On 10-14 March 2024, the 2nd Sustainability Action week was hosted at the UIC Headquarters in Paris, with close to 400 participants attending in person and online, representing 47 UIC member organisations.

This year, the event introduced new strategic themed plenary sessions to complement the usual technical seminars, which addressed overarching issues attracting senior sustainability leaders from member organisations and perspectives from outside the railway sector, offering transversal learning opportunities for all participants.

Opening remarks and keynote speeches

The UIC Sustainability Platform Chair, Lia Talarico, opened the event in Paris, under the theme of “Driving a Sustainable Future with Rail”. Talarico encouraged the attendees to “openly share challenges and successes, listen, and be curious about each other’s perspectives and ideas”. She the invited everyone to make the most of the opportunity to forge new connections, seek out new knowledge, and broaden horizons.

High-level panels and discussions

High-level panels examined the role of rail in creating a sustainable global transport system, with speakers including Bertrand Goalou from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Oskaras Alsauska from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Sylvain Haon from the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), and Ashley Acker from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

Discussions emphasised that rail must play an important role in a future sustainable transport system, to accelerate decarbonisation and the transition to renewable energy, for efficient and inclusive mobility, thereby supporting healthy cities and the access to decent jobs and education. The panel also highlighted the need to boost female participation in the workforce to drive innovation within the industry and improve better customer service.

Poster sessions and sponsor contributions

Sixteen posters were showcased during the week, which included tools, groups, and projects from the UIC sustainability and passenger teams. Topics such as EcoPassenger API use in Trenitalia ticketing, the 2024 outputs from the Rail Sustainability Index, practical solutions for managing energy and air quality, the EU-funded Multimodix and rail4cities projects, the Green Stations project, rail for rural and tourism connections, zero waste initiatives, managing nuisance from parked trains, and the Train2BEqual initiative were presented.
Sponsors contributed to discussions, sharing their solutions for issues around animal collisions, ecosystem services, passenger services, and noise management. UIC thanks Elpa, S&V, Atkins Realis, Renfe, NEEL and Muller BBM for their support.

Integrating sustainability into business strategies

The second plenary panel addressed the challenge of integrating sustainability into business strategies, with Ethem Pekin from the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) delivering a keynote speech which underscored that 81.6% of European rail traffic runs on electricity - 52% of which being from renewable sources. He also stressed that stricter sustainability regulations are essential for promoting a modal shift, attracting talent, and securing funding.

Adrian Fernandez, Director of Sustainability and Energy Efficiency at Renfe, presented Renfe’s post-pandemic, pre-rail liberalisation strategic plan, which focuses on customer orientation, internationalisation, digitalisation, and cultural transformation. He introduced a new sustainability master plan that positions sustainability as a competitive advantage through an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) core vision, public value emphasis, and alignment with new EU directives, outlining 211 actions across 36 pillars.

He also detailed Renfe’s double materiality assessment, which evaluated over 200 impacts, risks, and opportunities, marking seven topics as “high double materiality” and 10 as “relevant.” UIC congratulated Renfe for achieving a B+ score in the UIC Rail Sustainability Index 2024, with Adrián Fernández Carrasco receiving the certificate during an afternoon panel.

Engaging customers and stakeholders

The breakfast session on Day 2 was hosted by Lucie Anderton, UIC Director of Sustainability, and started with a keynote speech from Talarico on “How Do We Engage Customers and Stakeholders in the Climate Challenge?” which provided an overview of Trenitalia’s stakeholder engagement strategies and insights into customer perceptions of sustainability.

With 90% of transport still using cars, Trenitalia aims to raise passenger awareness of the climate impact that travel can have. Panel discussion included ideas and lessons learnt from Eurostar, the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), and EY, emphasising that together it would be possible to change the narrative and engage both younger (through school and youth engagement) and older generations, as well as the supply chain.
UIC will continue to tackle this challenge with its members and will address the topic in the UIC Sustainability Platform Meeting on 29-30 September 2024.

Sustainability reporting

Wednesday afternoon featured a session on sustainability reporting, a rapidly evolving and increasingly important area of work for sustainability professionals. During the interactive world café sessions, UIC gathered feedback to develop better guidance and tools for railways to demonstrate their sustainability performance. Presentations also covered the IRS sustainability reporting framework, the RSI index, and the 2023 Global Sustainability Report.

Spotlight presentations from Renfe and Jernhusen showcased how members were embracing the new requirements to demonstrate their sustainability efforts to stakeholders. Participants agreed that sustainability reporting offers a crucial opportunity for the rail sector to transparently demonstrate its contribution to sustainable development, thereby attracting customers and investors. UIC can support this effort by providing a clear narrative, frameworks and international guidance for the sector.

Key outcomes:

• Rail must effectively communicate its vital role in an interconnected sustainable transport system, driving the energy transition and fostering a more inclusive society.
• Railways must fully integrate sustainability into their operations to leverage their unique strengths in driving economic prosperity, societal well-being, and a greener planet.
• International cooperation and breaking down silos are essential to accelerate sustainable action.