Watco Issues Second-Annual Sustainability Report

Transportation and logistics provider Watco has released its 2022 Sustainability Report covering environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

The second-annual “Delivering a Better Tomorrow” report (scroll down to download) focuses on Watco’s sustainability efforts and performance, including the Pittsburg, Kans.-based company’s first inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. This inventory of 2021 emissions will serve as the base year against which Watco will set future efficiency goals and measure its progress.

Across all properties where Watco has operational control–both in North America and in Australia–Scope 1 emissions were 242,149.05 tons CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalents) and include direct emissions at the company’s rail, terminal and ports, and logistics facilities, including mobile and stationary combustion sources such as locomotives, vehicles, equipment and industrial processes. The single-largest source of Scope 1 emissions, Watco said, was diesel fuel consumed by locomotives. Scope 2 emissions were 24,505.44 tons CO2e, which included all purchased electricity.

Following are additional report highlights:

• In 2022, Watco formalized its process of bringing military veterans into its ranks, hiring a dedicated manager to run the Military Hire and Outreach Program. Accomplishments include launching online resources dedicated to veteran recruitment; supporting 28 veteran hiring events, which led to hiring 121 veterans; establishing an Army-approved Career Skills Program for company-wide internships to provide soldiers, while on active duty, skills training to improve their civilian employment options; and teaming with corporate partners to enable veteran hiring nationwide.

• In October 2022, Newsweek for the first time named Watco as one of America’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces®. The list is described as “pay[ing] tribute to companies that put respect, caring and appreciation for their employees at the center of their business model and, in doing so, have earned the loyalty and respect of the people who work for them.”

• Since 2020, Watco has used independent organization GRESB to validate its ESG performance data and provide benchmarks for comparing its performance against peer companies. Watco reported that it receives scores each year for completing the GRESB Infrastructure Asset Assessment, which rates entities with infrastructure assets—such as land, track, bridges and locomotives—on their adherence to standardized ESG criteria relevant to global capital markets. While trailing in some areas, in 2022 Watco said it “substantially outperformed its peer group in the Leadership (86% of peers scored lower), Reporting (62% scored lower) and Health & Safety (55% scored lower) aspects and received perfect scores for Leadership and Health & Safety.”

• On the heels of an expansion that doubled the Watco Training Center’s space, more than 700 new conductors, engineers, maintenance-of-way personnel, and railcar repair and maintenance technicians came through for safety instruction in 2022. According to Watco, the expansion furthers its mission of “providing centralized, standardized instruction to all operations team members.”

• Watco said it is dedicated to safety. “Our constant goal is to work without incident, and our greatest responsibility is to keep team members, customers, suppliers, and members of the community out of harm’s way,” it reported.

• “Watco values our people; not only because we’re a socially conscious organization but because it’s fundamental to our company and one of our Foundation Principles,” the company reported. “We are continually sharpening our focus as a supportive workplace where everyone thrives. It’s our priority to maintain a workplace based on an appreciation for and the abilities of all people.”

“Watco has made inroads and will continue to do so,” said Watco Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Laura McNichol, who leads a company-wide committee that guides continuous improvement on the ESG front. “We are continually investing resources to find and carry out new ways to offer increasingly sustainable service.” 

“Watco is committed to doing our part to reduce emissions and also pursue other ways we can operate our business in a responsible way,” Watco CEO Dan Smith said. “We are prioritizing sustainability in our business practices, and part of our responsibility is to examine and measure our impact and then use our sustainability report as a way to communicate that to team members, customers and the communities we serve.” 

DOWNLOAD THE WATCO 2022 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT: