About

Deutsche Bahn AG is one of the world’s leading passenger and logistics companies and operates in 150 countries.  The company’s railway activities in Germany – where it transports five million passengers and 857,000 tons of freight every day – are its core business.  In the 2008 financial year, DB AG posted revenues of about €33.5 billion.

Every day about 237,000 employees are committed to providing environmentally-friendly mobility and logistical services for customers around the world, as well as to control and operate related transport networks in the rail, land, ocean and air freight transport sectors.  Through its carbon efficient rail transport, DB relieves the environment of significant CO2 emissions: 13 million tonnes CO2 would be additionally emitted per year if DB did not exist.  This is equal to the average annual emission of a city the size of Munich.

Strategy

Deutsche Bahn is a frontrunner in climate protection.  By the end of 2008, DB had already reduced the CO2 emissions of its train operations by about 40 percent compared with 1990 levels based on transport performance.  Nevertheless, DB is determined to further increase its lead in environmental protection.  On the way to a complete CO2-free rail service, it has announced a further 20 percent reduction in CO2 emission over 2006 levels by the year 2020.  DB’s activities in environmental protections are gathered in the “DB Eco Program.”  The new programme covers not only rail, but also DB’s global logistics activities, including land, sea and air services. 

Watch DB's Eco Program video.


DB Eco Plus: carbon free journeys

Since the beginning of 2009, DB offers a new Eco Plus product to all corporate clients: travelling completely carbon-free. The power required for business trips is supplied entirely from renewable energy sources.  For all Eco Plus products, DB obtains the needed energy entirely from regenerative sources in Germany.  Through this mechanism, power obtained from other sources is replaced.  In addition, parts of the revenues are used to fund new renewable energies.

All of the corporate clients registered in the bahn.corporate programme can benefit from this new offer and completely eliminate carbon emissions on their rail journeys.  Electric train services have the advantage that carbon emissions are avoided by the use of renewable energy sources.  For this reason, DB has consciously decided against carbon offset arrangements.  Switching to renewable energy sources is not entirely without cost for corporate clients, but the surcharge – for example around one Euro for a return journey from Munich to Mannheim – remains within acceptable limits.  As a next step, DB plans to offer carbon-free travelling for individuals as well.

The journey is the reward

As part of its climate protection strategy, DB seeks to support its customers in their choices for environmentally-friendly modes of transport.  Having a scientifically-sound tool for comparing the environmental impact of different transport modes is vital for consumer choice.

In co-operation with the Heidelberg Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu), DB has developed an online instrument to calculate the environmental impact of individual journeys within Europe: the “Environmental Mobility Check.” 

In a similar manner, the free online-tool EcoTransIT compares emissions produced by aircraft, shipping, trucks and freight trains.  It is available at www.dbschenker.com/ecotransit.

 Join the Climate Express to Copenhagen

Another important aspect of DB’s climate protection strategy is its support for the UNFCCC process of international negotiations relating to international climate agreements.  To support the upcoming 15th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Copenhagen, Denmark, DB – in co-operation with UIC, UNEP and WWF International – is organizing a ”Climate Express” from Brussels to the conference in Copenhagen in December 2009.  The project seeks to highlight the importance of transport for future greenhouse-gas development – and thus represents a contribution of the project partners to the international negotiation process.

The train ride will take the form of “rolling seminar,” and several presentations will be offered on board the “Climate Express,” focusing on sustainable mobility and options to reduce carbon emissions from transport.

DB also supports the climate negotiations on a very practical level: DB has introduced a special offer to everyone travelling to the UNFCCC Conference in Denmark.  With a special DB Eco Plus event ticket, people can travel from every station in Germany to Copenhagen and back without generating carbon emissions.  The tickets are valid for a maximum of four weeks between November 1st and December 20th 2009.  The total volume of the calculated electricity consumption of each trip will be bought from renewable energy sources and fed it into DB’s energy grid.  As a result, DB guarantees that the required power for the journey to Copenhagen will be supplied entirely from renewable energy sources.

We brake to make your coffee . . .

. . . because in most cases we convert energy generated during braking straight into electricity.  When the train brakes, this power is harnessed and then used to provide you with hot coffee – or to drive our trains.  The 20,000 or so passenger and freight transport train drivers have so far made a considerable contribution to energy efficiency.  Since 2002, they have received training within the scope of the "Energy Saving (ES)" project to drive as economically as possible.

The Energy Saving project has already realized some of the vast potential for efficient energy use.  If some reserve exists in DB’s train schedule, a train driver can, for example, turn off the train engine 60 kilometres before the destination station and simply coast along.  On a single ICE journey from Hamburg to Munich, this simple action can cut consumption up to 4,000 kilowatt hours – as much electricity as a German four-person household consumes in a whole year.

Green Logistics Network

Every day more than 5,400 freight trains run by DB Schenker relieve Europe’s roads of the burden posed by around 100,000 truck journeys.  Compared to trucks or airplanes, freight trains generate the lowest carbon emissions per tonne and driven kilometre.  As part of DB’s Eco Plus product line (see above), DB transports goods carbon-free with energy supply from 100 percent renewable sources as well – Europe-wide.

In total, DB Schenker is on its way to become the leading provider of Green Logistics services.  Our logistics network comprises all modes of transport from rail to truck, air and ocean freight, as well as logistics services.  Thanks to this broad spectrum of expertise, DB Schenker can pursue a comprehensive approach to environmental protection and offer our customers the most useful service – in both economic and ecological terms.

DB Schenker is realizing enormous possibilities for carbon savings above all by intelligently linking together the various modes of transport.  Further carbon reduction is also achieved by:

• Close co-operation with and monitoring of subcontractors in the areas of land transport, and air and ocean freight;
• Bundling services through hub systems and higher occupancy rates;
• Using modern, environment-friendly vehicles for rail freight and land transport;
• Training truck drivers and train drivers along in fuel-efficient driving skills;
• Internal production and technical improvements.

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