2011 Sustainability Report
Overview
Emissions
Goal
Our Goal
2010 Carbon Footprint
Emissions Reduction
Environmental Performance
Conservation Strategy
Reducing Energy Use
Recycling Efforts
Economic Performance
Public-Private Connections
Social Performance
Connect with Employees
Awards & Recognition
Our Business Profile
Governance Structure
View & Download
An Overview of Norfolk Southern's 2011 Sustainability Report
This is the fourth annual sustainability report issued by Norfolk Southern. Our report details the railroad’s sustainability events and undertakings during calendar year 2010 and through June 2011.
At Norfolk Southern, we agree with the view that sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The contents of this report reflect our ongoing efforts to achieve a long-term, sustainable balance between the company’s business imperatives and our desire to mitigate the impact of railroad operations on the environment.
Emissions Goal
- Compared with 2009, we reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 3.9 percent per revenue ton-mile of freight in 2010. We achieved nearly 40 percent of our goal to reduce emissions by 10 percent per revenue ton-mile between 2009 and 2014.
- We improved the fuel efficiency of our locomotive fleet by 2.2 percent over 2009. That resulted in diesel fuel savings equivalent to 10.2 million gallons and reduced emissions of 104,924 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
- Since 2007, the first year we reported our fuel intensity, we have improved fuel economy by nearly 5 percent. That translates into diesel fuel savings of 21.6 million gallons and reduced emissions of 222,067 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
Environmental Performance
- As part of our carbon mitigation strategy, Norfolk Southern launched a $5.6 million initiative to restore 10,000 acres of former woodlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. The initiative includes the planting of 6.04 million native hardwoods and cottonwoods.
- Our headquarters office tower in downtown Norfolk, Va., the Arnold B. McKinnon building, earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star® rating, the national symbol for protecting the environment through energy efficiency. On average, buildings earning the rating use 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
- Employees at Norfolk Southern continued to expand on-site recycling programs across our 22-state system. These “home-grown” initiatives are keeping plastic bottles and other recyclables out of landfills and lowering the company’s costs of trash disposal.
Economic Performance
- We advanced our public-private partnership programs, which are initiatives designed to improve rail freight capacity and generate public benefits such as jobs, reduced highway congestion, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. We opened our Heartland Corridor to double-stack container traffic, improving the flow of intermodal freight between Virginia’s port and Midwest consumer markets, and we began construction on three new intermodal terminals to serve the Crescent Corridor, a 2,500-mile national rail network running from the Gulf Coast to Northern New Jersey.
- We assisted with the location of 67 new industries and the expansion of 25 existing industries along our rail network in 2010, representing an investment of $2.5 billion by our customers.
Social Performance
- For the 22nd consecutive year, Norfolk Southern employees in 2010 achieved the industry’s best safety record for large railroads in North America. We reported 0.89 injuries per 200,000 employee-hours for the year, the lowest injury ratio ever recorded by our railroad.
- Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern’s chief executive officer, was named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age magazine.
- We were recognized for our corporate social responsibility achievements in Newsweek’s Green Rankings; Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List; G.I. Jobs magazine’s America’s Top 100 Military Friendly Employers; Inbound Logistics magazine’s 50 Green Supply Chain Partners; and Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine’s 2010 Green Supply Chain Awards.
SUSTAINABILITY: THE BIG PICTURE
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
Rail’s Environmental Advantage
We believe that Norfolk Southern and the nation’s freight rail industry are playing a vital role in reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, which has a global effect.
Available evidence clearly demonstrates that rail is the most environmentally friendly way to transport goods over land. An independent study for the Federal Railroad Administration shows that trains on average are four times more fuel efficient than trucks on a ton-mile basis. That means moving goods by rail instead of over the highway reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent on average per ton-mile.
By doing what we do best—transporting customers’ freight in a safe, timely, and cost-efficient manner— Norfolk Southern is keeping the economy moving and offering a greener transportation solution. Because our railroad operates the most extensive intermodal network on the East Coast, we are well positioned to contribute to the nation’s economic growth and environmental health.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
Emissions Goal
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
OUR GOAL
Seeking fuel and energy efficiencies
Last year, we set a goal to reduce our emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents per revenue ton-mile by 10 percent between 2009 and 2014. The five-year goal uses our 2009 emissions as the baseline to measure progress.
To achieve the commitment, we have focused on improving the fuel efficiency of our locomotives, the railroad’s workhorses and largest source of emissions. It is a comprehensive strategy, ranging from locomotive rebuilds and engine upgrades to trackside technologies and computer software designed to improve the movement of trains across our 22-state network.
Making Progress
In 2010, we made substantial progress toward our goal. Our trains transported nearly 182 billion revenue ton-miles of freight, producing 28.8 grams of carbon dioxide equivalents per revenue ton-mile.
Compared with the 30 grams in 2009, that is a 3.9 percent reduction—meaning we reached nearly 40 percent of the five-year goal.
We attribute the reduction to improvements in locomotive fuel economy, efforts to make our buildings and railroad facilities more energy efficient, and to operating efficiencies that allowed us to move higher volumes of freight over our network.
We base our emissions-reduction goal on revenue ton-miles because that represents the railroad’s basic unit of production— the amount of work required to move one ton of freight one mile. Measuring emissions on this normalized basis allows us to evaluate how well we are controlling our carbon footprint even as business activity grows from year to year.
As the economy in 2010 recovered from recession, our business picked up significantly over 2009. As a result, we saw an increase in both our revenue ton-miles and in our absolute emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents. While emissions per revenue ton-mile decreased, our absolute emissions increased to 5.2 million metric tons, from 4.7 million metric tons in 2009.
Our business activity, however, rose at a much greater rate than emissions— a nearly 15 percent increase in revenue ton-miles vs. a 10 percent increase in total carbon emissions. The difference, at least in part, is the result of efforts to improve fuel and energy efficiency.
Fuel Economy Gains
A key to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is improvement in fuel efficiency. We have made significant gains.
In 2010, our revenue trains moved a ton of freight an average of 413 miles on a single gallon of diesel fuel, a 2.2 percent improvement over our 2009 average of 404 miles. Based on revenue ton-miles and diesel fuel usage in 2010, the gain in fuel economy translates into diesel fuel savings of 10.2 million gallons and reduced emissions of 104,924 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
Since 2007, the first year we reported our fuel intensity, we have improved the fuel efficiency of our locomotive fleet by nearly 5 percent. That represents a diesel fuel savings of 21.6 million gallons and an emissions reduction of 222,067 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
Emissions Goal
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
2010 CARBON FOOTPRINT
Locomotive fleet is largest source
In 2010, Norfolk Southern Corporation’s business activities generated 5.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions while delivering more than 181 billion revenue ton-miles of freight for customers.
Our total emissions include those generated by Norfolk Southern Corporation’s primary operating subsidiary, Norfolk Southern Railway, and other operating subsidiaries.
The railroad’s diesel-burning locomotive fleet, which operates in road, local, and yard service, generated 86 percent of the emissions, or 4.5 million metric tons. That includes 352 metric tons of methane and 114 metric tons of nitrous oxide.
Our second largest source of emissions, at 279,250 metric tons, came from electricity usage at office buildings we own or lease and at other railroad facilities, including terminals, yards, and shops. Those emissions include 5 metric tons of methane and 5 metric tons of nitrous oxide.*
*This corrects errors in the calculation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions that appeared in the initial report.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
Emissions Goal
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
EMISSIONS REDUCTION
Key elements of our strategy
Norfolk Southern is looking at all aspects of the railroad’s business operations to reduce environmental impacts. Because locomotives generate 86 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions, we are concentrating efforts on technologies and techniques to improve our locomotive fleet’s fuel economy and reduce emissions.
For example, we are working on initiatives to improve network and system efficiencies, improve line-of-road train handling, and reduce engine idling. We have launched an aggressive in-house locomotive rebuild program that doubles service life for locomotives with like-new engines that are more fuel-efficient and cleaner running. In addition, we are purchasing new, more fuel-efficient locomotives.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Emissions Goal section of the 2011 report. |
Environmental Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Green connections: Norfolk Southern is strengthening our connections with communities and the environment to ensure the impacts we leave will be positive for generations to come. We strive to be the industry leader in fuel conservation, emissions reduction, efficient energy use, recycling, and environmental partnerships.
A DEEPER SHADE OF GREEN
Wick Moorman, our CEO, talks often about Norfolk Southern’s commitment to sustainability. On a sun-baked field in the Mississippi Delta, he showed what that means.
With shirt sleeves rolled up on a hot June day, Moorman helped plant a ceremonial Nuttall oak tree, launching a five-year, $5.6 million NS initiative to restore 10,000 acres of former woodlands in the ecologically important Mississippi Alluvial Valley.
"Our company is 180-years-old; we're a long-cycle business. This kind of sustainable, long-term, long-lasting initative is exactly what we want to do."
WICK MOORMAN, CEO
Our investment will support the planting of 6.04 million native hardwoods and cottonwoods, promoting revitalization of the Delta Valley’s environmental health, preserving a critical commercial corridor on the Mississippi River, and bringing long-lasting benefits to a region served by Norfolk Southern.
We are collaborating on the project with GreenTrees, a privately managed reforestation and carbon capture program with a goal to reforest 1 million acres in the Delta. Much of the land was cleared decades ago for agricultural use but currently is underused or marginally productive.
Blair Wimbush, our vice president real estate and corporate sustainability officer, describes the initiative as a “triple play” because it carries environmental, economic, and social benefits—the three pillars of our overall sustainability strategy.
We view the project as a prime example of how the railroad aims to balance its business imperatives as a publicly traded corporation with the need to conserve natural resources. We recognize that our business activities have environmental consequences and are committed to taking significant steps to mitigate those impacts.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Environmental Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
OUR CONSERVATION STRATEGY
The idea is compelling—what’s good for the environment is good for business. The founders of GreenTrees, the leading reforestation program on private lands in the United States, call it conservation capitalism.
Our decision to invest in reforestation of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley is a model for how the railroad plans to invest in conservation initiatives to temper the environmental impacts of our business activities. These conservation investments will enhance the impact of our broader carbon mitigation strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Eventually, we hope to recoup our $5.6 million investment in the GreenTrees initiative. Over time, the 10,000 acres of woodland are anticipated to generate 1.12 million tons of carbon-offset credits that can be sold to companies or individuals interested in offsetting their emissions. We plan to register the carbon credits with the American Carbon Registry, a nonprofit carbon registry that handles over-the-counter transactions in the voluntary U.S. carbon-offset market.
"When a farmer tells me, ‘This is a good program, I’m doing well,’ that’s a pretty strong statement. It’s the most successful carbon sequestration program in the United States because it works.”
CHARLIE MORGAN, STATE FORESTER FOR MISSISSIPPI
Notably, however, carbon offsets generated by this initiative will not be used in calculating progress on meeting our greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. Instead, we will accomplish our goal through fuel- and energy-efficiency initiatives.
Norfolk Southern’s collaboration with GreenTrees will generate benefits that extend well outside the company to multiple stakeholders, including farmers and family landowners, surrounding residents, migratory birds and other wildlife.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Environmental Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
REDUCING ENERGY USE
Our use of electricity—including lighting, heating, and cooling our office buildings and shops—ranks as the railroad’s second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2010, the electricity generated by utilities to power our facilities accounted for 5.3 percent of our total emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents.
As part of our carbon-reduction goal, we have developed strategies to lower energy consumption. Some of our initiatives, such as a systemwide lighting upgrade project, already are generating significant reductions in cost and greenhouse gas emissions. Others, including plans to install more energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning systems, are in the implementation stage.
“We support President Obama’s Better Building Initiative to make America’s commercial buildings more energy and resource efficient over the next decade.”
BLAIR WIMBUSH, VICE PRESIDENT REAL ESTATE AND CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
Together, the efforts will help decrease the size of the company’s environmental footprint and conserve energy.
Our headquarters earns Energy Star rating
Our 21-story Arnold B. McKinnon headquarters, with its gleaming green-glass exterior, adds a distinctive look to the downtown skyline of Norfolk, Va. While not as easy to see, the 311,000-square-foot office tower is just as green inside.
In 2010, the building, opened in 1988, earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® rating, the national symbol for protecting the environment through energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn the rating perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency. On average, they use 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
We improved the energy performance of the 23-year-old building largely through a lighting replacement project that took advantage of improvements in fluorescent lamp technology. To further conserve lighting costs, the building was outfitted with occupancy sensors and photocells that automatically cut off lights in work spaces that are unoccupied.
In addition, we upgraded the building’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, including installation of variable frequency drives, high-efficiency economizers, and high-efficiency boilers.
The headquarters project is part of a larger $10 million initiative to replace and upgrade lighting across the railroad’s 22-state system.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Environmental Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
RECYCLING EFFORTS
Employees take the lead
At Norfolk Southern, environmental sustainability is more than a corporate slogan— it’s a responsibility that many of our employees readily accept.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the growing number of recycling programs employees have initiated at workplaces across our system.
Employees at our Harrisburg, Pa., terminal set the standard. Their determination in late 2009 to bring recycling to the terminal’s three yards has paid off: The terminal went from simply disposing of waste products in trash cans to recycling about 23 tons of material in 2010. The effort also significantly reduced the terminal’s waste collection bills.
“People can feel good about knowing that these items are not just ending up in a landfill.”
MEGAN GARRY, MANAGER CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
“It’s nice to know that we’re able to keep that much out of landfills and incinerators,” said Tom Teffeteller, chief dispatcher, Harrisburg.
With that success, the new Harrisburg Green Team is promoting recycling across the entire division, which encompasses a five-state area in our Northern Region. Team members are urging train and engine crews to take recycling bags on locomotives and are promoting the use of recyclable dishes, instead of Styrofoam. In addition, the team developed a guidebook to help employee work groups systemwide promote recycling in their areas.
EMPLOYEES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
A lot of bottles get recycled
David Cass, a locomotive engineer at our Knoxville, Tenn., yard, gets credit for one of the most creative initiatives for going green. Sparked by the youthful memory of returning drink bottles for a nickel deposit, Cass devised a novel plan to encourage yard employees to recycle plastic water bottles.
He called it “Water Bottle Lotto,” and it was an instant success. It started in Knoxville in 2009 and since then has spread to rail yards and terminals across our system, resulting in the recycling of thousands of company provided water bottles.
Cass estimates that about 95 percent of the water bottles distributed at the yard now are recycled. Soon, the recycled bottles may make another appearance at the yard—this time as clothing. A Knoxville firm that makes synthetic cloth from bottles has approached the yard about using the bottles to make workers’ reflective safety vests. “We’ll be wearing our bottles,” Cass said.
One of Harrisburg’s main recycling projects revolves around the plastic water bottles that the company provides for transportation crews. Before recycling began, these bottles were disposed of in trash containers or sometimes left in the yards. Borrowing an idea from employees at our Knoxville, Tenn. terminal, the Green Team asked employees to label used water bottles with their name and employee number and place them in large cardboard boxes. Employees whose bottles are drawn in a periodic “Bottle Lotto” win prizes such as shirts, hats, and flashlights from the company catalog. In April 2011, a bottle lotto held in observance of Earth Month netted 16,000 plastic bottles.
Since the Harrisburg successes, employees on other divisions across the system have launched recycling programs.
In Georgia, our Savannah Terminal’s Dillard Yard has launched its own bottle lotto rewards program. By recycling bottles in collection bins, employees earn points they can redeem for prizes.
A bottle lotto event at Shaffers Crossing in Roanoke, Va., collected more than 1,400 gallons of recycled bottles.
Our Piedmont Division began a recycling program in spring 2011. “We’re filling up recycling bins to the brim every week and hope to reduce the amount of times we have trash collection,” said Ed Hatton, office manager, Piedmont Division in Greenville, S.C.
EMPLOYEES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Going green, saving money
Mailing 21,000 paystubs every two weeks to Norfolk Southern’s union employees was costly to the company and the environment. To reduce expenses as well as Norfolk Southern’s carbon footprint, Gregory Ward, manager mail and reprographic services, Atlanta, worked with our payroll accounting and information technology office to develop electronic paystubs.
The result: Employees can still elect to receive their paystubs in the mail, but the company now prints only 1,100 paystubs every two weeks, saving $240,000 annually in printing and mailing costs.
In another initiative, our corporate communications green team—formed to identify greener ways of doing business—last year provided employees with an option to receive our employee magazine, BizNS, electronically instead of by mail. As of mid-2011, more than 3,100 employees—a little over 10 percent— had opted for the greener delivery.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Environmental Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Economic Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Economic Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Business connections: Norfolk Southern is committed to the delivery of goods in the safest, most cost efficient, and environmentally friendly way possible. We are investing in our rail infrastructure to help the nation remain competitive in a global economy.
THE BUSINESS OF CONSERVATION
In our 2009 Sustainability Report, we discussed our donation of a conservation easement to permanently protect from development 12,488 acres of our Brosnan Forest. The easement to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust was the largest by a corporation in South Carolina and one of the largest in the Southeast.
Since then, we have further developed a strategic approach toward conservation. It reflects our view that, over the long-term, we can minimize or mitigate effects on the environment consistent with our business objectives and growth.
“It truly is good business to take care of the environment. Everything we do—the service we provide and the products we ship—depends on natural resources. The people who rely on us every day to move their goods want to know that we are doing our part to be good stewards.”
JOSH RAGLIN, GENERAL MANAGER FACILITIES
To that end, we are supporting conservation projects to help reduce the impact of our business operations on the environment.
We call it our carbon mitigation strategy.
It includes our initiative with GreenTrees to reforest the Mississippi Alluvial Valley with native hardwoods. It also includes our collaboration with America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative to maintain and expand longleaf pine habitat in the Southeast. We’re also supporting the efforts of the American Chestnut Foundation to restore those trees to their historic range.
Our aim in every case is to balance our business imperatives as a publicly traded FORTUNE 500 corporation with the need to conserve our environment.
CASE STUDY
Good for the environment, good for business
Josh Raglin, general manager facilities, knows first-hand that preserving the environment can be good for the bottom line.
Among his duties, Raglin oversees our Brosnan Forest conference facility, a 16,000-acre preserve located near coastal South Carolina. Originally, the Forest was part of a larger tract of land purchased by a 19th-century predecessor railroad for timber to build track cross ties and to fuel steam locomotives.
Now used for management retreats and business meetings, the Forest is an environmental treasure: It houses the largest U.S. population of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers on private lands and 6,000 acres of longleaf pine, one of North America’s most threatened forest ecosystems.
As part of our conservation strategy, Raglin is leading efforts to leverage preservation of the Forest to mitigate the railroad’s environmental footprint and to generate economic returns.
Here’s how:
- In the late 1990s, we entered into a cooperative agreement with state and federal wildlife and natural resource officials to protect nesting areas of the red-cockaded woodpeckers. Since then, the number of family groups has grown to 88 from 67, creating 21 mitigation credits we can sell to developers wishing to develop property that has an isolated pair of the birds living on it.
- We plan to register the Forest as a carbon-offset bank, generating an estimated 500,000 carbon credits that could be sold to individuals or companies wishing to offset their carbon footprint.
- We have earned certification from the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI) program (www.sfiprogram.org) for our forestry practices at Brosnan Forest. The SFI® program is a charitable organization that promotes environmentally responsible forestry in North America, including procedures for selective timber harvesting. SFI program certification is expected to boost the price we receive for any timber harvested from the Forest because of the sustainable forestry practices employed in growing and harvesting it.
- We will participate in America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative by maintaining existing longleaf ecosystems at the Forest and restoring stands of longleaf in areas with suitable soils. We also are supporting research of longleaf ecosystems to better understand forest growth, mortality, structure, and product yields.
- We plan to restore 300 acres to wetlands and create a “bank” from which developers can purchase credits to develop in other areas that might require filling wetlands.
“I’ve always had an affinity for conservation,” Raglin says, “but I’ve been energized by Norfolk Southern’s commitment to sustainability. We’re doing things that are good environmentally and that are going to be good sources of revenue.”
Note: Sustainable Forestry Initiative® and SFI® are registered marks owned by Sustainable Forestry Initiative, Inc.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Economic Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Economic Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Economic Performance section of the 2011 report. |
PUBLIC-PRIVATE CONNECTIONS CARRY WIDESPREAD BENEFITS
Norfolk Southern has led the industry in developing ground-breaking public-private partnerships to improve the nation’s freight rail transportation network. The aim is to create more rail capacity to shift freight from increasingly congested interstate highways to safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly rail.
Through these partnerships, federal and state governments contribute a share of the costs of rail corridor projects based on public benefits generated, including job creation, reduced highway traffic congestion, increased capacity for passenger trains, improved potential for economic development, reduced stress on roads and bridges, and an overall decline in fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Improvement of Norfolk Southern’s primary rail corridors is part of our overall strategy to help us and the country conserve fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our key public-private partnerships include:
Heartland Corridor. In an unprecedented feat of railway engineering, we opened the Heartland Corridor to double-stack container trains in fall 2010 after three years of construction to raise the vertical clearance of 28 tunnels and remove 24 overhead obstructions through the Appalachian Mountains. The corridor improvements shaved approximately 250 miles and more than a day of transit time off of double-stack intermodal freight moving between Virginia’s port and the Midwest.
“Projects like the Heartland and Crescent corridors showcase what can be achieved when industry and government partner on projects that carry substantial benefits for the public and the private sectors. With public participation, we can get them done sooner, and the jobs and economic and environmental benefits accrue that much earlier.”
ROB MARTÍNEZ, VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
With the Heartland Corridor open, we now have double-stack capacity at every major port on the East Coast to link international shippers to major U.S. consumer markets.
The corridor will produce benefits for our customers, the public, and us for years to come. As economic conditions improve, we expect freight volumes on the route to grow, particularly after completion of the
Panama Canal expansion in 2014 enables bigger ships to call on East Coast ports.
Crescent Corridor. Our 2,500-mile Crescent Corridor program carries even greater benefits. This corridor will significantly increase capacity for domestic intermodal freight over a national rail network that spans 13 states from Louisiana and Tennessee to New Jersey.
The $2.5 billion project includes upgrades to rail and track infrastructure as well as the construction or expansion of five intermodal terminals. In 2010, the federal government, through a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant, awarded the corridor project $105 million to help construct two new terminals, near Birmingham, Ala., and Memphis, Tenn. Since then, we have begun construction of those terminals and a third in Greencastle, Pa., with openings set for 2012.
We estimate that the corridor has the potential to remove 1 million tractor-trailer trucks from interstate highways along the route. Independent studies conducted for the railroad estimate that the corridor will result in 169 million gallons of fuel savings annually, an annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of more than 1.8 million tons, and the creation or preservation of 73,000 jobs by 2030.
CREATE. Known by its acronym, the Chicago Regional Environmental and Transportation Efficiency project is designed to reduce rail and highway congestion and add freight and passenger capacity in the metropolitan Chicago area. This partnership involves Chicago, Illinois, and industry members of the Association of American Railroads, including Norfolk Southern. This $3.2 billion project will reduce fuel consumption, reduce emissions, and create jobs. Our railroad contributed an estimated $11 million to the project in 2010, and has budgeted around $10 million for 2011.
“Projects like the Heartland Corridor are models for the future. They reflect the public-private cooperation needed to enhance access to global markets and stimulate economic growth across the country.”
SCOTT HERCIK, TRANSPORTATION AND TRADE ADVISOR FOR THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION
To read more about these public-private partnerships, visit www.thefutureneedsus.com.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Economic Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Social Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Community connections:Norfolk Southern recognizes that our continued ability to thrive as a business is connected to the health of our communities, our environment, and our employees. Our corporate success reflects the dedication, talent, and hard work of our people.
CONNECTING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES
From cleaning waterways to collecting provisions for local food banks, many of our employees get involved in their communities to improve the quality of life and support the railroad’s sustainability efforts.
During 2010, the Thoroughbred Volunteers, our formal employee volunteer program, contributed nearly 3,400 hours of service to more than 30 organizations, including the Special Olympics, Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, Grant Park Zoo, MedShare, and Trees Atlanta. This total does not include the untold hours of employee volunteerism outside of our sponsored program.
The Thoroughbred Volunteers collected food and school supplies, tutored elementary school children, read to children in homeless shelters, beautified the Roanoke Valley during Clean the Valley Day, and spruced up homes for seniors and low-income citizens.
In the volunteer group’s largest project to date, employees in three states— Georgia, Virginia, and Pennsylvania—combined efforts with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for a 2010 Spruce-It-Up campaign on the Appalachian Trail.
Employees spent a Saturday in July clearing brush, cleaning culverts, fixing shelters, and cutting back overgrowth along the country’s longest scenic trail.
“We get a ton of people out here because we want to make a difference in the community and teach our children that helping people and the environment is an important part of life.”
STEVE STASULIS, MANAGER PERFORMANCE INTERNATIONAL INTERMODAL
The 2,175-mile trail runs roughly parallel to our 2,500-mile Crescent Corridor, a multistate, high-capacity, intermodal freight rail route. We are working with federal, state, and local partners to improve the corridor and create green jobs, stimulate local economies, and reduce highway congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
Formed in Norfolk in 2006, the Thoroughbred Volunteers expanded to Roanoke, Va., in 2008 and to Atlanta in 2009. The volunteer group expanded in 2010 to include employees at our Harrisburg, Pa., operations.
Helping to build community
Nearly 30,000 Norfolk Southern employees live and work in the railroad’s 22-state territory. As a responsible corporate citizen, the railroad contributes to the economic vitality and well-being of those communities.
In 2010, the Norfolk Southern Foundation, our charitable giving affiliate, donated more than $5.6 million to organizations supporting the foundation’s four priorities: providing shelter to those in need; expanding educational opportunities for children; helping conserve the environment; and promoting the arts and culture.
“There still are many people without jobs, health care, or homes. By providing a grant to food banks and homeless shelters, the foundation is able to touch a lot of people that we individually or as a company could not touch.”
KATIE FLETCHER, FOUNDATION DIRECTOR
In a tough economy, the foundation awarded more than $2 million to United Way and other health and human services groups, a 19 percent increase over 2009. More than $750,000 went to groups such as The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, ForKids Inc., which provides services for homeless families with children, and Hands On Atlanta, which builds community and meets critical needs through volunteer service and civic engagement.
To support work force diversity, the foundation in 2010 provided $313,870 to organizations that support higher education for women and minorities, more productive community relations, and services to underserved populations.
Benefitting from a 23 percent funding increase were performing arts groups, public TV and radio, museums and zoos, and cultural centers.
In coming years, the foundation aims to increase funding for environmental conservation. In 2010, the foundation provided first-time funding to the American Chestnut Foundation to support a project that will reforest abandoned coal mines in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky.
“All of us in some way have an impact on the environment,” said Katie Fletcher, foundation director. “We have a footprint across 22 states, and it makes sense for us to invest in efforts to preserve the environment in the areas where we operate.”
EMPLOYEES MAKING A DIFFERENCE
‘No one should have to go hungry’
Richard Kiley, group vice president automotive, is a long-time community volunteer. For the past two years, he’s served on the board of directors of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, a nonprofit that works with agencies to distribute food and clothing. The organization serves nearly 110,000 people, and about 30 percent of household members reached are children under 18.
Kiley and other employees from our Thoroughbred Volunteers group help with an annual canned food drive and also spend time at the food bank’s warehouse sorting food for delivery.
In 2010, the volunteers joined the “BackPack” program, a new effort to ensure that school children have meals over the weekend. Food is delivered to schools, placed in backpacks, and sent home with the kids. Nearly 80,000 children in the Foodbank’s coverage area qualify for free or reduced-priced school meals, an indicator of the need, Kiley said. “When you think about a 6-year-old or a 9-year-old going without food for the weekend, that’s pretty sobering,” he said.
Kiley is proud to represent our railroad on the food bank’s board. “I consider Norfolk Southern to be a leader in the community,” Kiley said. “Having representation on the board sends a message to others in the community that Norfolk Southern is involved and that we are concerned about the places where we live.”
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Social Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
CONNECTING WITH EMPLOYEES
A culture of safety
As our CEO Wick Moorman tells employees, safety is the foundation of everything we do at Norfolk Southern.
Safety is ingrained in our corporate culture. We nurture an attitude of safety in which we all are our brother’s and sister’s keeper, watching out for each other to make sure everyone goes home safe to family and friends at the end of every work assignment.
“With Norfolk Southern, it’s work safely—work slowly if you have to, but get it done right and be safe.”
GARY LOMBEL, CONDUCTOR, JERSEY CITY, N.J.
We have developed an extensive safety program and process for working safely on the job, ranging from job briefings and safety checklists to regular safety audits to monitor both for unsafe work conditions and unsafe work behavior.
For the 22nd consecutive year in 2010, our employees had the best safety performance among North America’s largest railroads, earning the E.H. Harriman Gold Medal Award for industry safety. Employees achieved a safety ratio of 0.89 injuries per 200,000 employee-hours, the lowest ever achieved by our railroad. Our engineering department achieved a 0.50 injury ratio, another best-ever performance. Our system production gangs—the employees who lay rail, install crossties, and surface track—for the first time went the entire year without a reportable injury.
Compared with 2009, 45 fewer employees in 2010 had a reportable injury on the job, a 15 percent decrease.
The number of employees requiring medical attention decreased by seven, or nearly 12 percent, while 46 fewer employees lost work time because of an injury, a 19 percent drop.
As much as we have improved, we will not be satisfied until we finish a year with zero injuries or incidents.
A HEALTHY DOSE OF WELLNS
Supporting healthy lifestyles
Tony Williams didn’t expect to wind up on the Today Show or in USA Today and the Chicago Tribune when he signed up for Norfolk Southern’s discounted Weight Watchers at Work program.
However, the Lake Division locomotive engineer became a celebrity after losing more than 100 pounds and nine pants sizes, while encouraging co-workers and others to improve their health.
Williams is one of many Norfolk Southern employees who have been influenced to make healthier lifestyle choices through WellNS, our voluntary employee wellness program. Expanding on its motto of “I’ve Got the Power,” WellNS in 2010 emphasized employees’ power to know their health, get active, quit tobacco use, and eat healthier. After all, healthier employees tend to be more productive and safer, with fewer missed days and lower medical expenses related to illness and injury.
This year, approximately 1,800 employees signed up for the new Virgin Health Miles program whereby they can earn up to $500 during the year for being active. Also new in 2011—the PowerTrain Program in which teams of 10 or more Norfolk Southern employees compete in physical activities for non-profit charities. As an incentive, the company donates $1,000 to the organization on the team’s behalf.
WellNS offers employees discounts to 350 fitness centers nationwide and encourages healthy eating by stocking vending machines throughout the system with wholesome snacks. To make healthier items even more appealing, they are priced at a lower cost than less healthy choices.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Social Performance
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Norfolk Southern’s mission is to be the safest, most customer-focused, and successful transportation company in the world. We are honored and gratified when others recognize our efforts to be the best in the business. Here are some of the achievements during the past year that make us proud.
No. 1 in safety
For the 22nd consecutive year, Norfolk Southern won the rail industry’s E.H. Harriman Gold Medal Award for having the best employee safety record among North America’s largest line-haul railroads.
The company had an injury ratio of 0.89, an all-time low, based on the number of injuries per 200,000 employee-hours. Our system production gangs—the employees who maintain and install rail, crossties, and ballast—worked all of 2010 without a single reportable injury.
The industry’s top railroader
Railroad industry trade magazine Railway Age named Wick Moorman, Norfolk Southern’s chairman, president, and chief executive officer, the 2011 Railroader of the Year. The award, one of railroading’s most prestigious, is presented annually to honor an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the industry. Railway Age Editor William C. Vantuono cited Moorman’s strong leadership in areas critical to the future of Norfolk Southern and the rail industry.
Helping communities prepare
For the ninth consecutive year and 11th time overall, Norfolk Southern in 2010 earned the TRANSCAER (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) National Achievement Award. The award recognized extraordinary achievement for the railroad’s support of efforts to prepare communities to respond to possible emergencies involving the transport of hazardous materials.
A good corporate citizen
For the third time, Corporate Responsibility Magazine named Norfolk Southern to its 100 Best Corporate Citizens List. The railroad ranked 79th. The list, selected from among large-cap Russell 1000 companies, is based on 360 public data points relating to the environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial performance, and governance.
An energy “star”
Norfolk Southern’s Arnold B. McKinnon headquarters building earned the 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® rating, the national symbol for protecting the environment through energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn the EPA designation use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Green and getting greener
For environmentalism in 2010, Newsweek magazine ranked Norfolk Southern higher among the 500 largest publicly traded companies in America than in prior years. The company scored 71.28 of 100 points and ranked 233 in 2010. That’s an improvement over its 2009 score of 67.61 points and ranking of 338. Companies evaluated in the report were included by virtue of their revenue, market capitalization, and number of employees. Newsweek said companies were measured based on environmental footprint, green initiatives, and a poll of CEOs, environmental officers, and other green experts.
Engineering excellence
Norfolk Southern’s Heartland Corridor project won the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association’s 2010 William W. Hay Award for Excellence in railway engineering. The $190 million project included modifying 28 railroad tunnels and seven bridges to allow double-stack intermodal trains to run a more direct route between Virginia’s port and Midwest markets. AREMA said the project met the Hay Award criteria for innovation, safety, and service reliability. The award is named after the late William W. Hay, an academic leader in railroad engineering for more than 25 years.
Excellent service to the auto industry
Based on rigorous, unannounced audits of rail-served automotive facilities in North America, the Association of American Railroads presented Norfolk Southern’s Automotive Distribution Group with two Automotive Quality Excellence Awards for outstanding service. The railroad won the Highest Quality Review Score for Destination Facilities by achieving a perfect score of 100 percent at its Titusville, Fla., automotive facility. This was the first perfect score ever given any facility since the AAR began its present audit program in 1997.
Norfolk Southern also won the award for Greatest Overall Quality Review Score Improvement at Chrysler’s Jefferson automotive ramp in Detroit. Since Norfolk Southern began operating this facility two years ago, its score improved from 74 percent to 98.57 percent.
A green supply chain company
Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine selected Norfolk Southern as a winner of its 2010 Green Supply Chain Award. The firms selected “stood out for their projects to incorporate sustainability objectives into their own supply chains or to enable sustainability in their customers’ supply chains,” according to Andrew K. Reese, the magazine’s editor. Norfolk Southern was the only railroad to win the award.
A Top 50 green partner
Inbound Logistics magazine named Norfolk Southern to its 50 Green Supply Chain Partners list for
2010, citing those selected as “supply chain visionaries who are leading the green revolution.” The magazine cited the railroad’s upgrade of its locomotive fleet to reduce emissions and our use of innovative technology to reduce locomotive emissions and fuel consumption.
A military friendly company
For the sixth year, G.I. Jobs magazine named Norfolk Southern to its America’s Top 100 Military Friendly Employers list. The railroad was ranked 19th. The annual list recognizes companies that have made the greatest effort and had the greatest success in hiring military veterans, and that have the best policies for employees serving in the National Guard and Reserve who are called to active duty
Good company for diversity
Black Enterprise magazine named Norfolk Southern to its 2010 list of the 40 Best Companies for Diversity. The magazine based its list on overall participation of African Americans and members of other ethnic minority groups in four areas: employee base, senior management, board representation, and supplier diversity. The 40 best companies were selected based on the results of a survey sent to 1,000 major publicly traded corporations and 100 leading global companies with significant U.S. operations.
“We recognize that a diverse workforce and inclusive business practices provide us with a competitive advantage and are keys to our future success,” said Cindy Earhart, vice president human resources.
Analysts rate NS executives among the best
Norfolk Southern and several of our senior managers received recognition in Institutional Investor magazine’s second annual All-America Executive Team survey. The magazine asked nearly 1,300 buy- and sell-side analysts and investment professionals at more than 550 firms to identify the best executives among U.S. companies they cover, and to rate the companies on a range of qualities, including access to senior managers and corporate social responsibility.
Jim Squires, executive vice president and chief financial officer, was named among the top three chief financial officers. Sell-side analysts nominated Wick Moorman for best CEO. Sell-side analysts nominated Leanne Marilley, currently director markets planning and analysis, for best investor relations professional. Sell-side analysts nominated Norfolk Southern for overall best investor relations.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Social Performance section of the 2011 report. |
Our Business Profile
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Our Business Profile section of the 2011 report. |
A premier rail freight transportation service provider:Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation‘s premier transportation companies. Its major operating subsidiary, Norfolk Southern Railway, 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 and industrial products.
ONE LINE, INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
Our railway transports raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods primarily in the Southeast, East, and Midwest and, via interchange with rail carriers, to and from the rest of the United States. Norfolk Southern also transports overseas freight through ports we serve on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and provides comprehensive logistics services. The common stock of Norfolk Southern is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NSC.
Norfolk Southern was incorporated in Virginia on July 23, 1980. On June 1, 1982, Norfolk Southern acquired control of two major operating railroads, Norfolk and Western Railway Company and Southern Railway Company. Through a limited liability company, Norfolk Southern and CSX Corporation jointly own Conrail Inc., whose primary subsidiary is Consolidated Rail Corporation.
Norfolk Southern has a 58 percent economic and a 50 percent voting interest in the jointly owned entity.
Norfolk Southern Railway, together with its railroad subsidiaries, transports freight classified in the following market groups, noting in each case the percentage of total railway operating revenues contributed in 2010: coal (28 percent); intermodal (19 percent); agriculture, consumer products, and government (14 percent); chemicals (14 percent); metals and construction (11 percent); paper, clay, and forest products (7 percent); and automotive (7 percent).
Although most of Norfolk Southern‘s customers are domestic, ultimate points of origination or destination for some of the products we transport is outside the United States, particularly coal bound for export and some intermodal containers.
Norfolk Southern makes available free of charge through its website at www.nscorp.com its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, the following documents are available on the company‘s website and in print by request:
- Corporate Governance Guidelines
- Charters of the Committees of the Board of Directors
- The Thoroughbred Code of Ethics
- Code of Ethical Conduct for Senior Financial Officers
- Categorical Independence Standards for Directors
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Our Business Profile section of the 2011 report. |
Governance Structure
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Governance Structure section of the 2011 report. |
OUR GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
A vision for safety, service, success
Norfolk Southern‘s corporate policies and procedures connect our economic, environmental, and social performance to a vision: To be the safest, most customer-focused, and successful transportation company in the world.
A corporate SPIRIT of core values
At Norfolk Southern, our good name stands at the heart of who we are and have been for 180 years. Our people, customers, communities, and stockholders are important to us, and strong relationships with each of these groups are vital to our success. A set of core values, called SPIRIT values, define behaviors that are key to fulfilling our corporate creed and vision statement. Not intended to be limiting, the SPIRIT values—Safety, Performance, Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Teamwork—provide a framework for Norfolk Southern‘s expectations for employee conduct.
SAFETY: We put safety first by taking care of the people around us and following the rules.
PERFORMANCE: We are performance-driven and committed to providing quality customer service. We act on facts and are accountable for results.
INTEGRITY: We do the right thing. We are open, fair, honest, and straightforward.
RESPECT: We believe in the importance of all of our stakeholders. We value the ideas and beliefs of our co-workers.
INNOVATION: We constantly seek new ideas and creative solutions to business challenges.
TEAMWORK: We believe that working together always produces the best results.
A code of ethics supports values
The Thoroughbred Code of Ethics builds upon the SPIRIT values by providing us with a mutual understanding of how we are expected to conduct ourselves. Our directors, officers, and employees are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the SPIRIT values and the code of ethics. By doing so, we maintain our good name and our strong relationships with our customers, stockholders, fellow employees, and the communities we serve.
Formal policies and procedures implement and enhance governance
Our corporate policies and procedures provide detailed guidance for implementation of our SPIRIT values and The Thoroughbred Code of Ethics. Policies and procedures address topics related to economic, environmental, and social performance.
Norfolk Southern is committed to protecting the quality of the environment for our employees, our customers, and our communities. Specifically, it is our policy to ensure that every employee is trained in and fully understands the environmental requirements of the job and is responsible and accountable for conducting work activities in a manner that meets or exceeds applicable environmental compliance standards.
Our policies protect the environmental quality of Norfolk Southern‘s real estate through sound management of land, water, and other property resources. Our policy is to comply fully with applicable laws and regulations related to protecting the environment and transporting environmentally sensitive materials. We cooperate fully with all governmental authorities charged with protecting the environment or with regulating transportation of hazardous materials. It is our policy to ensure that appropriate public agencies are informed about any incident relating to our operations that has the potential to cause harm to surrounding communities and the environment.
Further, we strive to minimize waste through activities such as recycling, reduced consumption of energy, greater use of environmentally preferred materials, and use of nonpolluting technologies, procedures, and work practices.
Norfolk Southern‘s corporate procedures require that corporate activities must be handled in accordance with these policy objectives, and in compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Overriding procedural objectives to implement these policies include:
- protecting people and communities;
- protecting the environment;
- budgeting for environmental quality; and
- anticipating legislative impacts on current operations.
To ensure continuing improvement, reduction of pollution, and achievement of these policy objectives, appropriate processes for measuring performance, reporting environmental information, and evaluating environmental effects have been implemented. Each employee is to regard this effort to attain environmental quality as both a personal and a corporate responsibility, and employees at all levels throughout the corporation have specific responsibilities for implementing the environmental policy.
Our corporate policies and procedures are made available to employees on the company‘s ethics and compliance intranet site.
Safety comes first
We are committed to the principle that safety is good business and that all employees should be provided a safe working environment. Our employee safety record demonstrates that commitment. For 22 consecutive years, Norfolk Southern has earned the E. H. Harriman Award gold medal for the best employee safety record among the largest North American railroads. We expect all of our people to promote safety, as it is both a personal and a corporate responsibility.
This responsibility cannot be transferred. Therefore, each employee is held personally accountable. The company‘s safety policy centers on the following six tenets:
- All injuries can be prevented.
- All exposures can be safeguarded.
- Prevention of injuries and accidents is the responsibility of each employee.
- Training is essential for good safety performance.
- Safety is a condition of employment.
- Safety is good business.
We believe that the overall safety and health of our employees is in the best interests of each employee and the corporation.
Safety and health, and all that these terms encompass, have long been of primary importance to Norfolk Southern.
In support of this policy, we promote a proactive safety process and will continue to: minimize safety and health risk factors to our employees and the communities in which we operate by employing safe and appropriate technologies, programs, and operating procedures; educate our employees about safety and health risk factors in their workplaces; evaluate procedures and work practices to minimize potential employee exposures and improve safety in the workplace; inform the affected public about incidents relating to corporation operations that pose general safety or health hazards; comply with applicable laws, regulations, and rules related to safety and health in all of our business activities; and cooperate with all regulatory authorities charged with protecting the safety and health of the public and our employees.
We have an Operations Division Safety Steering Committee that is responsible for interpretation of the safety policy. In addition, all department vice presidents are responsible for the implementation and administration of the policy in their respective departments, and each employee is accountable for complying with it.
Safeguarding the environment
Norfolk Southern has numerous internal management systems in place to ensure reasonable responsible management of environmental compliance matters and corporate sustainability initiatives.
Formal corporate policies and procedures form the building blocks of this system. The railroad’s “Our World Our Choice” environmental reference manual summarizes how the company manages its environmental systems so as to enable local supervisors to understand their responsibilities. Training in various forms, including classroom instruction and hands-on exercises, is a large part of our internal management system. Employees accompany environmental personnel during inspections and audits of yards and terminals. Our “Sentinel” program provides intensive hazardous material awareness and response training to select supervisory personnel. We also provide annual training of personnel as required by our various environmental permits and plans, and we periodically distribute posters that are displayed on safety bulletin boards across the system to enhance awareness of current environmental, hazardous material, safety, and security topics of interest.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This sustainability report contains forward-looking statements that may be identified by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate” and “project.” Forward-looking statements reflect management‘s good-faith evaluation of information currently available. However, such statements are dependent on and therefore can be influenced by a number of external variables over which management has little or no control, including: domestic and international economic conditions; interest rates; the business environment in industries that produce and consume rail freight; competition and consolidation within the transportation industry; the operations of carriers with which NS interchanges; acts of terrorism or war; fluctuation in prices of key materials, in particular diesel fuel; labor difficulties, including strikes and work stoppages; legislative and regulatory developments; results of litigation; changes in securities and capital markets; disruptions to Norfolk Southern‘s technology infrastructure, including computer systems; and natural events such as severe weather, hurricanes and floods. For a discussion of significant risk factors applicable to Norfolk Southern, see the company‘s annual and quarterly reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as, a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at or by which any such performance or results will be achieved. As a result, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Norfolk Southern undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.
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Click here to read and download the full text version of the Governance Structure section of the 2011 report. |













