Greenbrier Releases 2020 ESG Report

The second-annual report outlines the freight car manufacturer’s 2019-20 initiatives in four areas: governance and ethics, employees, environmental sustainability, and contributions to the community.

The Greenbrier Companies has published a 52-page Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report.

The second-annual report outlines the freight car manufacturer’s 2019-20 initiatives in four areas: governance and ethics (describing board diversity, corporate governance policies, risk management and stakeholder engagement); employment (examining workplace safety; employee development; workforce retention; and diversity, equity and inclusion/DEI); environmental sustainability (measuring Sustainability Accounting Standards Board/SASB-recommended environmental metrics, supplemented by an internal materiality assessment); and contributions to the community (covering outreach efforts, charitable donations and volunteer service).

In the report, Greenbrier highlights its:

• Achievement of the lowest company-wide Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) to date.
• Introduction of a formal DEI commitment.
• Attainment of 30% female board membership.
• Establishment of measurable ESG goals for the next two years, such as increasing steel utilization efficiency to the industry average of 93.3% in 2021 and allocating more than 50% of annual charitable contributions to underserved communities that align with Greenbrier’s DEI goals by 2022.
• Addition of more than 1,600 new employees and six new U.S. operations in Arkansas, Missouri and Texas within the Manufacturing unit through the acquisition of American Railcar Industries’ (ARI).
• Expansion of Virtual Sample Railcar™ (VSR) technology that allows customers to remotely view and inspect railcars.
• Adoption of the SASB reporting framework, with an index that “outlines how Greenbrier’s existing disclosures align with the recommended metrics for the Industrial Goods & Machinery standard.”

“As the largest freight railcar manufacturer in the United States and a sizable employer in most regions where we operate, it’s important to lead by example,” Greenbrier Chairman and CEO William A. Furman said. “This report represents a new way to express Greenbrier’s longstanding core values of safety, quality and respect for people. We will continue to drive practices that best serve our employees, customers, investors and communities where we operate, for years to come.”

DOWNLOAD GREENBRIER’S COMPLETE “ON TRACK TOGETHER” REPORT:

Greenbrier recently reported its fiscal year 2020 fourth-quarter results, which Cowen Transportation OEM Analyst and Vice President Equity Research Matt Elkott called “solid.”