UP posts annual progress report on sustainability, citizenship

Union Pacific Railroad achieved a company-best personal injury rate, decreased derailments by 7 percent and hired more than 1,700 military veterans in 2014, the Class I reported in its annual "Sustainability and Citizenship Report."

Released last week, the sixth annual report recounts the company's approach to safety, sustainable business practices and responsibilities as a "corporate neighbor," said UP Senior Vice President-Corporate Relations Bob Turner in a press release.

Published online, the report also announces the company's new fuel consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions reduction goal. UP aims to reduce its locomotive fuel consumption rate by 1 percent each year from 2015 to 2017. Measured on a gross ton-mile basis, the goal is expected to result in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 1 percent annually, the report stated.

Among the report's 2014 highlights, UP said it:
• achieved a company-best annual reportable personal injury rate and decreasing reportable derailments by 7 percent year over year;
• hired more than 1,700 military veterans, which represented 28 percent of new employees, up from 24.6 percent in 2013;
• conducted more than 4.8 million miles of visual track inspections and 222,000 miles of electronic track inspections to prevent derailments;
• increased spending with diverse suppliers by 5 percent compared with 2013; and
• completed 45 utility conservation projects, which saved the energy equivalent to that consumed by 260 U.S. homes annually.