | 173,537 | 167,290 | - 3% | |
| kg/ CO2e | 39,871 | 32,141 | 30,984 |
Targets and Commentary
CMP v2 has set a target to reduce both gas and electricity emissions from our offices by 6.1% from the 2010/11 baseline by the end of the financial year 2015/16. In terms of calculating emissions from energy in the CMP we incorporate (i) specific growth variables that any organisation would be expected to encounter and (ii) grid factor forecast corrections over time.
Performance in the Reported Year - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2012/13
During 2012/13 we witnessed an increase in carbon emissions from building energy (at Buchanan House specifically). Gas increased by 21% and Electricity by 4%. Two reasons may explain this increase. Firstly an extended cold winter period from October 2012 to March 2013 saw an average decrease of 1.9 degrees centigrade compared to the same time period in the previous year (based on MET office data).
The Business as Usual (BAU) predictions for carbon emissions outlined in CMP v2 utilises a 'pessimistic' scenario to calculate the "grid emission factor". This scenario suggests that the UK grid mix will lead to a gradual reduction in kg CO2e per kWh from electricity over time. In theory, this means that if Transport Scotland were to do nothing to reduce electricity consumption from our operations, and our consumption remained the same, our electricity-based carbon emissions would still reduce due to the reduction in the grid factor.
Secondly, an unusual increase in the grid emission factor occurred. Nevertheless, energy emissions for Buchanan House in 2012/13 are still below the baseline. The most significant change that we implemented was a standardisation of the office temperature, based on a thermal comfort guidance note. The average temperature in Buchanan House was set at 21 degrees centigrade, with an upper set point of 24.5 degrees centigrade.
Forward Plans - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2013/14
A number of projects have been identified in the CMP v2 to reduce office energy emissions particularly in Buchannan House. These may include the ability to switch off open plan area lights in Buchanan House (manual switches or PIR covers), replacing down lighters with LEDs, removing the thermostats in Buchanan House stairwell radiators and enabling all computer and printer equipment to be switched off at night rather than just onto standby.
It is worth noting that the new traffic control centre at South Queensferry has been designed with energy efficiency in mind, which contributed to its BREEAM Excellent rating. Victoria Quay energy emission reduction will be driven by the new Scottish Government CMP.
| Business Travel | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12 | Actual in 2012/13 | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business travel overall (Scope 3 GHG emissions) | kg/ CO2e | 186,457 | 165,145 | 152,052 | -8% | |
| Km | 1,813,043 | 1,486,056 | 1,489,603 | |||
| Km per FTE | 4,488 | 3,606 | 4,015 | |||
| Rail | kg/ CO2e | 65,722 | 48,307 | 55,258 | +14% | |
| Km | 1,129,367 | 830,307 | 989,785 | |||
| Km per FTE | 2,795 | 2,015 | 2,667 | |||
| Underground | kg/ CO2e | 75 | 195 | 75 | -61% | |
| Km | 1,050 | 2,717 | 1,049 | |||
| Km per FTE | 3 | 7 | 3 | |||
| Air | kg/ CO2e | 37,027 | 22,222 | 13,528 | -39% | |
| Km | 260,594 | 166,825 | 117,730 | |||
| Km per FTE | 645 | 405 | 317 | |||
| Hire Car | kg/ CO2e | 77,402 | 88,048 | 76,342 | -13% | |
| Km | 303,205 | 447,339 | 374,769 | |||
| Km per FTE | 751 | 1,086 | 1,010 | |||
| Taxi | kg/ CO2e | 3,689 | 4,065 | 3,201 | -21% | |
| Km | 15,655 | 17,282 | 13,585 | |||
| Km per FTE | 39 | 42 | 37 | |||
| Ferry | kg/ CO2e | 5 | 24 | 3 | -87% | |
| Km | 234 | 1,222 | 132 | |||
| Km per FTE | 1 | 3 | 0.4 | |||
| Bus | kg/ CO2e | 2,538 | 2,283 | 3,644 | +59% | |
| Km | 22,699 | 20,395 | 32,553 | |||
| Km per FTE | 56 | 49 | 88 | |||
| Commute Travel | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12 | Actual in 2012/13 | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator |
| Commute travel (Scope 3 GHG emissions) | kg/ CO2e | 359,100 | 377,154 | 372,009 | -1% | |
| Km | 4,073,545 | 3,284,402 | 3,444,356 |
Targets and Commentary
The CMP v2 set a target to reduce business travel by 19.4% from the 2010/11 baseline by the end of the financial year 2015/16. The target was reviewed during the CMP revisited programme and has been generated as a result of our improved data collection methods.
Commute data (e.g. the travel-to-work) was collected during the financial year 2012/13 via an online Questback survey with a response rate of nearly 80%. The data shown above in italics are estimates based on our average total headcount for the year, with the baseline figure extracted from our staff travel survey in 2008 and the 2011/12 figure being calculated using the headcount from 2011/12 but reliant on the data point distributions from 2012/13. All of the above italicised figures are representative of the average headcount for that given financial year.
Performance in the Reported Year - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2012/13
Operational emissions from business travel have been reduced by 8% over the last financial year. Significant emission reductions were achieved for air travel, hire car, taxi, underground and ferry. However, there was an increase in emissions for rail and bus travel.
Rail travel emissions from journeys across the UK increased by 14% when compared to 2011/12 (from 48,307 kg CO2e to 55,258 kg CO2e), although the 2012/13 emissions are still below the baseline. There are two distinct components to our rail emissions which collectively represent more than half of our rail journeys. The first component is associated with our rail journeys between Edinburgh and Glasgow (E&G). During 2012/13 we reduced this journey distance total from 330,534 km to 293,591 km (19,230 kg CO2e to 17,081 kg CO2e) which represents an emissions reduction of 11% for this particular journey. Rail travel emissions from E&G to London have increased by 148%; this equates to an increase from 116,118 km in 2011/12 to 288,511 km in 2012/13 (6,756 kg CO2e to 16,786 kg CO2e).
Air travel emissions have been reduced by 39% from 22,222 kg CO2e to 13,528 kg CO2e between 2011/12 and 2012/13. The increase in public transport is offset significantly by the reduction in air travel emissions. Quite simply where business travel is necessary public transport has been preferred to air travel, with the result being a net reduction in emissions when air and rail are combined.
Underground travel emissions from the use of the London Underground has decreased by 61%.
Hire car emissions have decreased by 13% over the course of 2012/13 from 88,048 kg CO2e to 76,342 kg CO2e. The kg CO2e per kilometre travelled has decreased over this time period. Moreover, whilst the number of kilometres travelled in 2012/13 was higher than the baseline year, the emissions for 2012/13 were actually lower than the baseline year. The change in the process for hiring cars (via the Transport Scotland Car Hire Position Statement) most likely explains this significant reduction.
Taxi travel emissions have reduced by 21%, from 4,065 kg CO2e to 3,021 kg CO2e, which is in line with the reduced taxi travel across the Scottish Government.
Ferry travel emissions decreased by 87%.
Bus travel emissions have increased by 59%.
Commute travel has decreased by 1%.
Forward Plans- Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2013/14
The CMP v2 has identified a number of travel related projects with a particular focus on business travel. Following the original premise proposed by our historical travel plans, a focus on business travel during 2013/14 will be sought given our ability to directly influence such emissions.
Similar to the hire car position statement implemented during 2012/13, we will seek to develop, launch and then enforce positions statements for all modes of business travel. Whilst there will be many situations where business travel is necessary, the greenest mile is the mile not travelled. Greater use of virtual meeting technology, particularly via the adoption of web conferencing in tandem with our current use of teleconferencing and video conferencing, will collectively seek to instil a collaborative behaviour for remote working across our staff and subsequently across our supply chain.
| Waste | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12[6] | Actual in 2012/13 | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan House | kg/ CO2e | 1,097 | 2,316 | 2,405 | +4% | |
| Tonnes | 13 | 22 | 23 | |||
| Breakdown of metric data for 2012/13 | Mixed general waste in 2012/13 | Segregated paper in 2012/13 | Segregated recyclate in 2012/13 | Total | ||
| Buchanan House | Number of bags | 3,402 | 1,976 | 2,880 | 8,258 | |
| Average weight per bag (kg) | 2.11 | 3.52 | 2.92 | - | ||
| Total weight (kg) | 7,178 | 6,955 | 8,409 | 22,542 | ||
Targets and Commentary
Office waste at Buchanan House is segregated into general mixed waste, mixed recyclate, paper. Waste generated from Buchanan House has increased by 4% from the previous year
Performance in the Reported Year - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2012/13
As noted in our first Sustainability Report, data collection methods continue to improve. A small increase of 4% in kg CO2e occurred during 2012/13, which can be attributed in part to the increase in total amount of recyclate waste produced.
Forward Plans - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2013/14
Maintaining and refining our waste data collection methods will be sought. Alteration in the layout of the recycling bins in comparison to the mixed waste bins may be considered. Communicating our waste performance - based on the data used to produce this Sustainability Report - to our staff will be supported with options to reduce waste.
| Water | Metric | Baseline in 2010/11 | Actual in 2011/12 | Actual in 2012/13 | Percentage change for previous year | Indicator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchanan House | m3 | 2,801 | 2,747 | 2,552 | -7% | |
Targets and Commentary
In our first Sustainability Report we reported an estimated level of water consumption at Buchanan House using a multiplier of 6.8m3 per FTE per year (see footnote 2 for FTE calculation). Such estimates were as a result of an inability to attain measured data required to baseline the water data. The data shown above in italics are estimates for 2011/12 an 2012/13 based on our average total headcount for the corresponding years.
Forward Plans - Carbon Management Plan Actions in 2013/14
Going forward we will start to obtain receipt of water consumption data from DTZ for Buchanan House, as a result of meters being installed.
Biodiversity
Commentary
Transport Scotland continues to adhere to the relevant environmental legislation and national guidance in relation to the enhancement of the biological diversity of the trunk road estate. The agency's environmental credentials are based on the promotion and adoption of a Good Practice: Fitting Landscapes (estimated publish date, August 2013) promotes biodiversity as an integral part of all works prepared for and undertaken on the road network, whether within new scheme designs or annual maintenance programmes/activities. In this way, the natural characteristics and distinctiveness of the local environment can inform the most appropriate interventions for any location within the Scottish trunk road corridor, including aspects such as the use of native planting styles, formations and species, to the protection and enhancement of habitats for nationally protected and locally important fauna.
Sustainable Procurement
Commentary
Following on from the target stated in the 2011 Sustainability Report, all Transport Scotland staff with delegated purchasing authority have now attended the Marrakech Task Force training on Sustainable Public Procurement. Looking to the next 12 months our goals for ensuring that our procurements are undertaken in a sustainable manner will be driven by the Scottish Government's Procurement Reform Bill (currently in draft) and Review of Procurement in Construction (due to report in summer 2013). Emphasis will continued to be placed on providing greater opportunities for Small-Medium Enterprises of public contracts and the use of community benefits clauses.
Notes, lessons learnt and next steps
General
- The waste figures are for Buchanan House only, as waste data is not readily available from any other offices or construction site, however in the future we will report on the waste at the new traffic control centre.
Energy
- Only the energy finance figures for Buchanan House in Glasgow is communicated in this sustainability report.
- Gas consumption at Buchanan House is estimated from the total building energy consumption, based on the floor area occupied by Transport Scotland versus the other building tenants.
- The increase in gas use over the course of the year can be attributed to lower temperatures over the course of 2012/13. Comparing quarter 4 of 2011/12 to quarter 4 of 2012/1, there was a drop of 3 degrees in average temperature.
Business Travel
- Grey fleet data is included in the updated baseline and subsequent reporting years. This is calculated using the Transport Scotland expenses system.
Commute Travel
- Commute data was collected in 2008 and 2012 via online surveys of Transport Scotland staff. The baseline data was based on information collected for the Travel Plan 2010/13. The 2011/12 and 2012/13 figures were based on information collected in the 2012 commute travel survey, using a formula to multiply based on the average staff numbers for each of the years.
Next Steps
- Sustainability Report 2013/14 will continue to follow the Scottish Government's Sustainability Reporting Guidance.
- Sustainability Report 2013/14 will focus on the Public Bodies Climate Change Duties, ensuring that we comply with the duties place upon us.
- Sustainability Report 2013/14 will go beyond the principle issue of climate change (as identified in the Scottish Government Sustainability guidance), with particular focus on behavioural change and the learning and development of staff in sustainability.
- As an agency we will seek to expand our reporting scope to include various elements from our projects and operating companies.
Further copies of this document are available, on request, in audio and large print formats and in community languages (Urdu; Bengali; Gaelic; Hindi; Punjabi; Cantonese; Arabic; Polish).
