Working to protect the climate.
SBB has set itself the goal of reducing our CO2 emissions from operations by 30% by 2020, compared with 1990.
SBB can provide around 75% of the energy it requires through responsibly sourced electricity, which is generated through hydroelectric power. The greatest obstacles to reducing CO2 emissions are therefore not in rail operations, but in energy consumption in our buildings and the fuel consumption of our road vehicles and shunters.
As part of our energy-saving programme, SBB has agreed targets with the Swiss Confederation to reduce energy emissions in over 130 stations, depots and administrative buildings.
We are aiming to make further reductions and to exhaust the energy-saving potential of each new building and renovation project. This can also make climate protection an attractive proposition in environmental terms. Already, 10% of our entire heating energy consumption is being produced in an environmentally friendly way through wood-burning and district heating systems; this figure is set to rise in future.
28 percent of our entire CO2 emissions are caused by diesel locomotives. These are used for shunting operations, track maintenance and local freight deliveries – and most of them are fitted with particulate filters.
In order to reduce CO2 emissions from this source, SBB will be training its diesel locomotive drivers in to use driving methods which are less harmful to the environment (EcoDrive). As a basis for further preventive action, we are also carrying out a thorough investigation into the technical CO2 reduction potential of our diesel locomotives.
SBB currently uses 2,400 road vehicles in maintenance operations on tracks and buildings. The procurement of these vehicles is already subject to stringent ecological criteria – the required performance of each vehicle is determined by its practical use, for example. The SBB extends the EcoDrive training programme to its road vehicle users in 2011, and is also investigating the use of cars powered by alternative fuels.
Finally, our energy-saving measures in rail operations are also contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. Even the environmentally friendly electricity mix that SBB uses generates a low level of CO2 emissions. This arises from «upstream» sources such as the construction and maintenance of power stations. Saving energy helps to reduce «grey energy» consumption.
CO2 emissions of SBB 2011.
