More than ever before, consumers are demanding that companies don’t just talk about delivering on their responsibilities, writes Warrick Dent, Director of Safety and Operations at LNER.
They want organisations to demonstrate the changes they are making which will benefit people, communities and the environment.
At LNER, we understand our relationship with the people and the places we connect along the East Coast Main Line.
So, we’ve launched A Better Journey, an ambitious programme focused on delivering positive and sustainable change across the business to benefit the people and places we serve, as well as our planet.
Planet
Rail is set to play a pivotal role in the UK’s net-zero transition and at LNER, we’ve made huge inroads in reducing our environmental impact.
Even though more people are travelling on our trains than ever before, we’ve cut carbon emissions by 50 per cent since 2018, achieving 8 per cent of this from 2022 to 2023 alone.
We have recently announced an order for 10 new tri-mode trains which will operate in electric, battery and diesel mode, significantly reducing emissions even further.
We’ve started on plans to make two LNER stations carbon neutral by 2025 and have pledged to achieve net zero by 2045; five years before the Department for Transport’s 2050 target.
People
Doing the right thing by our customers and colleagues carries just as much weight for us as delivering on our environmental priorities.
Fostering an inclusive and diverse culture that reflects the communities we serve, providing the right health and wellbeing support to colleagues, and enabling everyone across LNER to succeed are at the core of A Better Journey.
We’re proud to have made an unwavering commitment to make rail accessible to all.
Our Passenger Assist service can now be arranged two hours before travel, instead of a day.
We’ve improved access to information for visually impaired customers by installing updated braille station maps and tactile handrails and we’re the first train company in the UK to test British Sign Language on our departure screens in Doncaster station.
If successful, we will look to integrate BSL into further screens across the network.
Places
Supporting and investing in our communities along the route is important to us.
We understand the role we play and the impact we have, whether that’s providing reliable connections that naturally create value and prosperity, making game-changing investments in network and station infrastructure or supporting our communities.
In the last year alone our approach to procurement unlocked over £23 million of social and local economic value.
Our onboard food and drink are sourced from suppliers along our route.
We have welcomed more than 200 students to our dedicated educational and skills programmes for young people.
Our Customer and Community Investment Fund (CCIF) has directly supported more than 130 charities over the past five years, and we continue to work with our partners at CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) to promote mental wellbeing.
Since the partnership began, customers and colleagues have raised more than £530,000 for CALM.
Through A Better Journey, we pledge to continue to make a positive impact and our hard work will continue through 2024.
Find out more
LNER is on a mission to transform rail travel. For further information, see A Better Journey | LNER
