Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  April 1, 2025

Norfolk Southern Launches Supply Chain Emissions Certificates 

Norfolk Southern Corporation announced its launch of RailGreen, which provides verified certificates for supply chain emissions reduction.

Customers of Norfolk Southern can now reduce emissions from their freight rail shipments by purchasing RailGreen certificates, which are third-party certified for low-carbon biofuel use.

RailGreen was developed by partnering 123Carbon, an independent platform for book and claim. The process uses 123Carbon's Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) to certify that each ton of reduced CO2e is tracked to prevent double counting. The certificates verify the chain of custody across fuel providers, rail carriers, freight forwarders and cargo owners.

Third-party validation by independent assurance partners verifies carbon-reducing activities against international standards.

"Rail is already the most sustainable way to transport goods over land. RailGreen takes emissions savings to the next level," said Ed Elkins, Norfolk Southern EVP & Chief Commercial Officer, in a statement. "RailGreen reduces customers' emissions, increases our biofuel use and solves a long-term industry challenge."

RailGreen operates in the following way:

• Norfolk Southern's biofuel use is third-party certified, generating RailGreen certificates.
• Customers can purchase the certificates to apply toward their supply chain emissions.
• As customers purchase certificates, Norfolk Southern acquires more low-carbon biofuel for use across its operations.

Norfolk Southern's commitment to sustainable fuels includes more than doubling biofuel consumption from 2022 to reduce locomotive emissions per gallon and using fuel-efficiency technologies to optimize locomotive performance and customer reporting.

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