It’s no secret that climate change will pose a direct threat to humanity in the coming years, should the necessary pre-emptive measures be disregarded. Whilst some companies choose to shirk their responsibility to mitigate the risks of their industry’s endeavours, some companies have embodied a threat averting shift based on sustainability and decarbonisation. As a new generation of consumers emerges, with a greater interest and scrutiny into liveable climate longevity, the need for sustainable strategies becomes both an environmental concern and business opportunity. Embracing this shift, comes DB Cargo, Europe’s leading rail freight transport company.

Already the company has solidly established itself as a leader in the rail industry: “DB Cargo AG is the market leader for rail freight transport in Europe. In Germany alone we have around 35,000 kilometres of rail network. We serve 4200 starting points for this gigantic environmental network. These are marshalling yards, election spots, terminals. These are rail connections at the doorstop of customers’ premises or in industrial areas”, says Dr Sigrid Nikutta, CEO of DB Cargo. With a highly efficient core service in place, Deutsche Bahn seeks to take responsibility as a large company for the effect its services have on the environment, and opt for more sustainable, greener practices. “Climate change and rail freight logistics transport have a lot to do with each other. Every ton that we transport by rail and not by road automatically saves 80 to 100% CO2”, says Dr Nikutta.
“Being an environmental pioneer is not just part of our self-image, but it’s something we actually live every day”, says Meike Hillenbrand, Sustainability Manager at DB Cargo. The company’s pursuits, centred around being environmentally respectful whilst achieving effective transportation of goods, have led to a carbon avoidance of 7 million tonnes of C02 per year in comparison to alternative transport via roads.
“With DBeco plus DB Cargo has done a really pioneering work. Now, our domestic shipments are running 100 percent with green electricity”, mentions Simon Motter, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics.

By utilising this ecologically friendly approach, combined with its extensive product portfolio, DB Cargo is able to seamlessly acquire and retain its customer base.

But the horizons of the company are all but limited. Despite saving more than 26,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, it’s not enough until DB Cargo’s green shipment energy is at least continent wide, says Simon Motter: “From my point of view, we need more, and we are looking forward to expanding this product to an EU wide concept as soon as possible”.

Volkswagen Group Logistics’s vision is to create a sustainable transport network. For this there must be an important joint effort for the expansion of combined transport. The future battery-electric and thus emission-free truck will be part of the solution to get the long-distance goods on the rail.

In this hub concept, DB Cargo is making an important contribution to CO2 neutrality for the Volkswagen Group by 2050. In this way, logistics – in the network combination of emission-free truck and rail transport – will make its contribution to the Group as a provider of sustainable mobility.

With a history of longstanding partnerships, such as with Volkswagen Group Logistics, expanding its operations to wider regions and subsequently working in collaboration with new clients is part of the very nature of DB Cargo. With other large partnerships, working across industries to deliver integrated concepts as an example to other key players in the industry is core to the fabric of DB Cargo.

“The point is to increase the proportion of freight transported by rail. And I am very, very sure that the time for rail is now and that climate rescue will go by rail”, Dr Nikutta predicts.

For sustainable networks that are characterised by area-wide, combining transports with the intelligent interconnection of truck and rail is essential.

With the future looking only to place more emphasis on the necessity to protect the planet’s climate, it’s likely other companies in the sector will attempt to emulate the successes DB Cargo currently enjoys.

Companies that ignore or fail to do so will be susceptible to being left behind, as more and more consumers demand the businesses they interact with offer evidence they are being environmentally respectful to support the future livelihoods of coming generations.