Sept. 29,
2014
Norfolk
Southern achieves leadership in carbon disclosure with best-ever
score
NORFOLK,
VA. - Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) earned recognition recently from
environmental nonprofit CDP as a marketplace leader in carbon disclosure,
reflecting the railroad's broad integration of sustainable business practices
into daily operations.
For
the first time, Norfolk Southern was named to the CDP's 2014
S&P 500 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index.
CDP cited the depth and quality of climate-change data the railroad disclosed to
investors and to the marketplace through CDP, the world's only global
environmental disclosure system.
Norfolk
Southern's carbon disclosure score was 98, based on a scale of 100, the
company's best-ever score in seven years of participating in the voluntary CDP
survey and a 9 percent improvement over its 2013 score.
"Norfolk
Southern strives for performance-based results to demonstrate leadership in
corporate environmental responsibility, and we are happy to announce this latest
example of our commitment," said Blair Wimbush, vice president real estate and
corporate sustainability officer. "We choose to disclose the railroad's carbon
performance through CDP to be transparent and accountable to investors,
customers, and communities in how we manage and attempt to mitigate
environmental impacts of our operations. We are working hard to get even
better."
Companies
had to score at least 97 to make the leadership index. Norfolk Southern scored
in the top 10 percent of Standard & Poor 500 Index companies that disclosed
information about their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks and
opportunities. CDP disclosure scores are provided to investors and other
decision makers through various channels, including Bloomberg terminals, to help
them assess corporate preparedness for changing market demands and emissions
regulations.
In
addition to disclosure scores, the CDP awards performance grades to measure a
company's efforts to mitigate and reduce its carbon footprint. Norfolk
Southern's 2014 performance grade is B, based on a scale of A to E, matching its
2013 grade.
In
its 2014 CDP disclosure, Norfolk Southern describes strategic investments in
technologies,
operations programs, and network improvements aimed at reducing the railroad's
carbon footprint while expanding freight capacity and providing fuel- and
cost-efficient customer service. The company also reports it has achieved nearly
79 percent of a five-year goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by
10 percent per revenue ton-mile, with one year remaining.
To
learn more, view the railroad's CDP
filing and 2014 sustainability report.
Norfolk
Southern Corporation
(NYSE: NSC) is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk
Southern Railway Company subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route
miles
in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in
the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail
carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the
East and is a major transporter of coal, automotive, and industrial
products.
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