NS offers CO2 reduction certificates as next step in climate transition plan  

By Julie Sneider, Senior Editor 

Late last month, Norfolk Southern Railway rolled out RailGreen, the Class I’s newest solution for customers trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) when shipping their products by rail. 

Through RailGreen, NS is the first railroad in the world to offer verified certificates for supply chain, or Scope 3, emissions reduction, NS officials say.

The program is the next step in NS’s “Climate Transition Plan,” which aims to reduce the company’s GHG emissions intensity 42% by 2034. NS’ sustainability goals include increasing renewable energy usage to 30% by 2030 and reaching a 20% consumption of low-carbon fuels by 2034. 

In reaching those targets, NS has implemented a number of initiatives across its operations, such as modernizing over 900 older DC-traction locomotives to AC traction. But the Class I also is working with its customers and suppliers to reduce their carbon footprints. For example, the NS “Carbon Calculator” enables customers to calculate how much CO2 is saved when they ship by rail (versus truck). 

RailGreen is now the latest program for customers aiming for net-zero emissions in their operations and supply chain. Shipping freight by rail versus truck reduces emissions by 75% on average; RailGreen helps shippers reduce that remaining 25%, NS officials say. 

“It’s really a great pathway for us as we think about the future.” — Josh Raglin, chief sustainability officer, Norfolk Southern Railway Norfolk Southern Railway

To develop RailGreen, NS worked with 123Carbon, which uses the book-and-claim model to issue blockchain-based environmental attribute certificates (EACs). These EACs certify that each ton of reduced carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is uniquely tracked to prevent double counting. 

RailGreen's “carbon insetting” approach directly reduces emissions by funding sustainable fuel initiatives. When RailGreen certificates are issued, NS acquires more low-carbon biofuel for use across its operations, says Chief Sustainability Officer Josh Raglin. 

The RailGreen system works like this: NS’s biofuel use is third-party certified, generating RailGreen certificates; customers can purchase these certificates to apply toward their supply chain emissions; NS then uses those funds from those certificates to buy more biofuels to operate its locomotives and further reduce emissions.  

“We've been using biodiesel in our locomotives for close to a decade now in various blend amounts. And recently, the locomotive OEMs have approved higher blend rates — so we can now use up to a 20% biodiesel [blend] in locomotives,” says Raglin. “It’s really a great pathway for us as we think about the future.” 

NS’ goal is to use biodiesel for 7% of its overall fuel consumption by 2027 and 20% by 2034. In 2024, the railroad used over 9 million gallons of low-carbon biodiesel, more than double its usage compared to 2022. One challenge with low carbon fuels is knowing exactly which shipments were moved by trains running on sustainable fuel.  

That’s where RailGreen comes in. As NS continues to invest in low-carbon biofuels and related infrastructure, RailGreen will boost that investment while also helping customers achieve their sustainability goals, Raglin says. 

The aviation and maritime industries have been offering programs like RailGreen for some time to increase transparency and avoid emission reporting errors. For example, global container shipping company A.P. Moeller-Maersk offers ECO Delivery Ocean and ECO Delivery Air to help shippers decarbonize their logistics. The product gives shippers a choice to allocate energy from lower GHG emissions fuels to cover the consumed energy of fossil fuels in the transportation cargo, thereby lowering the Scope 3 emissions. Maersk is targeting net zero GHG emissions by 2040 across its entire business with new technologies, new vessels and reduced GHG emissions fuels, according to maersk.com. 

Well over 50 major companies are enrolled in 123Carbon’s certificate program, Raglin says, and some of those businesses currently use NS to transport their products. While those active in efforts to reduce Scope 3 emissions are typically major corporations, shippers of any size can tap into RailGreen as part of their decarbonization plans, he says. 

Norfolk Southern Railway

NS launched RailGreen partly because customers, shippers and suppliers were asking for something like it. 

“When they come to us and say, ‘Hey, we need more sustainable solutions, what do you have? What can you offer to me that I can turn around and offer the cargo owner?’ Now [we] have something that’s tangible because it’s third-party verified," Raglin says. "And that’s very important as we think about the market and the shippers out there that are willing to invest with us.”  

RailGreen’s success will be judged by how many customers participate in the program over the next couple of years, according to Raglin. 

“Also, I think we’ll see how it drives business volume growth,” he adds. “We’ll see if there’s a way to use this as an incentive to convert shipments to rail that are currently going over the road.”