Laboratori General d'Assaigs i Investigacions (LGAI) (General Testing and Research Laboratory) awarded the ISO 14001 diploma to TMB. This certificate is the culmination of a process that started in 1996 both on Barcelona's metro and buses, concerning our companies' short, medium and long term actions regarding the environment.

Thus acknowledging our responsibility towards the environment as a services company, we have sought the best way to reduce and minimise the negative effects of the bus business in their public roadway activities. The aim was not just to comply with legal demands but also to go beyond mere strict compliance.

What have we done?

In the second half of 1995 and throughout 1996 two TMB buses running on natural gas began to operate in Barcelona. The experience was aimed at proving that this form of fuel was viable for use in public-transport vehicles. The results of the test confirmed that contaminating emissions and noise level were reduced regarding buses using gas oil.

The main goal was to obtain practical results on the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel for public buses and, more specifically, to analyse whether its use in public transport represented, in practice, a rational use of energy and reduced the level of contaminating elements sent into the atmosphere. We also wanted to develop our technical know-how to be able to introduce the widespread use of natural gas in our urban vehicle fleets.

What is ISO 14001?

ISO 14001 is an international system for environmental control. It comprises business practices with ecological aims with the object of controlling the impact on the environment and, at the same time, it aims to promote productivity and reduce waste.

The ISO 14001 series is a voluntary set of standards aimed at encouraging organisations to be systematically concerned about the environmental repercussions of their activities. The standards were drawn up by the ISO at the plenary meeting of the TC 207 committee which is entrusted with developing a common standpoint on internationally recognised environmental management systems.

ISO 14001 was adopted in 1996 as an international standard in drawing up environmental management systems.