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Yesterday, Norfolk Southern Corp. and GE Transportation kicked off the second Railroad Sustainability Symposium at the Class I's 14,000-acre Brosnan Forest Conference Center near Charleston, S.C.

Sponsored by NS and GE, the three-day conference will include presentations on current sustainability practices, an industry perspective on sustainability from the Association of American Railroads and a shipper's perspective on environmental responsibility.

The presentations on best practices will be provided by representatives from such companies such as GreenOrder, UPS, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, C2Invest, Chesapeake Energy Corp., Coca-Cola and BMW Manufacturing, as well as NS and GE.

The event also will include forest tours so attendees can learn more about a longleaf ecosystem. In 2008, NS donated a conservation easement to the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, permanently protecting more than 12,000 acres of the forest from development. The property is a safe harbor for numerous colonies of endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers among one of the nation's largest remaining stands of longleaf pines.

"We're delighted to reciprocate as host of this year's symposium following GE's hospitality in welcoming U.S. and international rail industry leaders and sustainability experts to its corporate campus for the first railroad sustainability symposium last year," said Blair Wimbush, NS vice president of real estate and corporate sustainability officer, in a prepared statement.