Integrating ESG and financial reporting for FirstGroup plc

FirstGroup is a leading private sector provider of public transport, the UK’s largest rail operator and the UK’s second-largest bus operator. With nearly 30,000 employees, a fleet of over 8,000 vehicles, and revenues of £4.8bn, FirstGroup carried over 1.8 million passengers per day in the UK (FY24). It focuses on driving modal shift, investing in low and zero-emission technologies, and supporting the UK’s transition to a net-zero transport system.

With developing regulatory requirements and growing stakeholder demand for transparency in sustainability practices, FirstGroup required a robust and scalable ESG reporting framework that would align with their environmental objectives and support future growth. 

After implementing the OneStream platform for statutory and management reporting, and driver-based budgeting and planning, Concentric further enhanced the value of the platform by integrating ESG and financial reporting. We successfully delivered an ESG data model that supported collection, consolidation and reporting of Scope 1, 2 and limited Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions. 

The project laid the foundation for stronger sustainability governance and positioned FirstGroup to respond proactively to evolving ESG reporting requirements, including those set by the IFRS and CSRD standards.

The challenge

FirstGroup plc faced a number of challenges in collecting, consolidating, and reporting environmental data - particularly Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. Existing processes relied heavily on manual workarounds, making it difficult to ensure consistency, transparency, and auditability.

Inefficient data integration and submission process

The methods used to capture and manipulate source data varied significantly across the business, resulting in inconsistent practices and data quality issues. ESG data was only collected on a quarterly basis due to the effort required for cleansing, consolidation, and validation. Furthermore, it took time to audit the data behind values submitted in Train Operating Company packs, as the process lacked visibility and drill-down capability.

Data model limitations

There was no unified, group-wide data model in place. Financial data was stored in OneStream, and ESG data was stored across disparate Excel-based data repositories. Consolidation for ESG data was also performed manually, highlighting heavy reliance on Excel workbooks, which introduced the risk of human errors. ESG data also resided separately from financial data, limiting the ability to produce integrated reporting.

Reporting and analysis challenges

The absence of a single source of truth for ESG data led to inconsistent reporting methods - ranging from standalone Excel models to Power BI dashboards - creating duplication of effort and undermining confidence in the outputs. Reports were manually assembled, often pulling data from multiple disconnected sources.

Project objectives

To address these challenges, FirstGroup identified the following key objectives:

• To enable FirstGroup’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) reporting obligations, both internal and external, utilising FirstGroup’s OneStream Group Application.
• To deploy a solution that will satisfy FirstGroup’s Annual reporting requirements, carbon emissions calculations and other ESG obligations.
• To deploy the solution, given the challenges and complexities associated with this Group-wide project requirement, using a multi-phasic approach.

The solution

Given that Concentric had already implemented OneStream as the Group’s core platform for statutory and management reporting, as well as budgeting and planning, our team were well-placed to extend the platform’s capabilities to support ESG reporting. The strategic decision to build on the existing OneStream environment enabled a more integrated and efficient approach to ESG reporting, by ensuring ESG data was managed alongside financial data within a unified performance management framework.

“We selected OneStream for our ESG Reporting as we felt the system was much more capable in the area of data integration and data quality than other technologies we assessed.” – Martin Wayman, Group Director of Corporate Responsibility

To support this evolution, Concentric built a data model to enhance environmental data management, including the capture and calculation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 carbon emissions. Drawing on inhouse ESG expertise and a deep understanding of both OneStream and FirstGroup’s business model, Concentric worked closely with stakeholders to shape a tailored solution that aligned with the Group’s ESG strategy and reporting requirements.

Key elements of the solution included:

• Centralised ESG data model: A consistent, group-wide structure for the collection and consolidation of emissions data, ensuring comparability across business units and eliminating fragmented Excel-based repositories.
• Automated emissions calculations: Integration of emission factors and automated conversion logic to ensure accurate and consistent calculation of carbon emissions from raw operational data.
• System-driven data collection: Submission templates within OneStream enabled standardised and auditable data entry, improving the transparency and traceability of submissions.
• Integration with financial reporting: ESG and financial data could now be analysed together within a single platform, supporting more holistic corporate reporting and strategic decision-making.
• Scalable design for future ESG metrics: The solution was implemented with flexibility in mind, allowing for future extension to include other ESG indicators as FirstGroup’s sustainability agenda evolves.

Key benefits

• Improved data integration and submission process.
• A common data model for ESG and financial reporting.
• Efficient and consistent reporting and analysis.

The results

The implementation of OneStream’s ESG Reporting solution delivered significant improvements across data integration, reporting accuracy, and operational insight. 

“Concentric helped us map our ESG data, record our current practices and help us achieve a more streamlined approach to data collection with OneStream.” – Group Director of Corporate Responsibility

By leveraging the existing OneStream platform and extending it to include ESG capabilities, the business established a unified and scalable framework for environmental reporting - laying the groundwork for long-term sustainability performance management.

Improved data integration and submission process 

The project introduced a standardised data submission process, replacing previously inconsistent manual methods with guided workflows and input forms. Direct system integrations improved the speed and accuracy of data uploads, reducing the risk of errors and improving confidence in reported figures across all stakeholders.

Unified common data model 

By housing both financial and ESG data within the same OneStream application, FirstGroup established a single source of truth. This common data model reused existing financial entity structures, enabling seamless integration of ESG metrics alongside financial data and supporting cross-functional analysis. ESG emissions factors were applied at Group-level, ensuring that conversion methodologies were consistent in reporting across the Group. 

Consistent and scalable reporting and analysis

The new reporting framework enabled consistent reporting of ESG data from a single source of truth, supported by a suite of dashboards for key sustainability measures. End users were also empowered with access to self-service reporting tools, reducing reliance on central teams and improving responsiveness to information requests.

Operational cost savings 

The improved visibility of ESG data has already provided tangible business insights. For example, analysis of fuel usage could highlight opportunities to train drivers in more efficient driving methods or install technology (e.g. DAS and c-DAS) to enhance driver efficiencies.

"Working with the Concentric team (to extend our OneStream platform for ESG reporting) has been a smooth and collaborative experience. Their consultants quickly understood our requirements and guided us through the complexities of environmental data collection and consolidation. The solution they delivered not only meets our current reporting needs, but also positions us well for future regulatory requirements and sustainability goals. We now have a more consistent, accurate and integrated approach to ESG reporting across the business. It’s been a real value-add project, and the support from the Concentric team has been excellent throughout." - Martin Wayman, Group Director of Corporate Responsibility

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