CSX releases social responsibility report, rates another IT workplace ranking

CSX Corp. released its sixth annual Corporate Social Responsibility Report yesterday.

Titled “Moving Forward,” the report outlines the Class I’s past performance and future goals in five key areas: business performance and governance; safety and security; employees; environment; and community. The report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative G4 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, CSX officials said in a press release.

The 2015 achievements cited in the report include:
• hiring veterans at a rate comprising 25 percent of new employees;
• attaining the railroad’s first sub-70 full-year operating ratio;
• starting reconstruction of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C., to create clearances for double-stack containers;
• purchasing materials and services worth $132 million from more than 250 diverse and minority suppliers;
• training and providing resources to more than 7,000 first responders;
• providing 66 free transportation moves to help support communities;
• receiving the rail industry’s top three environmental awards;
• reaching more than 70 percent completion of a goal to plant 42,000 trees under a “Trees for Tracks” program; and
• logging nearly 22,000 employee volunteer hours.

“As we transform into the CSX of Tomorrow, we’re focused on the best safety, service and people,” said CSX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Ward. “We’re proud of the accomplishments of our teams, the sustainable transportation solutions we provide for our customers, the value proposition of our business for the economy, and our progress on this journey of corporate responsibility.

CSX also announced it recently was ranked No. 41 in IDG Computerworld’s list of the top 100 Best Places to Work in IT. The Class I now has landed in the magazine’s rankings for four consecutive years.

Each year, Computerworld ranks the top 100 work environments for information technology (IT) professionals based on a questionnaire regarding company offerings in such categories as benefits, career development, training and retention. The magazine also factors the results of IT worker surveys into the rankings.

“[We are] proud to have created an environment in which our people feel empowered and challenged by their work,” said CSX Chief Information Officer Kathleen Brandt. “Our IT professionals play a pivotal role in driving value for [us] with innovative and reliable technologies — enabling excellence in safety, efficiency and service.”