CSX celebrates 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
Written by jrood
CSX Corporation is celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day with a week-long celebration around its network that includes rail yard clean sweeps, employee engagement and education activities and local beautification projects.
"Protecting the
environment and reducing our carbon footprint are a major focus of our everyday
operations. We welcome the chance on this 40th anniversary of Earth Day to
celebrate our accomplishments and look for new areas of improvement," said
Skip Elliott, CSX vice president, public safety and environment.
CSX’s Earth Day
celebrations kicked off April 17 with sponsorship of and participation in the
2010 Earth Day & Ecology Fair in Jacksonville, Fla., where CSX is
headquartered. This is the 16th year that CSX has sponsored the event.
Throughout the following
week, employees around the network will participate in litter-reduction
"clean sweeps" of CSX facilities, wellness fairs, conservation and
recycling education programs and beautification projects. CSX facilities in
Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; Cleveland, Ohio; Cumberland, Md.; Evansville, Ind.;
Hamlet, N.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Louisville, Ken.; Nashville, Tenn.;
Riverdale, Ill.; Selkirk, NY..; Russell, Ken.; and Waycross, Ga., will
participate.
The railroad is also
proud to recognize its second-annual Environmental Award winners during the
week. On April 21, CSX will host a best practices exchange and awards dinner
for customers whose responsible environmental policies improve the environment.
CSX will conclude its
Earth Day events on April 24 with sponsorship of and participation in a cleanup
day in Washington, D.C., coordinated by the Anacostia Watershed Society.
CSX’s environmental
stewardship commitment extends beyond Earth Day and encompasses all of its
operations. CSX was the first railroad to join the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders Program, and in 2009 voluntarily committed
to reduce CO2 emissions by eight percent per revenue ton-mile by 2011. CSX was
also the charter railroad member of EPA’s SmartWay Transport Partnership, which
promotes voluntary reductions in fuel consumption and emissions. In 2007, CSX
became the first railroad to win the SmartWay Excellence Award, which recognizes
freight carriers that have made significant contributions to protecting the
environment.
