Latest News

07 June 2010

For the sixth year in a row, the Go-Ahead Group has been listed in the top companies for corporate responsibility by Business in the Community’s (BITC’s) 2009 Corporate Responsibility Index (CRI). The CRI is the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility.

Go-Ahead has also retained its Gold Rating which it has achieved every year since the Gold Band was introduced four years ago. Achieving Gold means that Go-Ahead demonstrates openness and transparency through effective public reporting of the company’s material environmental and social issues, programmes and performance. It also recognises that Go-Ahead’s corporate responsibility strategy is articulated effectively and includes clear and measurable targets.

Go-Ahead’s Group Chief Executive Keith Ludeman said: “I am once again delighted that the Group continues to perform extremely well in the Corporate Responsibility Index. Corporate responsibility remains a central feature of Go-Ahead’s philosophy and reflects our focus on the communities and stakeholders we serve, our commitment to minimising our impact on the environment and to being a responsible employer and operator.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “I congratulate Go-Ahead on achieving Gold in the 2009 Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index. Companies participating in the Index may be at different stages of their responsible business journey, but they have all demonstrated that they take these issues seriously and are leading the field in ensuring this is just how they do business. We believe this is imperative if we are to strengthen and stabilise our businesses and economy.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact Samantha Hodder, Group Communications Director on 202 7821 3928, or email samantha.hodder@go-ahead.com

Notes to editors

Go-Ahead’s performance in the Corporate Responsibility Index has improved by more than 25 per cent since 2002 and its presence in the index puts the company in the same category as Rolls-Royce and the Co-Operative Group. The rating is based on the way Go-Ahead, through its devolved structure, manages and measures its impact on the environment, its employees’ health, safety and wellbeing, and its impact on the community.

About the CR Index

Business in the Community's CR Index is the UK’s leading voluntary benchmark of corporate responsibility (CR). It helps companies to integrate and improve CR throughout their operations by providing a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting on business impacts in society and on the environment. Since 2002, the CR Index has challenged over 350 companies to continuously improve their impact on society and the environment.  Companies that have achieved the Gold performance band tend to be able to demonstrate openness and transparency through effective public reporting of their material environmental and social issues, CR programmes and performance. They also expand and adapt their risk management processes by incorporating relevant aspects of corporate responsibility risk and opportunity, and their CR strategy is articulated in an effective manner, including clear and measurable targets.

For more information about BITC go to www.bitc.org.uk

The Go-Ahead Group plc

Go-Ahead is a leading UK public transport operator, providing high quality services in the bus and rail sectors. Employing around 25,000 people across the country, almost one billion passenger journeys are undertaken on our services each year. We are committed to operating our companies in a socially and environmentally responsible way and are proud to have been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard after taking action on climate change. In addition to the travelling public, our customers include the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and local authorities.

Bus

Go-Ahead is one of the UK's largest bus operators. With a fleet of over 3,500 buses, we carry, on average, around 1.6 million passengers every day. Our operations are focused on high density commuter markets. We have a strong presence in London, with around 21% market share, where we provide regulated services for TfL. We operate deregulated services in the North East, Oxford, the South East and Southern England. We recently expanded our bus operations with the acquisition of Plymouth CityBus in the UK, and have established a Yellow School Bus joint venture in North America.

Rail

The rail operation, Govia, is 65% owned by Go-Ahead and 35% by Keolis. It is the busiest rail operation in the UK, responsible for nearly 30% of all UK passenger rail journeys through its three rail franchises: Southern (which includes the Gatwick Express), Southeastern and London Midland. In December 2009, Southeastern began operating the UK's first high speed domestic rail service between Kent and London, significantly reducing journey times.

For further information about our rail franchises please visit our factsheets: 
http://www.go-ahead.com/goahead/aboutus/our_markets/uk_rail_market/

Aviation services

The Group also provides car parking services through Meteor, which includes the ‘Meet & Greet’ and ‘Pink Elephant’ brands and operates limited ground handling services at Terminal 1, Heathrow.

For further information visit www.go-ahead.com