10 March - 13 March 2025

Sustainability Action Week 2025

UIC Headquarters in Paris and Online

Join the 2025 Sustainability Action Week to be held in Paris, between 10 March and 13 March 2025.

Following the success of the 2023 action week, UIC sustainability Platform will host this highly interactive 4-day event, with a series of workshops and seminars on a broad range of sustainability topics.
🔹 Stay all week or mix and match the topics that interest you and explore a new topic
🔹 Engage with experts, partners, and peers to explore innovative sustainability strategies.
🔹 Expand your network and drive real impact in the railway sector.

Come and exchange knowledge and inspire each other with actionable ways to boost sustainability activities in rail, strengthen your networks and make new synergies in cross-discipline exchanges.

Who should attend?

✔ Sustainability professionals and related technical collaborators within UIC members
✔ Partners and suppliers of UIC and their members
✔ Subject matter experts across other modes and industry

Agenda

Participants will be offered to share a common networking lunch everyday at 12.30

Monday 10th March
- 12.00 Registration opens at 12pm for a networking lunch
- 13.30-14.30 Plenary: Opening session
- 14.30-17.00 Cross-silo knowledge exchange session. Posters, Expo, then Panel
- 15.30-17.00 Energy and CO2 Sector meeting (UIC members only)
  
  Topics
  
  Research and long term prospects workshop & Energy CO2 Sector meeting - Agenda
- 17.00 Evening reception subject to sponsorship
Tuesday 11th March
- 8.30-9.30 Breakfast Session - How do we engage customers and Stakeholders in the climate challenge?
  Keynote Speech, Lia Talarico, Trenitalia
  
  Panel Discussion moderated by Lucie Anderton, UIC Sustainability Director:
  
  Armelle Weber, Eurostar
  
  Stefano Scarci, EY
  
  More to be announced soon
- 09.00-18.00 UIC Railway Noise Days | Day 1: Being a responsible neighbour
  8:00-9:00 Breakfast and Networking Coffee
  
  9:00-9:30 Welcome Addresses & Introduction, Jakob Oertli, SBB
  
  9:30-12:45 Interactive Debates Sessions
  
  12:45-14:00 Sponsor Booth and Lunch Break
  
  14:00-15:30 Global Issues in Railway Noise Management and Maintenance
  
  15:30-16:00 Coffee Break
  
  16:00-17:15 EU-QuieterRail | Acoustic Rail Roughness & Onboard Measurements
  
  17:15-17:40 Summary
  
  17:40-18:00 Closing Session
- 09.00-12.30 Gender Equality seminar and technical station ‘walk-shop’
  09:00 - 10:30 Meet at Gare Montparnasse and beginning of Guided Tour: Walkthrough of a rail station showcasing examples of genderresponsive design elements
  
  10:30 - 10:45 End of Walking tour – Workshop kickoff
  
  10:45 - 11:00 Setting the Scene: Understanding Gender-Responsive Design in Rail Stations
  
  11:00 - 12.00 Best Practices and Case Studies – what worked?
  
  12:00 - 12:30 Lessons learned – what didn’t work? Key Takeaways and Next Steps
  
  12:30 Metro back to UIC Headquarters for Lunch break
- 10.00-16.30 Energy and CO2 Workshop – Research & Long-term prospects
  Research and long term prospects workshop & Energy CO2 Sector meeting - Agenda
  
  Welcome/Introduction
  
  Keynote speaker
  
  Parallel sessions
  
  Operations & Rolling stock
  
  See detailed confirmed and proposed topics on attachment
  
  Infrastructure/Stations/Buildings efficiency
  
  See detailed confirmed and proposed topics on attachment
  
  Prepare summary of session
  
  Share summary in plenary
- 8.30-18.00 ERPC Sustainable Procurement Working Group (Members Only)
- 13.30-16.30 Sustainable Tourism Workshop
  13.45 - 14.00 Welcome & Workshop Introduction
  
  14.00 - 14.30 Enhancing Customer Experience in Rail Leisure Tourism
  
  14.30 - 15.30 The Role of Rail in Transition to Sustainable Tourism
  
  15.30 - 15.45 Comfort Break
  
  15.45 - 16.30 Unlocking the Potential of Rail Tourism in Regional & Commuter Trains
  
  16.30 - 17.00 Summary and Closing Remarks
- 18.00 Evening reception – subject to sponsorship
Wednesday 12th March
- 09.00-12.30 UIC Railway Noise Days | Day 2: EU-Quieter Rail Whole system optimisation
  8:00-9:00 Breakfast and Networking Coffee
  
  9:00-9:20 Welcome Addresses & Introduction
  
  9:20-9:40 UIC TEG Activities
  
  9:45-10:00 EU-QuieterRail Project Overview /li>
  10:00-11:00 Session 1: Use Case Identification
  
  11:10-11:30 Coffee Break
  
  11:30-12:40 Session 2: Define criteria for optimisation
  
  12:40-13:00 Closing Session & Summary
  
  13:00-14:30 Networking Lunch | EU-QuieterRail
- 09.30-15.30 Zero Waste Workshop
  9.00 Opening and welcome remarks
  
  9.15 Session 1 - Sustainable procurement towards achieving circular inflows and outflows in railways
  From UIC 345 towards IRS 30345 project presentation and main challenges
  
  9.35 UIC Sustainable Procurement Group update
  
  10.55 What does the Supply industry need from the rail operating community
  
  11.55 Discussion (world café) on the challenges of the IRS 30345 project - Wrap up and summary
  
  13.30 Session 2 - Ecodesign for Sustainable product Regulation (ESPR) and its impact on railway companies (working title)
- 13.30-15.30 Beyond the Tracks: building partnerships and transport system resilience
  13.30 Welcome/Introduction
  
  13.45 Keynote Speech - Experience of Valencia October 2024
  14.10 Concept of transport system resilience and supply chains
  
  14.20 Best practice round table
  
  15.20 Wrap up and summary
- 15.30-18.00 Plenary: Sustainability Reporting Workshop
  15:30 Welcome and Scene setting presentation: Global State of the Art for Sustainability Reporting
  
  16:00 Future of Sustainability Reporting in Rail
  
  Paolo Mazzeo, Sustainability Reporting Senior Technical Manager, EFRAG
  
  Jeremie Joos, France ESG Reporting & ESG Transformation Lead – KPMG
  
  UIC Member Perspective
  
  16:45 World Café sessions
Thursday 13th March
- 09.00-17.30 Tracks of Harmony: Railways & Nature - Sustainable Land Use Day
  8:00-9:00 Breakfast and Networking Coffee
  
  9:00-9:30 Introduction and Welcome Remarks, Thomas Schuh, ÖBB
  
  9:30-12:15 World Café | Discussion Moderated by Neil Strong, Network Rail
  
  World Café I Innovative Approaches to Vegetation Management
  
  World Café II Enhancing Landscape and Reducing Wildlife Collisions
  
  World Café III Advancing Biodiversity Standardisation
  
  World Café IV Tackling powerline-related bird mortality: Effective Solutions
  
  12:15 - 13:15 Lunch Break
  
  13:15 - 13:45 World Café Wrap up Presentations by Moderators and UIC Sustainable Land use Sector 3 years Plan, Lorenzo Franzoni, UIC
  
  13:45 - 14:45 Financing Nature Restoration: Opportunities for Railways, Moderated by Thomas Schuh, ÖBB
  
  14:45 - 15:00 Coffee Break
  
  15:00 - 17:00 Best Practices and Success Stories Around the World, Moderated by Lorenzo Franzoni and Pinar Yilmazer, UIC
  
  17:00 - 17:30 Closing remarks, Neil strong, Network Rail
- 10.00-12.30 Air Quality management in rail workshop
  Detailed:
  
  UIC Air Quality workshop and Sector meeting agenda
  
  Welcome/Introduction
  
  Understanding Air Quality
  
  – Workshop: What influences AQ (e.g. tunnel aero, nb of trains, brake types, materials, etc…)
  – Summary from AQ Sector
  – Prediction models
  – Measurement
  
  Challenges in Air Quality
  
  Solutions for Air Quality management
  
  State of art report and Sector activities
- 13.30-16.00 Air Quality Sector meeting (Sector members only)
  
  Topics
  
  – Communication strategies
  – State of art report
  – Goals review (according to ambitions)
  – Next 2025 meetings organisation

Click here to register for a poster presentation before February 28

Sponsorship

Looking to support this highly engaging event and create new connections? Platinum and Gold sponsorship packages are available. Find out more here.

Gold Sponsors
ELPA

Silver Sponsors

Schrey & Veit

AtkinsRéalis

Soon

Our media partners

IRJ

Railway Pro

Via Libre

Code of Conduct

Registration

Venue

UIC Sustainable Land Use Sector Sustainability UIC Noise and Vibration Sector UIC Air Quality Sector UIC Circular Economy Sector