Annual Report 2024

63 2024 Annual Report Transport International Holdings Limited Green Finance In 2024, the Group executed its first placement of sustainable deposits while maintaining available green loan and sustainability-linked loan facilities totalling HK$3,800 million. This amount represents over 50% of our overall available loan facilities, highlighting our commitment to advancing Hong Kong’s path towards achieving zero emissions through effective green finance. We have established key sustainability performance targets aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our buses, increasing green procurement practices, and enhancing average training hours for employees. Moving forward, TIH Group will continue to identify suitable financing solutions that will drive Hong Kong’s transportation industry into a new era of sustainability. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction KMB and LWB strive to explore renewable energy and zero-emission technologies, demonstrating our determination to introduce green public transport in Hong Kong. Highlighting the significance of the Government’s policy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, KMB and LWB have rolled out an electrification roadmap. In the long run, KMB aims to deploy new energy buses in its entire fleet to help transform Hong Kong into a green city. Environmental Bus Fleet We invest in eco-friendly buses that meet the strict exhaust emission standards of the European Council of Environmental Ministers to create a better environment and minimise climate-related impacts. At the end of 2024, the KMB fleet comprised 855 Euro VI buses (including three Euro VI diesel-electric hybrid buses), 2,922 Euro V buses, and 70 battery-electric buses. The LWB fleet consisted of 158 Euro VI buses, 116 Euro V buses and four battery-electric buses, while the Sun Bus fleet comprised 184 Euro VI buses and 174 Euro V buses. The new electric double-deckers are zero-emission buses that meet the latest KMB standards. They are equipped with solar panel systems, provide free 5G Wi-Fi internet connection services and include an upper-deck occupancy monitoring system. The majority of these buses have been deployed on routes that pass through busy corridors to improve roadside air quality in high-traffic areas. As of the end of 2024, this largest new energy bus fleet in Hong Kong, comprising 74 battery-powered electric buses and three diesel-electric hybrid buses, has traversed a cumulative distance of five million kilometres, reducing carbon emissions by 8,000 tonnes, equivalent to the yearly emissions of over 1,700 individuals. We have been replacing older bus models with the latest and more energy-efficient ones to enhance the longevity and environmental performance of our bus fleet, working toward zero emissions. The KMB bus fleet has an average age of 8.3 years, while LWB bus fleet is 5.2 years and the Sun Bus fleet is 6.6 years. Other environmental facilities within KMB and LWB’s bus fleets, depots and other premises: KMB has installed heat insulation boards on the roofs of about 70 operation kiosks at open-air bus termini, helping to minimise solar heat absorption, thereby reducing the workload of air-conditioners and promoting energy saving; The scheme to retrofit our bus fleet with lower-powered LED strips, aimed at creating a softer and more comfortable travel environment for passengers compared to the previous LED lighting, has been successfully completed and is now a standard feature on newly purchased buses. This initiative contributes to an annual reduction of 5,600 tonnes of carbon emissions from buses. The old LED light strips are dismantled and repurposed for lighting at bus depots and bus stops, producing no additional waste during the retrofitting process; KMB, LWB and Sun Bus diesel buses use near-zero sulphur diesel, upgrade older buses by retrofitting exhaust treatment devices such as diesel oxidation catalysts, diesel particulate filters, and selective catalytic reduction units; and KMB, LWB and Sun Bus have introduced electric patrol cars as backup support and set up electricity-recharging facilities at their main depots.