NORFOLK, Va., Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Underscoring a record of continuous improved performance in corporate environmental responsibility and in reducing its carbon footprint, Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) has achieved its best-ever score in the S&P 500 Climate Change Report released by the Carbon Disclosure Project.

The company's 2012 carbon disclosure score is 88, 15 percent better than its 2011 score of 76 and the highest score the company has attained in the five years Norfolk Southern has participated in the survey.

The Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent nonprofit organization supporting greenhouse gas emissions reduction and sustainable water use. The scores released in its annual Climate Change Report are regarded as a measure of climate mitigation performance and quality of disclosure. In addition to a score, a grade is awarded on a scale of E to A. Norfolk Southern's grade for 2012 is B, matching its 2011 grade.

"We are pleased to have demonstrated continuous improvement in our disclosure score during the years we have participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project," said Blair Wimbush, NS vice president real estate and corporate sustainability officer.

"The 2012 result exceeded our goal and puts Norfolk Southern in the high range of companies disclosing, well above the average disclosure score of 70. This positive trend complements our sustainability goal to achieve industry leadership in fuel conservation, emissions reduction, efficient energy use, recycling, use of renewable materials, and environmental partnerships," Wimbush said.

Among efforts to lessen the company's environmental impact, Norfolk Southern has attained 60 percent of a five-year goal to reduce emissions per revenue ton-mile 10 percent by 2014. With reforestation playing a key role in its carbon mitigation strategy, the company has partnered with Green Trees to plant more than 6 million trees in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. For more about the company's environmental programs, visit www.nssustainability.com.

The Carbon Disclosure Project collects data from the world's largest companies on behalf of 655 institutional investors with combined assets of $78 trillion. For its 2012 report, more than 3,000 companies, including Norfolk Southern along with 81 percent of the Global 500 and 68 percent of the S&P 500, responded to a climate change questionnaire in 2011.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation