Making it clear that we are doing our bit Neutralising a rail shipment is fairly easy, as it is widely known that CO2 has no geographical borders: emissions produced when forwarding a consignment can be fully compensated for in climate-protection projects across the globe.

An example of CO₂ compensation
Transporting 1,000 tonnes of goods from Zurich to Genoa by rail produces 6.8 tonnes of CO₂. Transporting the same quantity by road would produce 32 tonnes of CO₂. To ensure that transport is climate neutral, almost 5 times more CO₂ must be compensated for with road freight than with railfreight.

Environmental protection as a competitive factor
In recognition of the voluntary CO₂ compensation of your shipments, you will receive a certificate from the climate protection organisation myclimate that permits you to officially label your rail consignments "climate neutral". You can thus visibly demonstrate your commitment to environmental protection both inside and outside of your company.  

What is carbon neutrality?
The mechanism of carbon neutrality is recognised worldwide and used both by government institutions and global organisations. It doesn't matter where on the earth's surface harmful greenhouse gases are released – the overall effect on the climate is the same. This means that all CO₂ emissions can be compensated for somewhere in the world. The main thing is to reduce total global greenhouse gas emissions. We therefore recommend you compensate for the emissions produced by transporting your goods.

How do we compensate for emissions?
Voluntary compensation contributions are used to support environmental protection projects both in Switzerland and abroad, which include generating electricity from biomass, repairing hydroelectric power stations or distributing solar cookers, for example. For SBB Cargo, the quality of these projects is the most important thing. That is why we decided to work together with myclimate, an international climate protection foundation that develops and supports projects that directly reduce greenhouse gases, thereby protecting our climate.

The sustainability of these projects is assessed using the "Gold Standard". This demanding set of criteria aims to integrate the local population of a host country into a project, thereby also improving the quality of the environment at that location.

Strict climate protection criteria
When calculating emissions, the entire life cycle of a shipment is depicted as realistically as possible. Only then can a shipment earn the "climate neutral" label. SBB Cargo therefore also takes into account emissions from marshalling activities and from the construction of the infrastructure required to transport the shipment.

SBB Cargo uses a piece of software called EcoTransIT to calculate emissions as accurately as possible. The basis for calculation is supplemented by data from the world's leading life cycle database, Ecoinvent.

Climate neutral shipments made easy
Would you like to transport your shipments climate neutrally? Simply tell us which shipments you would like to compensate, and we will then calculate the volume of emissions produced and the cost of compensating the shipment, taking all relevant factors into account. Subsequently, you will be required to complete an emissions report and send it to our Customer Service department. myclimate will invoice you directly for the compensation costs, and will use this money to support projects in which the emissions produced by your shipments are neutralised within three years. The foundation will also send you a regular overview of the climate protection projects that your contribution has helped to support.

	A visible commitment Active climate protection with SBB Cargo offers you a range of benefits: You increase your credibility and professionalism in all matters concerning climate change You position yourself as an innovative and responsible company You become a role model Your image is enhanced both internally and externally You reach out to new target groups and new markets