South Western Railway (SWR) has launched a new sustainability strategy that sets out a programme to serve, safeguard, and strengthen both its people and places, and the planet.

The strategy, titled “Journey to a Better Future”, is an ambitious commitment to become a net-zero carbon train operator by 2040, which is ten years ahead of the UK’s overall legal deadline, and expands on the company’s mission to become an industry leader in all aspects of sustainability.

The strategy’s launch coincides with fresh public polling carried out by YouGov that shows the public is more likely to think policies for tackling climate change should take priority over policies that achieve high economic growth.

• 49% of the public believes that policies tackling climate change should be prioritised, even if economic growth is slower.
• 4% of the public believes policies for high economic growth should be prioritised, even if they are not the best for tackling climate change.
• Among younger people aged 18-24, 58% think policies for tackling climate change should take priority against 18% who would prioritise for economic growth.
• The majority of people living in London (59%) and Scotland (60%) believe that priority should be given to policies that tackle climate change.

There is a split among the public over the priority for public spending.

• 43% of those polled believe the priority now is to spend money on preventing the impact of climate change, and should be increased significantly even at the expense of cuts elsewhere.
• 42% believe the focus should be on other, more urgent priorities.
• 51% are concerned about future travel disruption due to extreme weather associated with climate change

However, the polling also showed that when it comes to spending their own money, the public is less willing to prioritise the environment:

• 47% say their current priority is saving money, regardless of the effect it may have on the environment.
• Just 16% would prioritise being environmentally friendly way, regardless of the effect it may have on their personal finances.
• Just over half (52%) would not be willing to pay extra to use more environmentally friendly forms of transport, whilst 38% would pay more, as would 50% of Londoners.

Most of the public (56%) consider the environmental impact to be important when deciding what mode of transport to use, although 95% of the public believe that convenience and 91% believe that cost is also important. 68% of people living in London believe that environmental impact is important.

South Western Railway believes railways will be crucial to building a more sustainable future for the economy and society, and aims to play a more active role in supporting communities, customers and colleagues across its network, and for all of all backgrounds and needs.

Contained with The Journey to a Better Future strategy are a number of additional commitments. These include ensuring that the company is net biodiversity positive at all its stations and depots securing top accreditation under the Government’s Inclusive Transport Leaders Scheme, and publishing and actioning a diversity, equality, and inclusion strategy roadmap.

Claire Mann, Managing Director of South Western Railway, commented: “As one of the UK’s largest train operating companies, we connect the people and places that matter, but we also know our customers care about more than just their journey.

“This polling shows that, even during times of economic hardship, people want to us to prioritise doing things in a more sustainable way.

“Our bold sustainability strategy is designed to deliver just that, setting out a series of pledges to have a positive impact on our people, places, and ultimately our whole planet.

“This is just the start of our journey to a better future and I look forward to bringing it to life with all our customers, colleagues, and the communities we’re so proud to serve.”

SWR’s Journey to a Better Future can be read in full at
https://www.southwesternrailway.com/other/about-us/our-plan/sustainability