Rail has an important role to play in creating a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive Britain. That means reducing the railway’s environmental impact, adapting to climate change and ensuring investment in rail delivers wider benefits for people, places and communities.
For the rail supply chain, sustainability and social value increasingly influence decisions around assets, technology, procurement, skills and investment. Rail Forum’s Sustainability & Social Value pillar will help members understand these priorities, share good practice and turn ambition into practical action.
Support from Rail Forum...
Across Sustainability & Social Value, Rail Forum will:
- Connect members with customers, policymakers, specialists and suppliers to create practical solutions.
- Inform members about changing sustainability, social value and procurement requirements.
- Create opportunities to collaborate through events, workshops, roundtables and industry briefings.
- Champion supply-chain capability, sharing technologies, expertise and good practice that support a more sustainable railway.
- Represent members, ensuring supply-chain opportunities and challenges are understood as industry priorities evolve.
Decarbonisation & Environmental Sustainability
Creating a more sustainable railway requires action across the whole system, from lower-carbon traction and energy to materials, manufacturing, construction, maintenance and asset management.
Network Rail’s Greener Railway Strategy 2025–2050 focuses on net zero, the circular economy, climate adaptation, protecting land, air and water, and supporting nature’s recovery.
Rail Forum will help members understand these priorities, share sustainable solutions and connect suppliers with customers, policymakers and industry specialists.
Climate Adaptation & Resilience
A sustainable railway must also be resilient to a changing climate. Extreme weather and changing environmental conditions create risks for infrastructure, operations and supply chains, making climate adaptation an increasingly important consideration in asset management and long-term investment.
Climate adaptation is one of the eight priority areas within Network Rail’s Greener Railway Strategy. Rail Forum will bring supply-chain perspectives into this conversation and create opportunities to explore the technologies, data, capabilities and partnerships that can strengthen rail resilience.
Social Value, Skills & Inclusive Growth
Rail creates value beyond the journeys it enables. It connects people with jobs, education and services, supports local economies and provides skilled employment across Britain. RSSB’s Rail Social Value Framework provides a consistent approach for organisations to understand, measure and communicate these wider benefits.
Rail Forum is helping suppliers understand what this means in practice. Our Impact: Social Value in Rail workshop covered ESG, buyer expectations, reporting frameworks and practical tools for the supply chain.
This will be followed by ‘Creating Lasting Social Value’ , focused on developing a lasting social impact from rail.
Our focus is practical: helping members understand procurement expectations, develop skills, widen access to rail careers and demonstrate credible social and environmental outcomes.
