In 2013, the Oxford Bus Company became the first Oxfordshire business to develop a community-benefit renewables project with the Low Carbon Hub; a commitment that led to them being commended by the Prime Minister. 

The company prides itself on delivering a low emission and low carbon service: 43% of the company’s fleet is electric-hybrid, the highest percentage of electric in a bus fleet in the UK, and they had a public commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 3% each year in line with Oxford City’s targets.

As part of their sustainability plan, Oxford Bus Company was interested in installing solar PV on their depot roof to reduce carbon emissions. However, the upfront cost and a 10-year payback period would have required taking a bus off the road to fund the project.

Low Carbon Hub offered an innovative solution: 

• Oxford Bus Company leased its roof space to Low Carbon Hub.
• Low Carbon Hub covered the costs of installation and maintenance for the 20–25-year project term.
• Low Carbon Hub retained ownership of the solar panels, the electricity generated, and feed-in tariff revenue.
• Oxford Bus Company purchased the electricity at a discounted rate, with any surplus sold to the grid.

Put simply, the Hub was offering the Oxford Bus Company Solar PV for free. At 140kW, the solar PV installation on Oxford Bus Company’s depot roof was, at the time of installation, the biggest solar PV scheme in Oxford. In its first year, the project generated £12,000 in community benefit funds.

Low Carbon Hub contributed this £12K of community benefit funds to a project called Warming Barton, which we developed in partnership with Oxford City Council. Barton is classified as an area of multiple deprivation. It is in the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. Large parts of the estate consist of post-World War II steel frame pre-fabricated houses with very poor wall insulation, which leads to high fuel bills, poorly heated properties, and an adverse impact on residents’ health and well being.

Through Warming Barton, Energy Performance Assessments were carried out which identified the potential for external wall insulation to save each assessed home an average of £450 on their energy bills. Low Carbon Hub contributed this first community benefit donation from the Oxford Bus Company to this project.

Before Low Carbon Hub and Oxford Bus Company created it, the legal template for a social enterprise to lease a commercial roof from a business for 25 years didn’t exist. These legal templates are now available for any future business that would like to enter into a similar partnership with Low Carbon Hub.

Oxford Bus Company was keen for other businesses to follow their lead. Through talks, site visits and the sharing of lessons learned, tools and templates, the bus company has proactively recruited more businesses for this ground-breaking partnership model.

It isn’t just about our buses, it’s about how we run our whole business. The Low Carbon Hub project was attractive to us because it had the right investment profile and a great payback to the community.

LUKE MARION

Finance Director, Oxford Bus Company

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