Tuesday 25 October 2016
Sustainable Development

13th UIC Sustainability Conference – focus on the Awards

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The UIC Sustainability Awards Ceremony was held during the 13th edition of the Sustainability Conference organised by the International Union of Railways (UIC) and the Austrian Railways (ÖBB) from 12 – 14 October 2016.

This world tour of railways was a unique opportunity to illustrate the commitment of companies and best practices with a global audience.

The international panel of judges was composed of Jerzy Wisniewski, UIC, Willy Bontinck, SNCB, and Johann Pluy, ÖBB Infra.

Prizes were awarded to:
1st Prize – SBB, for “Sleep Well, My Train”
2nd Prize – DB, “Train simulator”
3rd Prize – DFCCIL, Indian Railways, for Railway Project “Saksham”

These were all the projects presented:

DB
DB has created an App called DB Train Simulator. The goal is to simulate an energy efficient ride and to demonstrate that each driver has the opportunity to push the climate performance of the train even further. The game is based on the training programme that teaches train drivers an efficient use of energy […]

Thalys
Thalys integrated the Science Based Target programme. […] There is a business opportunity here. As we decarbonise, we also become more attractive to customers. Having this target also gives us a stronger voice and more credibility in the debate on climate change and on the role the transport sector has to play in reducing emissions.

Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI)
1. GHG inventory for railway operation
2. Carbon footprint calculation for infrastructure construction of high-speed rail
3. Domestic carbon footprint labelling through life-cycle railway operation service for a target route
4. Tier 3 GHG emission factor for diesel-electric locomotive
5. Development of energy metering system for electric railcars

Network Rail
[…] Provide a strategic route linking key centres of economic activity between Oxford, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and Bedford by re-opening, reconstructing and upgrading the partially-disused routes. A significant part of the case for EWR is modal shift and positively tackling climate change by providing a more sustainable means of meeting travel demands. […]

ÖBB
Ethical Investment became a strong growing sector […] ESG Rating agencies like oekom research in Munich, are providing an essential service for those investors as they are publishing sustainability ratings, as an independent party.
Oekom research has been rating the transport infrastructure sector two times already: ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG turned out to be “best in the class” among over 40 other transport infrastructure companies all over the world.

SBB
[…] A project with a huge impact is the recently developed system of sending all vehicles their effective service timetables (“fahrplanbasierte Bereitstellungszeit – timetable-based preparation time”). Based on this information, the vehicle decides on its own which operational mode it should stay in and for how long, and what preparation is necessary when, depending on the outside temperature and its own thermal behaviour. […]

Infrabel
The first “sail” train ran on wind power on 24 October 2015 following the activation of the first seven wind turbines in the Greensky park. This wind farm is located alongside the high-speed Leuven-Liège railway line and the E40 motorway. […] Annual production is estimated to be nearly 5,000 MWh of electricity with an annual reduction in CO2 of 15,000 tonnes.

Dfcc.co.in
[…] In 2015, DFCCIL launched a project titled “Saksham” to provide skills based training to the youth of displaced families, ensuring employment to beneficiaries to restore their livelihood.
The project was spread over different field units. Of the 1012 persons trained in different trades in year 2015, about 750 persons from project-affected areas obtained employment […]

Via Rail Canada
[…] We are especially proud of our innovative intermodal partnership program that is helping to increase the modal share of rail, reduce the transportation sector’s contribution to climate change and smog, improve economic activity and congestion, and promote quality of life for our society by connecting people and communities.

All presentations can be found on the dedicated website: http://uic-environment.org/uic-sustainability-champion-award

For further information please contact Nick Craven: craven at uic.org

Or Marie-Luz Philippe: philippe at uic.org

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