ORR issues updated environmental guidance to the railway industry

13 December 2007
ORR/34/07

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) today publishes updated guidance to  the rail industry to help each regulated enterprise take appropriate account of the environment as part of its everyday operations. The guidance provides advice on the issues that each enterprise should address in its environmental policies and practices.

The new guidance includes, for the first time, a requirement to contribute to industry-wide reporting against a number of environmental performance indicators. These indicators have been developed by the industry.  ORR will monitor the environmental performance of the industry against the indicators, with the results published annually in ORR’s national rail trends. 

Tracking the indicators over time will bring the improving performance and environmental benefits of railway services to a wider audience, while encouraging and facilitating the industry to improve its performance year by year.    

Bill Emery, ORR’s Chief Executive, said:

“the publication of this updated guidance builds on the extensive work already being undertaken across the industry to develop a sustainable railway. We want our new guidance to encourage each licence holder to produce environmental policies that contain clear objectives for improving its own environmental performance, as well as that of the industry more widely, and ensure that such issues are addressed in an appropriate way across individual organisations. 

“The incorporation of the performance indicators within the guidance  underlines the industry’s commitment to improving performance, and we are grateful for the work it has done together to reach this position. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the industry to develop these performance indicators  further for publication in 2008 and every year thereafter.”

Notes to editors

1. The 2007 environmental guidance document can be viewed on the ORR website at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/348.pdf Responses to ORR’s July 2007 consultation proposals can also be found at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.8939

2. There are three key differences from the original guidance document. It now requires policies to address: (i) a commitment to support industry initiatives to improve environmental performance; (ii) the sharing and implementing of best practice initiatives; and (iii) how environmental issues that might impact on passengers and members of the public are dealt with.   

3. The publication of ORR’s sustainable development policy delivered a commitment in ORR’s corporate strategy and 2006-7 business plan to take a more proactive approach on sustainable development, and followed consultation with industry stakeholders to review current industry arrangements for facilitating and incentivising improved sustainable development performance. 

4. The sustainable development policy is available from the ORR website at http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/324.pdf

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