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Responsible business and the environment

HS2 trains will be powered by zero carbon energy from day one of operation, offering a cleaner alternative to long distance car journeys and domestic flights. This commitment will play a key part in supporting HS2 Ltd’s aim to make the project net zero carbon from 2035, with targets of diesel free construction sites and reducing the carbon content of steel and concrete. The target is for all sites to be diesel free by 2029.

We have a Net Zero Carbon Plan which explains the work we are undertaking and maps out the progress we will make in the years ahead.

We are also working hard to mitigate the impact that the construction phase will have on the local environment along the route. Working with local communities and environmental experts, we have developed the plans for HS2’s Green Corridor which will see 7 million trees and shrubs along Phase One of the line. There are also plans to create 30% more wildlife habitats than existed before construction began.

Read our Environmental Sustainability Progress Report

Environmental certification

In late 2017, HS2 Ltd achieved the key milestone of an ISO 14001 certificate from Lloyd’s Register of Quality Assurance (LRQA), for our plans to tackle the project’s environmental impact.  The certificate recognises our ambitions to tackle various effects of the project, including carbon emissions, air and water quality, biodiversity and waste. In addition, LRQA has recognised our efforts on pollution prevention and to develop HS2 according to the principles of sustainable design.

In February 2018, Phase One of HS2 was the first project globally to be certified under the Building Research Establishment’s BREEAM Infrastructure pilot scheme (a sustainability assessment methodology). The assessment demonstrates that we have the right policies, strategies and technical requirements in place and have integrated sustainability from the outset of the project. Our ambition is for an excellent rating for infrastructure, and we have a target for achieving an excellent rating for our stations too.

Protecting and enhancing the environment

The most effective way to cut transport carbon emissions in the UK and to improve our air quality is to invest in rail, including HS2. HS2 will help to get more people out of their cars, off domestic flights and take lorries off our congested roads.

We will offer some of the lowest carbon emissions per passenger kilometre being seven times lower than passenger cars and 17 times less than domestic air travel.

The released capacity provided by HS2 on the existing network could be used for more long-distance freight services, taking lorries off the roads. Rail freight reduces carbon emissions by 76% compared to road.

Our aim is to protect the environment wherever possible, and to do more than just mitigate in the areas where we are constructing the railway. In many places, we will leave behind richer, more diverse and better connected wildlife habitats through the Green Corridor and wildlife landscaping we are undertaking.

A £5 million woodland fund is available to people whose land is within a 25 miles zone surrounding the HS2 Phase One route who wish to create native woodlands or restore plantations on ancient woodland sites. The Forestry Commission has been managing this fund on our behalf.

By mid-2022, £1.45 million of the fund had been awarded to 34 projects. In total, these projects will provide approximately 124 hectares of new woodland and 72 hectares of restored ancient woodland. A further £1.03 million worth of applications are going through the process covering 16 projects. If they all successfully complete the process, they could deliver a further 122 hectares of new woodland, and 5.4 hectares of restoration work to ancient woodlands.

A further £2 million has made available by the Government to fund the creation of new native woodlands for Phase 2a between Crewe and the West Midlands.

Further information

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