Norfolk Southern Employees Headquarters

FORGING A BETTER TOMORROW

By working together with our customers and partners, we can enhance sustainability in our operations, create a brighter future for our employees, and empower our customers to achieve their own sustainability goals.

Our 2023 Environmental, Social, and Governance Report

Our 16th annual report, “Forging a Better Tomorrow,” shares progress on our environmental, social, and governance initiatives. It details our commitment to doing what's right by our people, our customers, and the communities we serve, which is why we will always strive to enhance our safety culture, invest in our people, and build upon our long-standing sustainability initiatives.

Chicago Train Conductor

Environmental

Reducing Our Environmental Impacts

Conserving natural resources and reducing our environmental impact is critical to NS as we strive to achieve our science-based goal of reducing GHG emissions 42% by 2034. We’re committed to bold action and innovative solutions that advance our sustainability goals and we engage our customers and partners to collaborate with us to build a better planet.

Chicago Train Conductor

Sustainability Initiatives

Through innovative sustainability initiatives, we are playing our part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With our locomotive modernization program, we’re boosting fuel efficiency as well as increasing reliability. At our intermodal facilities, we’re replacing diesel-powered cranes with hybrid and electric models. Across our network, we’re continuing to expand the railroad’s use of renewable energy sources to offset emissions from powering our operations facilities.

Our Industry-Leading Carbon Calculator

Rail’s carbon footprint is seven times more efficient than shipping freight on trucks. That is why we work with customers to help them avoid and reduce their supply-chain carbon emissions. Using our science-based Carbon Calculator, shippers can get an accurate estimate of emissions they can save by moving their goods on our rail network versus the highway. NS can help you achieve your sustainability goals while growing your business.

STRENGTHENING OUR SOCIAL CONNECTIONS

At Norfolk Southern, our people and communities are at the heart of what we do. Working as one team, we are building a culture that enhances safety, champions diversity, and values inclusion. And we’re committed to ensuring our trains do not just pass by, but that our activities bring value and prosperity to the customers and communities we serve.

Our Vision & Values

Running a railroad takes vision. Ours centers on being a customer-centric, operations-driven organization. That vision also means we care about each other, our customers, our partners, the communities we serve, and the planet we call home.

Norfolk Southern Vision and Values

Creating an Environment Where Everyone Can Thrive

Our goal is to build a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We achieve that by building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve, where every employee feels included, respected, and heard. We believe that diversity in all its forms gives us a competitive advantage in a dynamic global marketplace.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion at Norfolk Southern

Corporate Giving

Norfolk Southern’s charitable giving program is based on relationship building and elevating all members of the communities we serve. We partner with organizations committed to inclusion and equal access for all. To better align our giving to our values and strategic priorities, we have rolled out four new focus areas – safety, sustainability, workforce development, and thriving communities.

Norfolk Southern Corporate Giving

A Diverse Supply Chain Is Key to Our Success

We are committed to partnering with small businesses and certified diverse firms who deliver excellence.

Aerial photo of intermodal transportation port highlighting Norfolk Southern’s supplier diversity

Good Governance

Meet Our Leadership team

Our corporate leadership team is helping us chart a new course in the rail industry, focused on driving long- term value through a balanced approach to service, productivity, and growth. Their vision includes fostering a workplace culture of transparency and inclusiveness and setting the industry gold standard for safety.

Good Governance Alan Shaw CEO

Our leadership

Our highly effective and engaged Board of Directors is involved in every aspect of our company’s governance. Led by an independent chair, the board’s diverse members – all with senior executive experience in the areas NS is focused on – provide invaluable oversight of our business performance, including our safety and sustainability performance.

Our subsidiaries

Norfolk Southern has subsidiaries that extend our services and add value to the marketplace. They include a door-to-door bimodal transportation service for key auto parts shippers, a breakbulk marine terminal specializing in imports and exports, an intermodal transportation solutions provider, and services for telecommunication companies looking to expand fiber-optic networks along our railroad rights-of-way.

Read Our 2023 ESG Report

Norfolk Southern is reducing our environmental impacts, enhancing safety, building stronger connections with stakeholders, and driving growth for customers and the economy. 

Download the Report

Forest Norfolk Southern ESG Report