Sustainability Key Targets and Metrics

We align our sustainability activity to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and SASB Materiality Map.

Our focus areas

Contributing to Sustainable Development Goals

We have considered how our Vision and Purpose align with the SDGs and how we can support their delivery. We have identified eight of the targets across five goals where we can contribute to the their achievement. The table below lists them, alongside the relevant Sustainability Accounting Standards Board's Materiality Map® dimensions and the associated Group metrics.

Being a responsible business

Materiality matrix

We have used the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB’s) Materiality Map®, to focus on the aspects most critical to us.

View our materiality matrix

SASB dimension Category Summary Our response
Environment
 GHG emissions Direct (Scope 1) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that a company generates through its operations. Public transport remains the best solution to cut emissions from travel. Encouraging modal shift to public transport takes more private vehicles off the roads.

Reduction on GHG emissions is one of our KPIs and a key metric of our LTIP scheme
Air quality Air quality impacts resulting from pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulphur (SOx) and particulate matter. We are committed to making public transport cleaner and greener. During 2020 we progressed our commitment to invest in zero emission vehicles, with trials in Spain, the UK and the USA.
Social capital
people
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 Access and affordability Ensure broad access to products and services, specifically in the context of underserved markets and/or population groups. Improving the accessibility and affordability of public transport is central to our business. Our services enable social mobility by providing good value travel solutions.
Quality and safety Offer products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. During 2020, in addition to our existing high safety standards, we introduced a range of new measures to manage social distancing and increase cleaning regimes.
Human capital
people
 Labour practices Minimum wage policies and provision of benefits which influence how employees are attracted, retained and motivated. We take our duties to our 48,000 employees very seriously and measure our progress frequently through employee engagement surveys.

We believe that our employees should be well rewarded for the job they do and continue to be a real Living Wage accredited employer, paying at least 10% above the national minimum wage in every market.
Employee health and safety Create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment that is free of injuries, fatalities and illness. The safety of our people is a priority. Our Driving Out Harm initiative has created a strong safety culture which is evidenced by our low level of incidents.
Governance
 Critical incident risk management Identify, understand, and prevent or minimise the occurrence of low probability, high impact accidents and emergencies. We have a strong system of controls to manage and mitigate all types of risk, including the Board’s review of Group-wide risk; the Audit Committee’s reviews of divisional risk; and the Safety & Environment Committee’s oversight of activities.
TCFD

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), was set up to define how reporting could take account of climate-related issues. The Group will incorporate the TCFD recommendations fully into reporting for 2021.

Read more
Stakeholder engagement

Our drive to be a trusted partner to all our stakeholders is rooted in our Purpose. We form relationships based on mutual understanding and respect and, by engaging meaningfully, we gain valuable insights which influence decision-making at every level of the business from the Board to local management teams. Acting on these insights helps us continuously improve what we offer to stakeholders, further reinforcing this virtuous circle.

Engaging our stakeholders