Interview: Iain Peacock, environmental manager at First TransPennine Express

Iain Peacock is the environmental manager at First TransPennine Express (FTPE), the intercity rail operator connecting major cities across the North and into Scotland, so who better to speak to about the passenger franchise’s efforts to become a greener organisation?

Iain’s work at FTPE involves leading and coordinating environmental projects across the business, in addition to managing the firm’s externally certificated environmental and energy management systems.

Discussing the environmental manager role, he said: “On a practical level [my work] includes monitoring buildings and traction energy use and recycling rates, looking for opportunities to do better, and engaging colleagues in improvement projects.”

“This programme has been hugely successful, and has already seen more than 530k litres of fuel saved.”

Earlier this year, FTPE embarked on a 12-month project to drastically reduce its carbon emissions. When I asked Iain about the firm’s efforts to minimise its footprint, he said the measures actually go back to its beginnings.

“We’ve been working hard across our network since our franchise began in 2004 to limit our environmental impact,” he explained, “and this year is no different.

“Our business plan outlines our environmental commitment over this financial year, with a range of areas we would like to see reduced.”

Iain added: “This year fuel consumption is a major focus, but we also have projects which encourage an increase in recycling and a reduction in energy consumption across the network.”

But what are these projects, and what do they involve? When I quizzed Iain, he said 2015 has seen FTPE place a major focus on slashing the fuel used by its trains through an ‘EcoDrive’ programme.

“This programme has been hugely successful,” Iain told me, “and has already seen more than 530k litres of fuel saved, which means a saving of around 1,600 tonnes of Co2.

“The programme encourages our drivers to adopt driving techniques that can reduce fuel consumption, whilst still meeting timetable requirements.”

He continued: “Our trains are our biggest source of carbon emissions, so through programmes such as ‘EcoDrive’ we’ve been able to consistently reduce the carbon footprint of the fleet.”

FTPE is also looking at the energy used at each of its stations, working to identify new ways to cut their impact.

“So far it’s looking like the best year on our books for recycling figures.”

Iain went on: “We’re currently installing LED lights at two of our stations and making improvements to lighting controls at others to improve efficiency.

“Recycling is also a major part of our environmental focus and this year we’ve increased the number of recycling bins available on our station platforms and so far we’ve seen a 9% increase in recycling across our network, compared to last year.”

He added: “So far it’s looking like the best year on our books for recycling figures.”

Given FTPE’s approach to reducing energy usage, it’s clear the firm believes changes on all levels will help make a long-term difference.

“A lot of our projects rely on a commitment from our staff to carry them out,” Iain said. “Our drivers, conductors and all our frontline staff need to keep their waste and energy use down for our projects to reach their targets.

“Sometimes we need a bit of a reminder though, so we have recruited Environment Champions across our network.

“These workers come from all aspects of our company, and work to influence and engage their colleagues in environmental improvements and look or for improvement opportunities in their work areas. These Champions will soon be expanding their skills when they undergo a training course accredited by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.”

“Our headline measure of carbon per passenger kilometre is on target to be the lowest we’ve ever achieved.”

When I asked Iain about the progress made so far, he said FTPE has already seen improvements in its recycling rate. In its mission to reduce fuel usage, the company is ahead of its target.

Speaking further, Iain said: “This means that our headline measure of carbon per passenger kilometre is on target to be the lowest we’ve ever achieved.

“Our projects are ongoing and as a company we’ll continue to look for new ways to reduce our environmental impact.

“We also have external audits each year to monitor our progress. The British Standards Institute audit our energy and environmental management systems several times a year, and the Carbon Trust assess us to verify reductions.”

All these, Iain said, are only “extra incentives”, as First TransPennine Express’ core driver is its business plan, which includes targets for improvements in environmental management.

First TransPennine Express is part of FirstGroup plc, which employs around 125k people in the UK and North America and also operates the Great Western Railway passenger franchise.

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