Public transport companies don’t live in a void. They interact constantly with other parties such as local governments, suppliers, maintenance operators, knowledge centres, universities and clients. They also have to take into account policies and regulations. The partners want to make sure that all stakeholders have created the best possible frameworks for their energy related actions, strategies and investments to thrive in.

To achieve this, the partners need to better understand the contexts so they can work together with the concerned stakeholders in:

• local and regional governance
• the market related context
• policy and regulation.

Local and regional governance
In order to find efficient solutions for possible lose-lose situations, the partners and their local and regional authorities will look into questions such as: ‘How do the partners interact with their local and regional authorities?’ ‘How do the decisions of those authorities reinforce or slow down the energy related actions of the partners?’

Market-related context
The partners will review economic situations with an impact on their CO₂ emissions. In the first place they will influence their own suppliers to act more CO₂ conscious. In addition, they will urge their governments to take into account CO₂ reductions before contracting partners thus stimulating them to ‘think green’. Furthermore, the five partners could promote as ‘third investors’ economic actors whose core business contributes to CO₂ reduction. These ‘investors’ can finance energy reductions with the gains from their spare energy.

Policy and regulation
Last but not least the five partners will come up with realistic proposals for laws and regulations on energy – local, national and European – to overcome obstacles to the CO₂ reductions in urban transport. To achieve this, the partners will develop their knowledge of the regulative context of CO₂. First they will identify obstacles to CO₂ reductions in the current structures. Once identified, they will make recommendations to relevant policy makers, particularly in energy regulation. A High Committee will be established, with testimonials that support the project and its visibility.

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