Following the fourth data collection cycle for UIC’s sustainability benchmarking tool, the participants have now received their new score and personal Rail Sustainability Index (RSi) reports. As the scores remain confidential, it is up to the contributors to decide whether they wish to use them within their organisation and/or disclose them externally by mentioning their badge or score in their sustainability report.

The online tool is provided for free to all active and associate UIC members, with 40 companies participating in the 2025 campaign, giving data from 2022 to 2024. This marks increasing participation across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North and Latin America.

A full range of organisations including passenger and freight railway undertakings and infrastructure managers took part, highlighting the importance of sustainability across the sector. Moreover, the growing interest in the RSi reflects the increasing demands on companies to benchmark their work and transparently report their sustainability performance. This makes the UIC tool all the more helpful, as it is tailored to the railway section, internationally accepted, and independently verified.

More than half of the participants received a B or B+ score placing them at manager level. Almost one third received a C or C+ badge therefore corresponding to pursuer level. Even those at beginner level demonstrated a strong determination to contribute to the broader sustainable rail vision. The proportion of participants achieving RSi manager level has doubled compared with RSi 2022. Meanwhile, the beginner level, nearly half of all participants in RSi 2022, was reduced fourfold in 2025, with most progressing into the continuing and executive levels.

The data provided demonstrates the UIC members’ commitment to building a better future, taking environment, economic, and governance factors into account. Each participating company receives a calculated score after the data collection and verification phases. Data harmonisation is based on common definitions.

Seven UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were specifically selected as RSi indicators. SDG 5: Gender equality, for example, show that:

• All participating companies already have a non-discriminatory code in place.
• Women made up almost 25% of the workforce on average in 2024, up from 23% in 2021.
• The number of female managers and directors is growing, with an average of 29% and 31% in 2024. Both have increased since 2021, from 25% and 26%, respectively.

UIC members take part for a variety of reasons, with many using the tool internally to help review and improve their sustainability strategies. By identifying their strengths and weaknesses, members can implemented targeted action for improvement. Others use their RSi badge externally to prove their sustainability credentials to stakeholders, including to their investors.

The UIC Sustainability Department would like to thank all participating members for their involvement in the 2025 campaign, which, through its growth, is becoming more and more representative.

Additionally, the RSi helps to show how much rail contributes to achieving the UN SDGs, with the aggregated results being published annually in UIC’s Global Rail Sustainability report. Read the previous reports from 2022, 2023 and 2024 here and watch this space for the 2025 report, which will be published later this year.

The RSi results highlight the strategies and policies implemented by railways as part of their continuous efforts to improve.

The next cycle will be launched in June 2026. We invite you to take part!