Pittsburgh, PA: Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) released its 2020 Sustainability Report, which highlights the company’s accomplishments and commitments to building a more sustainable future by developing innovative technologies, driving responsible operations, and empowering people and communities around the globe. The report can be found here.
“Wabtec’s position as a global transportation leader gives us a unique perspective on the trends that are impacting our customers and other stakeholders, namely: climate change, automation and digitization, and urbanization,” said Rafael Santana, President, and CEO of Wabtec. “Our 2020 Sustainability Report outlines a series of aggressive goals to address those trends, improve our performance on global environmental, social, and governance matters, and drive a better future for people and the planet.”
The report also shares notable actions taken across the company to advance its sustainability strategy. Highlights include:
- In 2020, Wabtec developed the world’s first 100-percent, heavy-haul battery locomotive battery electric locomotive. The FLXdrive™ locomotive features an overall train energy management system, including approximately 20,000 battery cells that can reduce train fuel usage and emissions by 10 to 30 percent.
- The company hit a key milestone with Trip Optimizer™, an intelligent cruise control system for trains, that is EPA-certified and reduces locomotive emissions by roughly 10 percent. In 2020, the company installed Trip Optimizer on its 11,000th locomotive, saving 400 million gallons of fuel overall and reducing carbon emissions by over 500,000 tons per year – the equivalent of removing 100,000 cars from the road.
- The company introduced Metroflexx – the most advanced mass transit brake control. Metroflexx significantly reduces brake system weight, energy consumption, lifecycle cost, and braking distance. It was also designed with sustainability in mind – 95 percent of the system’s parts can be recycled at end of life.
- Through the use of additive technologies, the company produced over 1,250 additive prototypes last year and was the first rail supplier to introduce metallic 3D printed parts in production on rolling stock in North America. Wabtec plans to use additive manufacturing to produce over 25,000 parts by 2025.
- Building on its foundation of health and safety, the company marked the 12th consecutive year of injury rate reductions across its global operations.
- Wabtec opened its doors to a new German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) Gold-certified property in Bochum, Germany with sustainability and efficiency features that create a net reduction of 500 tons of CO2 per year. It also opened its new Engineering and Technology Center in Bengaluru, India — a LEED Platinum-certified building that has incorporated features that positively impact human health and wellness.
- The company continued to drive a diverse culture that invests in training and development. At Wabtec’s locomotive facility in India, more than 70 percent of the workforce was recruited from the surrounding communities and underwent a two-year training program to develop technical knowledge and skills, and more than 25 percent of the local workforce is female.
- “On almost every continent we are demonstrating the power of what Wabtec can do when we work together to achieve a common purpose,” Santana added. “By focusing on sustainability and accountability, and with an incredible team behind us, I’m confident we will achieve our goals and build a bigger, stronger Wabtec well-positioned to move and improve the world.”
