Union Pacific Railroad Achieves Best-Ever Carbon Disclosure Project Performance
Omaha, Neb., September 26, 2012 -- Union Pacific Railroad achieved its best-ever performance in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2012. The railroad’s carbon disclosure score is 87, a 53-percent improvement over last year and higher than 87 percent of all companies to which Union Pacific is compared in the CDP’s Industrial Sector. The average disclosure score is 70 for all S&P 500 companies in the 2012 CDP report.
Union Pacific’s score resulted in a B rating in CDP’s performance band, the same as all other railroads in the S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2012.
“Our CDP performance reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility and reporting,” said Bob Grimaila, Union Pacific vice president - safety, security and environment. “We take seriously our role in the nation’s economy to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation for the goods American families and businesses use every day.”
Just last month, Union Pacific announced a $20 million investment to test new technology designed to reduce diesel emissions from freight locomotives in California. A series of 25 experimental locomotives are operating in two Union Pacific rail yards in California as part of a rigorous test of emissions-reducing technologies. The investment represents Union Pacific's latest effort to further reduce emissions and move closer to the U.S. EPA's Tier 4 locomotive emissions standards for new locomotives starting in 2015.
Earlier this year, Union Pacific earned LEED certification for its corporate headquarters building in Omaha, the largest LEED-certified building in Nebraska.
Key 2011 achievements included:
• Purchasing 100 new fuel-efficient locomotives, retiring older, less fuel-efficient ones.
• Earning the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Excellence Award, presented by the EPA as a way to recognize emissions reduction innovation.
• Recycling 100 percent of used oil and fuel captured at fueling and servicing stations.
• Improving fuel efficiency 19 percent since 2000.
The CDP is an independent not-for-profit organization that supports greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sustainable water use by businesses and cities. It collects and reports data from the world’s largest public companies on behalf of 655 investors representing $78 trillion in assets.
Additional information about Union Pacific’s environmental efforts can be found in the company’s Sustainability and Citizenship report and on its website.
About Union Pacific
It was 150 years ago that Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railway Act of July 1, 1862, creating the original Union Pacific. One of America's iconic companies, today Union Pacific Railroad is the principal operating company of Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE: UNP), linking 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country by rail and providing freight solutions and logistics expertise to the global supply chain. From 2000 through 2011, Union Pacific spent more than $31 billion on its network and operations, making needed investments in America's infrastructure and enhancing its ability to provide safe, reliable, fuel-efficient and environmentally responsible freight transportation. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Coal, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad serves many of the fastest-growing U.S. population centers and emphasizes excellent customer service. Union Pacific operates competitive routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways, connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major Mexico gateways.