Swiss railway company SBB Cargo is relieving the environment of one million tonnes of CO2, paving the way for an increasing shift in the transport of goods from road to rail and promoting climate-neutral freight, thanks to a new environmental award.

In 2010, SBB Cargo trains travelled almost 100 times around the earth, a distance of over four million kilometres. Transporting the goods by lorry instead of rail would have produced one million tonnes of CO2 and required 3.8 million additional jouneys by lorry. SBB Cargo is not stopping there, however, and is constantly setting new milestones to increase its customers’ environmental advantage and to make the shift in the transport of goods from road to rail all the more appealing.

Henceforth, SBB Cargo is launching the “Eco-Friendly Award” to reward its customers who will have saved the most CO2 emissions in 2011 through rail transport. The winners of three categories will receive an offset contribution of up to 5000 CHF from SBB Cargo for the climate protection foundation myclimate, to transport the rail shipment of their choice climate neutrally. The awards will be presented in early 2012. “We are helping our customers achieve their sustainable development goals and giving their environmental commitment greater visibility, thus presenting them with an instant competitive advantage”, explained CFF Cargo CEO Nicolas Perrin.