DB Schenker Rail UK (
www.rail.dbschenker.co.uk) has launched a scheme that allows freight customers to offset 100% of their CO2 emissions.
The new product, Eco Neutral, will help its customers to compensate in full for the CO2 emissions produced through their rail freight services by backing climate change projects across the globe.
Steve Pryce, DB Schenker Rail UK’s head of marketing, said: “Rail freight already offers significant environmental benefits when compared with road. Each tonne transferred by rail rather than road cuts CO2 emissions by 76%.
“We are committed to being an industry leader in this area, continuously investing in innovative ways to further minimise the impact of our operations on the environment and help customers to reduce their carbon emissions.”
DB Schenker Rail says it is the first rail freight company in the country to offer a fully carbon-neutral service. In order to deliver this scheme, the company has collaborated with Atmosfair, a climate protection organisation that tries to protect the climate by compensating for greenhouse gases through the use of renewable energies.
The company calculates the CO2 emissions of its customers from their rail services to decide how much it will cost to compensate them.
For this process, DB Schenker will consider distance, weight, payload capacity, backload statistics, traction type and fuel/electricity consumption. It also gives its customers the option to choose a project to fund in order to compensate for their CO2 emissions.