AAR honors Andrew Paul of NS with Chafee Environmental Excellence Award
Written by Maggie Lancaster, assistant editor
Andy Paul, center, with his wife, Barbara Paul, left, NS manager talent management, and Ed Hamberger, president and chief executive officer of the AAR.
AAP
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) awarded the 2017 John H. Chafee Environmental Excellence Award to Andrew Paul from Norfolk Southern. The award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year.
After 30 years serving in the Navy, Andrew Paul took the lead of Norfolk Southern’s energy services program as senior manager of Energy and Facility Services.
“In just five years, he has outfitted more than 100 shops, yards and offices with longer-lasting, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems,” AAR said of Paul. “These investments have generated a savings of $4.9 million in annual energy and maintenance costs and reduced emissions by nearly 36,000 metric tons – equal to removing 7,500 passenger vehicles from the road.”
AAR says Paul has also helped local supervisors better understand how energy is being used across the railroad through an energy audit program that helps identify ways to save money and reduce environmental impacts. Paul is also leading the way on a three-year, $53-million energy conversion project of Norfolk Southern’s largest locomotive shop, which is scheduled for completion later this year.
“As an industry that is grounded in a deep sense of responsibility to our communities, the freight rail industry is committed to creating a legacy of sustainability for future generations,” said AAR President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger. “No mode of ground transportation surpasses freight rail when it comes to delivering for our customers and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Andrew Paul’s work at Norfolk Southern has transformed how his railroad thinks about capital building projects to focus on energy solutions that are environmentally responsible.”
The AAR award is named in honor of the late Rhode Island senator, John H. Chafee, a strong advocate for green causes and the ecofriendly benefits of rail transportation. the annual award recognizes a railroad employee who has demonstrated the highest level of environmental stewardship in the previous year.
