We aim to treat passengers fairly, value our employees highly, conduct our relationships with suppliers and subcontractors based on mutual respect, and seek to be good corporate citizens who abide by the laws of the countries in which we operate.

An important element of our philosophy is to attract more people on to our services and maximise the use of public transport to achieve environmental and social benefits for the communities we serve.

Industry involvement

Being at the heart of public transport systems, we are committed to working with our industry partners to develop a more fully integrated transportation system and to ensure quality and value by continued investment. Development of the industry depends on building partnerships between operators and policy makers to enable positive change to be made.

In October, Richard Brown, Commercial Director, was elected Chairman of the Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) which acts on behalf of the train operating companies. Since Hatfield, Richard has been guiding the rail industry through difficult times. In June 2001, David Leeder, the Group’s Director of Marketing, is to be appointed President of the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) which represents the interests of the bus and coach industry.

Working with industry partners, we actively participate in a range of organisations including:

• Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) – represents all the UK train operating companies;
• Confederation of Passenger Transport UK (CPT) – the trade association of the bus, coach and light rail industry. It acts as the sector’s main interface with local, regional, national and European governments;
• Commission for Integrated Transport (CfIT) – responsible for monitoring the Government’s progress on the ten-year transport plan;
• Transport 2000 – lobbies to improve facilities for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users;
• Union International des Transports Publics (UITP) – promotes public transport at European and international levels.

We also participate in a range of trade organisations overseas which influence, lobby or produce industry policy.

In addition, we maintain close links with a variety of passenger and consumer groups, including the Rail Passengers’ Councils, local rail user groups and the National Federation of Bus Users. This dialogue is supplemented by a variety of tracking surveys and market research programmes which are aimed at improving our understanding of passengers’ needs and priorities.

We work closely with local authorities and passenger transport executives to develop statutory local transport plans and bus strategies that can facilitate more attractive and reliable bus, coach and train services. We maintain a dialogue with local officials and politicians and have developed many joint projects that co-ordinate plans and pool funding to create the facilities that foster growth.

Environmental initiatives

As a leading international public transport group, we make a significant contribution to improving the environment by reducing congestion and associated pollution. We believe that growth in our overall business, undertaken responsibly and efficiently, will help create a sustainable future for both the business and the environment. We recognise, however, that our business operations consume resources and have a significant impact on the environment. As a result, we are committed to improving our environmental performance and minimising our overall environmental impacts as far as is reasonably practicable.

We will:

• consider the environment in all strategic business decisions at all levels across the Group;
• continually improve our service and thereby encourage the use of public transport;
• comply with all environmental legislation and, so far as is reasonably practicable, exceed the relevant environmental standards in the regions in which we operate;
• work pro-actively and determinedly to prevent polluting incidents, reduce our environmental emissions and optimise the energy efficiency of all our transport modes;
• select and measure Key Environmental Performance Indicators (KEPIs) and strive to improve our performance against these indicators, year on year. We will do this by setting ourselves annually reviewed objectives and targets for improvement against the KEPIs;
• work in partnership with our stakeholders and other organisations to implement a more sustainable transport policy and help create an integrated public transport system;
• use our influence with contractors and suppliers to encourage them to adopt environmental performance standards that accord with this policy;
• provide regular reports on our environmental performance to our stakeholders; and
• provide the necessary training, support and resources in order to ensure our staff are empowered to implement this policy.

During the year, an audit and review of environmental issues at all our main locations took place. This provides a strategy and action plan that will drive our environmental programme forward. It highlighted specific environmental impacts associated with each division. During 2001, we will disseminate our environmental policy and monitor measurable performance indicators that reflect our activities.

Subsequent phases will determine the baseline level of environmental performance and review the important environmental issues which face the Group.

Additional individual initiatives across subsidiaries continued:

• Maintrain’s maintenance depots made progress towards the achievement of ISO 14001 accreditation;
• TWM took part in Business in the Environment’s West Midlands Index of Corporate Environmental Engagement; and
• the Coach division undertook a reconstruction and modernisation programme at its major coach stations, resulting in environmental and occupational hygiene benefits for passengers and staff.

In addition, our bus and coach companies continued to improve their environmental performance by specifying modern engines and fuel-efficient systems in new vehicles. Similarly, we purchased environmentally-friendly new vehicles as part of our contribution towards Quality Partnerships, a key aspect of the Government’s strategy for integrated transport.

In Australia, National Bus Company (NBC) became involved in the Federal Government’s Greenhouse Challenge. Under this arrangement, NBC committed to making an active contribution to reducing greenhouse gases by measures such as energy conservation, the use of alternative energy and efficient resource management. As part of this initiative, a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) prototype vehicle was tested with encouraging results. A full commercial trial recently received backing from the Greenhouse Office with half the costs of conversion being met through Federal Government grants. NBC is pursuing this initiative as a real opportunity to demonstrate a commitment to the environment and to save fuel costs through LPG’s lower market price and favourable taxation treatment. Trials have been in progress for 18 months and work is continuing toward a possible operational roll-out during 2001.

When we place orders for rolling stock, particularly in Australia where our operations run through major residential areas, we aim to achieve increased energy efficiencies and to reduce noise through design and, where applicable, replacing track.

Community initiatives

We participate in community initiatives in the areas in which we operate. In addition to financial support for charities, we aim to provide transport services where practicable. For example, in the UK, TWM regularly provides transport for local community events; and in the USA, Durham continues to provide transport support for the Special Olympics, a once a year athletics competition held in 20 USA cities. Durham provides year round training programmes for children and adults with physical and/or mental disabilities. Many of Durham’s staff also give their time in support of this initiative.

Increasing crime has an impact on our operations; ScotRail, WAGN, TWM, and our Australian train, tram and bus operations have become involved in safety and crime prevention initiatives. MML has a representative who sits on the management board of Derby Youth Offending Service and is committed to taking placements of youths involved in offences against the railways, with a view to preventing repeat occurrences. Valley Lines is co-operating with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust Research to sponsor a pioneering project to examine public perceptions of safety on routes to stations. This research project, which began last September, will turn qualitative information and personal perception into quantifiable facts about personal safety.

Durham Transportation provides transport for the Special Olympics, a once a year athletics competition held in 20 USA cities.

Swanston Trams supports the Salvation Army by
promoting its brand on vehicles.