New green resolution for Tube Lines

Tube Lines takes carbon footprint measurement to new level and commits to carbon reduction in 2008.

Tube Lines announces that it has completed a carbon footprint study and has made a commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions by 5,000 tonnes by the end of 2008 - the equivalent of an individual travelling end to end on the Piccadilly line 1.1 million times.

The study, carried out in partnership with the Carbon Trust by AEA Energy and Environment, is the first to have been completed by any organisation working on the London Underground.

This carbon footprint study, which began back in November 2006, has helped Tube Lines establish that its activities generate 78,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Although not directly responsible for power, Tube Lines can also influence a reduction of London Underground's traction and station power requirements on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines which comes to a sizeable 205,000 tonnes of CO2.

As part of the study, Tube Lines identified a wide range of potential improvements, of which 22 are being implemented in 2008 to support the targeted reduction of 5,000 tonnes of CO2.

These include rolling out a more efficient driving programme for its road fleet, which has the potential to save 318 tonnes of CO2 each year, and by re-profiling the Piccadilly line train wheels in depots instead of sending them away, saving 33 tonnes of CO2.

Tube Lines' approach to assessing its carbon footprint is considered by the Carbon Trust to be leading in its industry, with many organisations still focusing their calculations on the carbon emissions under the direct control of the business, such as energy used in office buildings.

Tube Lines has gone beyond this measure by calculating the carbon content of its day-to-day activities in maintaining and upgrading the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Every time Tube Lines upgrades a station or replaces a section of track the works themselves have a carbon impact, as does the new equipment installed.

Tube Lines therefore set out to calculate the embedded carbon associated with its activity, from refurbishing an escalator and upgrading a station to maintaining and cleaning the fleets of trains for its three lines.

This has helped generate a more complete footprint and enable Tube Lines to get a better understanding of its true carbon impact.

Tube Lines has gone beyond just calculating its carbon footprint and implemented a number of carbon-saving initiatives that have seen a reduction of 1,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions since 2003.

These energy-saving initiatives include paper recycling at terminus stations and reducing electricity consumption at its head office, which saves enough CO2 to fill nearly 1,200 Jubilee line trains.

Passengers are also benefiting from Tube Lines' green initiatives; by reducing the time it takes to refurbish an escalator from 26 to an average of 14 weeks - with some being completed in a record 8 weeks - Tube Lines not only saves 194 tonnes of CO2 per year through reduced fuel usage associated with transporting people and materials to site but passengers get to benefit from upgraded, more reliable escalators being returned to service sooner.

Shane McEntee, environment adviser at Tube Lines says: "On its own, Tube Lines is not a big carbon polluter but we are part of a wider London transport network which altogether generates 22% of the total London CO2 emissions so we have to play our part in reducing our carbon footprint.

"This year we are committed to rolling out carbon saving schemes that will reduce our CO2 emissions by 5,000 tonnes.

That is not an easy target to reach by any means but thankfully employees across the business, most of whom don't have specific environmental responsibilities as part of their job, have already come up with solutions that I am confident will help us meet that objective".

Commenting on Tube Lines' carbon footprint study Hugh Jones, Solutions Director at the Carbon Trust says: "Tube Lines has made good progress in reducing its carbon emissions and by working with the Carbon Trust is steadily achieving its 2008 target.

Encouragingly Tube Lines has not only addressed its corporate and operational emissions, but through the development of a carbon assessment benchmarking tool is able to understand the impact of all future London Underground maintenance and upgrades.

The company's determination to go beyond its direct activities and understand its wider scope of influence demonstrates its commitment to the environment.".

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