Green communities: York depot now Net Zero

Following the full electrification of its commercial bus fleet in York, First Bus has today (Wednesday, August 28) announced that the depot is now verified net zero-emission and amongst the first in the country to achieve this milestone.

The depot has built on the progress of its fully electric commercial bus fleet by investing in the necessary additional carbon reduction requirements to claim net zero status – among the first commercial bus depots in the UK to achieve this milestone.

Reaching this goal has meant going a step beyond eliminating fleet tailpipe emissions (First Bus’s Zero Emission Mission 2035) by accounting for other direct operational emissions associated with the site. This includes the energy used to power the depot and ancillary vehicles.

Net zero was achieved by reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 90% compared to a baseline (FY20), and residual emissions (less than 10%) have been offset through supporting Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) carbon removals projects. Carbon Footprint Ltd, a leading environmental consultancy, has reviewed and verified these net-zero claims. *

Andrew Cullen, Managing Director of First Bus North & West Yorkshire, said: “Today, we’re making history with our depot as we continue to lead in greener public transport.

“This major achievement is the result of great work by the local team and expertise from within the wider First Bus. It places the depot at the forefront of the First Bus mission to reach a zero emission UK bus fleet by 2035.”

The announcement was made at the official launch of the electrification of the depot, completed earlier this year in a £23m transformation achieved with £13m investment by First Bus and funding of £10.2m secured in partnership with City of York Council from the Department for Transport’s Zebra funding scheme.

First Bus has a total fleet of 86 all-electric buses operating at the depot.