Sustainable Rail Blueprint: its impact so far and where we go from here

This month we're joined by Thom Rawson, RSSB's Sustainable Rail Principal, to talk through the impact the Sustainable Rail Blueprint has had so far. He also covers how we're helping rail organisations embed it, how we're facilitating industry collaboration on sustainability, and what's next.

Find out more at https://www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability/the-sustainable-rail-blueprint

Transcript

Host [00.18]: At RSSB, we believe in doing good—for our members, for rail passengers around the country, and for the industry at large. And nowhere is this sentiment more felt than in doing good  for our planet. 

Since the launch of the Sustainable Rail Blueprint at the end of 2023, our work in this important area has only accelerated. So, with us today is Thom Rawson, RSSB’s Sustainable Rail Principal, to talk about RSSB’s work since that launch, how we’re helping rail organisations embed important sustainability principles, and where we go from here. Thank you for joining us, Thom. 

So, the Sustainable Rail Blueprint launched in November 2023. What impact has it had since then? 

Thom Rawson [01.03]: Yeah, we launched the Sustainable Rail Blueprint at the end of last year, so that sets out a long -term vision for the rail industry across topics covering emissions, natural environment, and social sustainability. So, this is the first time the rail industry in Great Britain has had a single industry -wide sustainability plan. And that’s been the culmination of a long process of co -creation with the industry, which was essential in enabling us to reach a point of consensus on the industry’s sustainability ambitions and priorities. So, first of all, we’re really grateful for the collaborative efforts that enabled us to pull that together. 

So, now, since the launch, the industry has a single reference point for sustainability in rail, and the purpose or intent of the Blueprint has always been for it to be a central framework for organisations across all parts of the rail industry to use to inform priorities for technical projects and sustainability developments, enable joined-up thinking across the rail industry, and more generally ensure that the industry is working towards a consistent set of sustainability goals. 

So, since the launch of the Blueprint, something in particular that’s been really pleasing to see is organisations using the Blueprint—so the structure, the content, the ambitions, and goals set out within the Blueprint—to inform their own sustainability strategies and plans, and also refresh existing sustainability plans that they already had in place. At the launch event, we had presentations from Southeastern and Colas Rail, who shared how they were already using the Blueprint to inform their own approaches. And now, Network Rail are in the process of doing the same thing, so, refreshing their existing approaches to environmental and social sustainability to line it up with the industry’s Sustainable Rail Blueprint. 

So, these sorts of examples are really great to see demonstrate the impact that the Blueprint is having and the value in having that comprehensive, industry-wide plan for sustainability. 

Host [03.03]: Thanks for explaining, Thom. What does RSSB’s programme of activities to embed the Blueprint look like? 

Thom [03.10]: So, we’re working on a range of projects and activities to embed the Blueprint across industry.

So, one example is that we recently launched the Sustainability Maturity Tool as a beta release. So, this is a maturity framework which is directly built upon and aligned to the Blueprint, and it enables organisations to complete a self -assessment on how well their current activities support the industry’s sustainability goals, where they may be leading the industry in some areas, and then of course where there may be gaps or blind spots that they might consider focusing on more. So, that Maturity Tool is currently available to use as a beta release. And we’re basically inviting organisations to use it, to test it, and to provide us feedback on how effective it is. 

We’re also working to take forward some of the common solutions that were set out within the Blueprint itself. One of those is a culture for sustainability. Sustainability, learning and development, and skills across the industry are really important enabler of sustainability. So, something that we’re working on at the moment is to develop an e-learning course, which will provide an introduction to sustainable rail for all colleagues across the industry that will be free to use and will be available towards the end of summer.

And also, in the world of data, another common solution is the data framework. So, we’re working to develop the tools and capabilities to really understand how the industry is performing in terms of sustainability. So, tracking and reporting performance, enabling our members to benchmark performance, and, importantly, enabling us to quantify and build an evidence base for rail sustainability credentials because this also enables us to compare the sustainability of rail to other transport modes and really make the case for the importance of rail.

This alongside the Rail Social Value Tool, which enables us to quantify the value that rail delivers for society, will enable us to build a really comprehensive evidence base for how sustainable rail is.

Host [05.09]: So, my next question is: How is RSSB facilitating industry collaboration on sustainability? 

Thom [05.16]: The development of the Blueprint itself and the activities that we’ve been doing have always been very collaborative as a fundamental principle of the work that we’re doing. So, the development of the Blueprint, and the definition of the goals and ambitions set out within the Blueprint, has been the result of really extensive cross-industry collaboration through our various working groups. 

The development of the Blueprint included a period of consultation as well, to invite wider perspectives, and the Blueprint itself includes an industry commitments page, which shows key leaders from across different organisations across the rail industry showing that they are demonstrated to the delivery of the Blueprint. 

So, going forward, that spirit of collaboration and co -creation continues to be completely embedded in everything that we do. And this is mainly facilitated through our cross-industry working group structure. So, the Sustainable Rail Executive and Sustainable Rail Leadership groups provide overall direction, leadership, and championing of the delivery of the Blueprint. And these leadership groups are supported by a number of technical working groups. So, we facilitate technical working groups that focus on specific topics like decarbonisation, air quality, climate resilience, and social sustainability. So, through these groups, we facilitate programmes of technical work and use them really to ensure that the work we do is closely informed and reflective of the collective priorities and needs of our members. 

Host [06.49]: So, what would you say are the main challenges in delivering sustainable rail?

Thom [06.55]: A key challenge that I think we’re all aware of within the industry is the challenge of finding the right investment and having the right resources in place to deliver against our priorities, and that includes for sustainability. 

I think it’s important to think about the types of costs that are involved in delivering sustainability to reframe that challenge really. We understand that there are costs involved in direct investment in infrastructure, so that might be for solutions like electrification, emissions mitigation technologies, and the development of infrastructure to protect rail from the impact of extreme weather, for example. But it’s important to consider that investment in rail infrastructure is required anyway to modernise rail and to deliver a more resilient railway in the future, upgrading and replacing aging assets. So, in this case, sustainability can be considered as something to be built into these existing investment costs rather than being seen as standalone or separate to that process.

So, this underlines the importance of ensuring that sustainability is a key consideration within design standards and infrastructure specifications so that sustainability is secured at these early decision points in designing and specifying future infrastructure investment decisions, which will ultimately enable the best long-term value and ensure that sustainability is included.

And even further than that, having a clear case of the sustainability credentials of rail, so being able to evidence how sustainable rail is, as well as the benefits that rail delivers for society, can actually improve the case for investment in rail infrastructure and provision of services. So, thinking about it this way, sustainability can be considered a driver of investment in rail rather than an additional cost.

And it isn’t all about infrastructure investment. So, important to remember that many sustainability goals are about doing things better rather than investing in new infrastructure. So, in terms of operations, maintenance, and everyday decision making, this does still come with a cost, but it’s not on the same scale as infrastructure investment. These are day-to-day cultural improvements that can include things like new systems, training and upskilling, and new resources and sustainability roles. This underlines the importance of RSSB’s role within the industry because by providing our members with the tools, systems, and guidance to do things more sustainably, it means that there are efficiencies compared to each individual rail organisation developing their own potentially inconsistent approaches to doing that. 

Host [09.21]: In your opinion, what more could the rail industry be doing to support delivery of the Sustainable Rail Blueprint? 

Thom [09.29]: I think what’s really important is that the Blueprint continues to be used by organisations and taken up to inform their own strategies, priorities, and plans, so embedding the Blueprint into the way that organisations do business across the rail industry. That includes the overarching sustainability strategies, but also embedding sustainability into internal processes, decision-making, and trying to ensure that sustainability is considered every step of the way in the way that a business operates. 

And I think alongside that, again, the importance of collaboration is really essential here. So, the opportunity is there for our members to continue to participate, engage, and share best practice and feedback through involvement in our technical working groups and research projects.

Host [10.15]: Thanks, Thom. Finally, what’s next? 

Thom [10.18]: So, we’re continuing to move forward and accelerate the delivery of the Blueprint across a range of projects—technical projects as well as wider sustainability and embedding projects.

So, a couple of examples being the Sustainability Maturity Tool, as mentioned earlier, is currently in beta release, so it’s available for members to use, and we’d encourage organisations to use that tool to understand their maturity against the Blueprint.

We’re also working towards the release of our Introduction to Sustainable Rail e-learning course, so that will be available in the coming months for colleagues across the industry to use and take part in.

So, overall, you can find out more about our ongoing sustainability programme on our website and through our more general communications. 

Host [11.02]: Thom, thanks again for speaking with us today. And thank you for listening.

For more information on our sustainability work, go to www.rssb.co.uk/sustainability.

We look forward to you joining us for the next episode. And in the meantime, stay safe.