Stagecoach has announced the appointment of its first-ever head of sustainability.
Greg Ritt joined the bus and coach operator in the newly created post this week and will help drive forward Stagecoach’s sustainability strategy.
Ritt has previously held roles at Unilever and Rothschild & Co, where he was group environment manager leading on global operations environmental management, including the development of strategy, policy, targets, and governance across 50 countries.
His experience in sustainability spans over 12 years, working in Australia, Singapore and the UK.
On joining Stagecoach, Ritt said: “I am incredibly passionate about this area and can pinpoint the lightbulb moment when I knew I needed to do more to make positive changes.
“Whilst travelling in India 20 years ago, I saw how they were burning rubber tyres as a source of heat and as I witnessed the black plumes of smoke go into our atmosphere, I saw our world in a different way and knew I wanted to make a difference.
“I can see how passionate Stagecoach is about sustainability and I am excited to join the group and help make our new sustainability plans a reality.”
Stagecoach recently launched its new long-term sustainability strategy; Driving Net Zero: Better Places to Live and Work – which sets out plans to decarbonise its business by around 70% by 2035 as well as targeting a zero emissions bus fleet across the UK by that date.
The roadmap to becoming a fully carbon neutral business will see investment in new zero-emissions fleets, such as electric buses, and other green technologies over the next 15 years. It follows a 14% reduction in carbon emissions between 2014 and 2019.
Stagecoach is continuing to invest in cleaner buses and is in the process of introducing 46 new fully electric buses in key transport networks across Scotland in Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Perth as part of the Scottish government’s Ultra Low Emission Bus Scheme.
Last summer, it launched six new electric buses serving rural communities across the west of Scotland in partnership with SP Energy Networks. Stagecoach has also made one of the biggest single investments in electric vehicles in Europe with its double-decker fleet in Manchester.
