CSX Corporate Social Responsibility Highlights: Environment
As responsible stewards of the environment, we consider our potential impacts at every stage of our operations. Our policies and procedures are focused on managing our footprint and minimizing our impacts on air, land and water. Every CSX employee, guided by our newly revised environmental policy and our environmental management system, takes our commitment to respectful and sustainable business practices seriously both today and tomorrow.
Companies are beginning to look more carefully at the environmental impacts of their supply chains, particularly those related to product transport. As a railroad, we have a great opportunity to provide environmental benefits to our customers, as the typical CSX freight train is approximately four times more fuel-efficient than highway freight transportation and can carry the cargo load of up to 280 trucks. Through the switch from truck to rail, we enable our customers to cut transport-related GHG emissions by approximately 60 to 80 percent, reducing their environmental footprints and costs.
We continue to work towards reducing our own impacts on the environment. In 2012, we set voluntary goal to reduce our GHG emissions intensity between 6 and 8 percent from 2011 levels by 2020. In 2013, CSX achieved a 1.5 percent reduction from 2011 levels, demonstrating further advancement toward our goal.
Improving fuel efficiency is a continued focus area for CSX. We consumed approximately 488 million gallons of diesel fuel in 2013 – a decrease from the 490 million gallons consumed in 2012. This means that a CSX train can move a ton of freight 470 miles on a single gallon of fuel, up from 466 miles in 2012 – a record-setting performance. Our overall fuel efficiency was improved in a variety of ways, including the use of new GE Evolution® Series locomotives, which save approximately 12,600 gallons of diesel fuel a year; additional employee training for efficient train handling; and technologies that enhance efficiency, such as Trip Optimizer, and reduce idling. IN our everyday operations, we increased LEED certification across our network, including at our headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla.
Managing waste and recycling continues to be an important part of our environmental strategy. In 2012, we set a goal to reduce the U.S. EPA-designated hazardous waste generator status of 25 percent of our facilities by 2020. We are proud to report that we have already reduced the generator status of 17 percent of our facilities in one year. Our focus on meeting this goal has allowed us to exceed regulatory requirements, reduce risks and improve safety and health for employees at our facilities. Further, in 2013, we undertook an extensive cleanup process across our network, recycling more than 4.2 million legacy crossties.
