Passenger transport’s contribution is cutting carbon emissions and saving on energy costs.
Last month, Translink achieved Platinum status in the 14th Arena Network Northern Ireland Environmental Benchmarking Survey announced by Business in the Community. This result positioned Translink as one of Northern Ireland’s leading organisations in environmental management, performance and assurance.
The passenger transport operator also holds the Carbon Trust Standard Award in recognition of on-going carbon emission reductions. This independently assessed scheme highlights which organisations are genuinely impacting on climate change. Translink has reduced its carbon emissions by 3.1 per cent over the last two years – representing some 7,037 tonnes of carbon.
Such success was achieved through a range of environmental initiatives including a ‘Go Eco’ internal energy awareness campaign for employees, recycling over 70 per cent of all company waste, half-hourly electricity metering, energy efficient lighting installation, and cleaner heating fuels such as natural gas instead of oil.
Earlier this year, Translink announced a new contract with Electric Ireland that means that the organisation’s metered electricity comes from 100 per cent renewable sources. In addition, through an ‘Invest to Save’ project, involving the installation of energy efficient lighting as a replacement for ageing lighting systems at 35 locations across the network, Translink has reduced its annual electricity bill by some £120,000.
Another significant development has been the implementation of an ‘Eco Driving’ programme for bus drivers. This initiative involves fitting monitoring equipment to Translink’s fleet of 1,400 buses and training almost 1,800 drivers.
The project encourages drivers to adopt more economical driving styles by using specialist equipment fitted to buses to monitor braking and acceleration patterns with the aim of improving overall vehicle fuel efficiency and reducing CO2 production.
It is estimated that once the initiative is up and running on the entire Translink fleet in summer 2013, Translink will see a 4.5 per cent annual saving on fuel consumption.
As Translink continues to invest in the local bus and rail network, energy efficiency remains a key priority in major construction projects. The opening of the new £27.8 million Adelaide Train Maintenance Facility in South Belfast is a good example of this approach to infrastructure.
Environmental features include a high percentage of low carbon concrete and Translink’s contractor Graham Construction also implemented a number of initiatives on site to reduce waste to landfill, through recycling and composting. This resulted in up to 99 per cent of site waste being reused or recycled each month during the build.
In addition, a grey water harvesting system collects water which is used for the train wash and roof solar panels heat the new kitchen facilities.
The ongoing construction of Antrim’s new £2.9 million integrated bus and rail centre will also include a range of environmental features such as solar panels, a natural ventilation system, grey water harvesting and a naturally insulated green roof.
By its very nature, passenger transport has a key role to play in delivering a more sustainable society. Translink is taking this responsibility a step further by ensuring its business approach also drives down overall energy consumption in Northern Ireland.
