Reading Buses has been longlisted for a sustainable energy enterprise award against a respected and impressive number of national rivals.
For the UK section of the Ashden Awards, Reading Buses is longlisted with 16 out of 41 applications received by the registered charity that champions and supports leaders in sustainable energy to accelerate the transition to a low carbon world.
The Reading Buses longlisting, in the category ‘Sustainable transport in towns and cities,’ recognises its innovative ways to reduce pollution in its urban area by making transport more sustainable whilst, at the same time, providing social and economic benefits to local residents and businesses.
The Ashden Awards were set up 16 years’ ago to champion trailblazing sustainable energy enterprises and programmes that improve people’s lives and tackle climate change.
Collectively, Ashden Award winners have improved the lives of some 79 million people, saving more than 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.
In 2015 Reading Buses received an Ashden Awards runner-up grant of £2,000 which part funded installation of rainwater harvesting at the Great Knollys Street depot.
Said John Bickerton, Reading Buses Head of Engineering: “We are passionate about our customers and keeping Reading moving. We have continually invested and innovated with buses including 45 bio-methane buses, 31 electric hybrids and 30 Euro 6 diesel.
“The gas we buy for our buses is carbon neutral and sustainably sourced. We are also trialling new bus engine technology to further reduce our emissions.
“But it is not just our buses. Our all-encompassing ‘planet Reading’ environment and sustainability strategy helps set us apart from other bus companies.
“We live and breathe our environmental credentials which also include solar panels on the roof of our Great Knollys Street depot as well as our cycle to work scheme, employee travel clubs and recycling.
“A recent world record has helped raise the profile of bio-methane buses as well as challenging perceptions of bus travel. We are changing Reading for the better by increasing the number of people using buses by over 11% in the last 12 months.”
The judges will be meeting soon to select the shortlist which will be announced in March. The winners will be crowned on June 15 at the Royal Geographical Society in central London where there is prize money of £10,000 per award.
Said Martijn Gilbert, Reading Buses Chief Executive Officer: “We are honoured to be longlisted again alongside such an august group of environmental pioneers.
“We have an on-going commitment to minimising the environmental impact of our operations and maximising the sustainability benefits of good public transport.
“This unrelenting focus sees continued development and adoption of the latest approaches, including more recently rainwater harvesting and further expansion of our carbon neutral bio-methane gas bus fleet.”
