A $500 million offering of green bonds were issued by Norfolk Southern Corporation on Wednesday.
The issue is intended for funding investments to minimize the company’s carbon emissions and assist clients minimize their supply-chain emissions. Norfolk Southern is the very first railroad from the ‘Class I’ on the North American continent to close an offering on green bonds.
The company last month said that it wants to achieve a science-based target to reduce its carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement. Wednesday’s announcement is a serious milestone on the company’s way to achieve its goals.
Norfolk Southern can move a ton of freight 440 miles on one single gallon of fuel. The rail currently hauls 45 percent of all freight ton miles for shipping to further destinations in the US and generates 7% of the freight carbon emissions. Using the the railways in order to haul freight reduces the total transportation emissions, relaxes the highway blockage, and lowers the wear on the interstate highway system.
The chief sustainability officer, Josh Raglin noted that the reduction of the environmental impacts with the help of green bonds is very important in order to trace the path to where companies want to move on the long run.
Norfolk Southern recently made it to the 2020 list of the 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies in the World by the Wall Street Journal’s.
Source: PRNewswire