Stagecoach, the UK's largest bus and coach operator, has ranked higher than any other in the Road Transport group globally in the latest external assessment of company performance on addressing climate change.

The operator, which runs services across Gloucestershire, achieved an 'A-' rating from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), significantly above the average for the road transport sector, which was classed as 'D'.

The A- rating is an improvement on last year's 'B' rating and places Stagecoach in the leadership band, and the top 6% of businesses participating in the Road Transport group.

CDP is an independent not-for-profit organisation running the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts.

An 'A-' score is given by CDP to those organisations who are implementing best practice on climate issues.

Investment being made by Stagecoach as part of the sustainability strategy, including in cleaner technologies, is planned to cut the company's annual emissions by 351,945 tCO2e by 2035, equivalent to the total annual pre-pandemic emissions produced by around 66,000 UK households.

The CDP assessment builds on recent recognition for Stagecoach's transparency in financial reporting. As a large company owned by private equity, Stagecoach is covered by the Walker Guidelines for transparency in reporting.

A recent assessment by the Private Equity Reporting Group praised Stagecoach for providing an excellent level of disclosure, the only excellent rating out of 25 portfolio companies assessed.

Sharon Vye-Parminter, health, safety and environment director for Stagecoach, said: "We're thrilled to be awarded an 'A-' rating by the Carbon Disclosure Project this year. It recognises a lot of hard work and investment across our business to improve our environmental performance.

"This year we have broadened the scope of our work to include water security, achieving a "C", which is in line with the Road Transport, European and Global averages. We are committed to make further progress in becoming more efficient in our resource use.

"Our progress in delivering our ambitious sustainability strategy will help to ensure that public transport continues to play a vital role in helping the country to achieve its environmental objectives."

The roadmap to becoming a net-zero business will see Stagecoach continuing with investment in new zero-emissions fleets, such as electric buses, and other green technologies over the next 15 years, with key environmental targets including:

• Continuing to purchase only 100% renewable energy for Stagecoach buildings and fleet
• Aligning energy management systems with the international standard ISO50001 by 2027
• 95% of waste diverted from landfill by 2026 and 98% by 2031
• Reducing resource use by further digitalising systems
• Progressing a climate adaptation programme to risk assess and protect facilities

Stagecoach also recently became the first UK bus and coach operator to sign up to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

The UNGC is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative with a mission to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take action that advance societal goals.