SUSTAINABLE RAIL PROGRAMME
6 March 2013
Rail companies seek to measure their sustainability
Rail companies can now determine how far sustainability is embedded into their businesses, using a new tool developed by the industry ’s Sustainable Rail Programme.
Britain’s railways are a success with growing demand in the passenger and freight business, and huge potential, attracting interest, investment and innovation. Rail is also well-known for having less impact on the environment compared to other transport modes. A growing railway can help shift people and freight on to rail from less sustainable modes.
There is consensus on what sustainability means to the railway, and this is documented in the Rail Industry Sustainable Development Principles, covering rail’s potential economic, social and environmental contribution. These have been formally adopted into industry planning, and into specifications for awarding rail franchises.
However, up to now, individual companies have not had access to a consistent way of measuring how sustainable they are, nor the ability to be candid within their own four walls about where their strengths and weaknesses lie. Now the Sustainable
Development Assessment Tool provides a user-friendly, consistent, web-based system for rail organisations to measure their immersion into sustainable development as individual companies, securely, with no active publishing or sharing of results to capture an honest and frank appraisal. This framework is designed to help organisations answer questions about their own sustainability and move them towards a more resilient business model, as well as assist in meeting contractual and legal obligations.
Chairman of the Sustainable Development Steering Group, and RSSB chief executive
Len Porter said:
‘Recent big policy announcements suggest the industry is “planning for success” with the Rail Technical Strategy aiming to provide a mainline railway for less carbon and cost
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SUSTAINABLE RAIL PROGRAMME but meeting a higher specification for customers and capacity. Industry leaders agree that embeddi ng sustainability into the way the railway works will be crucial to delivery.’
He went on:
‘This tool is about enabling conversations between colleagues within companies to baseline their own performance, and act as a management tool for planning and measuring improvements. The very nature of undertaking an assessment will also enable better awareness of sustainable development issues and performance throughout an organisation.’
The tool can be accessed on the web at www.sustainablerailprogramme.co.uk
, and the supporting research can be found on the RSSB website at: www.rssb.co.uk
, Embedding sustainable development principles in organisations , reference T767.
For further information, please contact:
RSSB press office
Tel 020 3142 5333 / 5332 / 5331 or email pressoffice@rssb.co.uk
or visit www.rssb.co.uk
Notes to Editors
1. The Sustainable Rail Programme (SRP) has been established to support the industry in reaching its full potential in sustainable development. The railway has a key role to play in contributing to an integrated national transport system, providing a sustainable transport solution that minimises environmental impacts and contributes to social inclusion and economic prosperity. The SRP focuses on areas where collaboration across the industry or with government is required to address issues or take initiatives forward.
The SRP supports industry to:
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Build shared understanding
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Understand global SD policy framework
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Facilitate cross-industry discussion
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Develop industry strategy
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Measure performance
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Support implementation

Influence policy and legislation
RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5301 www.rssb.co.uk
Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Office: Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered in England No. 04655675

SUSTAINABLE RAIL PROGRAMME
2. The SRP is run as a cross-industry programme by RSSB on behalf of the rail industry. It is steered by the Sustainable Development Steering Group, which comprises Network Rail, train and freight operating companies, rolling stock leasing companies, suppliers, as well as
Department for Transport, the Office of Rail Regulation, Transport for London, Transport Scotland and RSSB itself.
3. The rail industry asked RSSB to produce the Sustainable Development Assessment Tool as part of its research for the SRP (project T767 Embedding sustainable development principles in organisations ). It was put together by RSSB’s in-house sustainable development specialists, alongside a group of sustainability experts and representatives from across the industry, as well as Forum for the Future.
4. RSSB is a rail industry body which brings all parts of the rail system together to support shared decisions, products and services, to help industry drive out unnecessary cost, improve business performance and develop long-term strategy. This includes supporting the activities of a wide range of stakeholder groups, including the Sustainable Rail Programme. For more information go to www.rssb.co.uk
5. RSSB provides the R&D capability to industry to develop new solutions and knowledge to support industry action and decision making. This covers ‘systems’ issues across the railway, engineering interfaces within the railway, and interfaces with other parts of the community and society. RSSB supports the development of a future vision for the railways through the Technical
Strategy Leadership Group. For further information please visit: www.rssb.co.uk.
RSSB Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY
Telephone: +44 (0)20 3142 5300 Facsimile: +44 (0)20 3142 5301 www.rssb.co.uk
Rail Safety and Standards Board Limited Registered Office: Block 2 Angel Square 1 Torrens Street London EC1V 1NY Registered in England No. 04655675