UNIFE’s Sustainable Transport Committee (STC) brings together the rail supply industry’s leading experts on sustainability-related topics. The STC defines the strategy and carries out UNIFE’s activities in the field of sustainable mobility, climate crisis, energy efficiency, urban mobility, circular economy, sustainable finance (EU Taxonomy) and any other relevant EU policy initiative.
The STC coordinates the activities of two technical expert bodies, named Topical Groups: the Life-cycle Assessment Topical Group (LCA TG) and the Chemical Risks Topical Group (CR TG).
The Life-Cycle Assessment Topical Group (LCA TG) focuses on life-cycle-based assessments of railway systems considering all kinds of environmental impacts (CO2, Photochemical Smog, Ozone depletion, etc.), Ecodesign, Product Category Rules (PCR) for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Ecolabel & Eco-procurement, standardisation and legislative requirements for specific eco-related topics. It updates technical documents.
The Chemical Risks Topical Group (CR TG) leads UNIFE’s policy on chemicals and hazardous substances management at the world and European levels, including the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) activities, but not limited to them. It focuses on batteries, F-Gases (fluorinated gases), OHS (occupational health and safety), PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and restriction of Chemicals), RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances), SCIP (substances of concern in products), and WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment). It updates the Railway Industry Substance List (RISL), the UNIFE Material and Substance Declaration Template and Product Related Chemicals Regulations.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive Working Group (CSRD WG) is an ad hoc group that works on the CSRD, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and other KPIs to report on the rail industry’s sustainability. CSRD is a binding EU legal framework that requires large companies to publish regular reports on the ESG risks they face and how their activities impact people and the environment to drive investments in sustainable activities. The UNIFE CSRD WG supports members being compliant with the CSRD requirements and develops a unified interpretation of the KPIs for ESG, aiming for consistency, efficiency, and relevance. It aims to improve the reporting and sustainability performance of the rail industry (including operators and infrastructure managers).
