The Sustainable Rail Programme

Background

The GB rail industry has established the Sustainable Rail Programme (SRP) to respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by sustainable development and to contribute to the delivery of key government policy objectives such as reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable mobility, increased social inclusion and a thriving economy.

Sustainable Development is of increasing global political and social importance. The Government launched the UK’s Sustainable Development Strategy, Securing the Future, in March 2005 and the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Sustainable Development Action Plan in January 2006.

Sustainable development issues for rail can be illustrated under the three pillars of the environment, economy and society as presented in Figure 1 below. The relationship between these pillars can be complex as the issues are often inter-related and can have more than one impact.

Figure 1: The three pillars of sustainable development for rail

Role of the SRP

The overarching objective of the SRP is to assist the railway industry to develop sustainably and to contribute to a sustainable transport system.
The SRP is led by cross-industry and Government stakeholders and facilitated by the Rail Safety & Standards Board.

• Facilitating cross industry discussions
• Outlining the global sustainable development policy framework
• Facilitating the development of the industry sustainable development vision
• Supporting the measurement of performance
• Supporting implementation
• Supporting the industry to influence policy and legislation
• Building a shared understanding

Sustainable rail Programme Brochure