We have heard from many of you that environmental issues play an important role in your decision making process for transportation service providers. Customers who ship by rail achieve significant environmental benefits. In addition to helping reduce overall transportation costs, shipping with BNSF is part of an effective strategy to reduce your company’s overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To help you understand how shipping by rail versus long-haul trucking can have a positive impact on the environment, we have created this tool to estimate a transportation carbon footprint for your BNSF rail shipments. You can enter in your total annual BNSF shipment numbers, or specific lane comparisons, and compare it to what it would have been if you shipped by truck only. You can also use it to estimate how much greater your carbon footprint could be reduced if you incorporated more BNSF rail into your transportation portfolio. BNSF and the Environment BNSF is an industry leader in environmental stewardship and is committed to reducing the environmental impact of our operations to help ensure a cleaner road ahead for the generations of tomorrow. To learn more, visit BNSF’s Environmental Stewardship Web page. If you have any questions about BNSF’s environmental initiatives, or for help using this tool, please contact your BNSF Marketing Representative at 888-428-2673. *Actual carbon emissions may vary from the results provided here as a result of variable factors such as topography, weather, unique product characteristics, etc. BNSF’s carbon emission estimator was formed in collaboration with ClearCarbon Consulting, Inc. to illustrate the estimated environmental benefit that is obtained by utilizing rail as part of your company’s supply chain. These carbon estimations rely on data sources including BNSF shipment history and internal shipping metrics, along with assumptions for route mileage calculation, trucking industry averages for empty miles, out-of-route miles, and fuel efficiency (Truck Assumption: 6.5 mpg highway, 6.1 mpg city), and other data sources such as the U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders program emission factors (Direct Emissions from Mobile Combustion Sources, May 2008).

What is a "carbon footprint"? A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact we have on the environment. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced when burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating or transportation-related activities. GHG emissions, in the form of carbon dioxide, are believed to be the primary cause of climate change. The carbon footprint is expressed in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mtons CO2e). Emissions are calculated by measuring the energy use (i.e. diesel fuel consumed) and multiplying it by EPA-established emission factors*.