ONCF CARBON ASSESSMENT: SUBSTANTIAL REDUCTION IN THE CARBON FOOTPRINT AND HEADING TOWARDS NEUTRALITY
HIBAPRESS-RABAT
Placing environmental preservation and decarbonization at the heart of its daily action and its Sustainable Development (SD) project, the National Office of Railways (ONCF) has just established, in accordance with the universal approach, its ‘carbon footprint’ for the year 2023.
Despite the remarkable development in the use of train travel given its undeniable advantages for the Community, this assessment shows a clearly considerable reduction in the ONCF carbon footprint as evidenced by the record performances recorded in 2023 compared to 2022:
− A 20% reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, limited to nearly 297 thousand tonnes eqCO₂ (compared to 371 thousand) and of which nearly 28% are exogenous and directly linked to travel upstream and downstream;
− A gain in carbon intensity of passengers of the order of 7.83 g CO₂, corresponding to only 13.02 g CO₂ per kilometer traveled by each of the 52.8 million passengers transported: the movement of a person by train generates 9 times less than by car; − A reduction in carbon intensity due to the transport of goods of 5.38 g CO₂, corresponding to only 23.37 g CO₂ per kilometer traveled by each tonne of the 17 million transported.
Such a substantial CO2 mitigation (i.e. -74 thousand tonnes eq CO2) constitutes, for example, the equivalent of 4,740 cars per day driving on the Casablanca-Rabat motorway, or one year of heating for 10,900 households or 2,105,200 trees as CO2 absorbing sinks.
In addition to the strong voluntarism, commitment and effective mobilization at all levels of the Office and its partners, the performance of the 2023 carbon footprint is none other than the fruit of an exceptional dynamic of resilience and decarbonization within the framework of a more engaging CSR policy irrigating our daily mitigation and adaptation actions.
Without being exhaustive, these include the acceleration of the energy transition (90% of electric trains run on green energy), efficient resource management, strengthening operational excellence, offering more innovative services, developing intermodality, adopting eco-driving and eco-design systems. Added to this are the use of alternative photovoltaic energies at stations and buildings, the optimization of production and waste treatment processes, the structuring of the circular economy, the certification of ONCF sites according to ISO 14001 & 50001 standards, the organization of training and awareness-raising cycles, the systematic implementation of impact studies for major projects, the implementation of certified ‘green’ bond issues and the development of partnerships with specialized organizations, etc.
Furthermore, it should be noted that the ONCF’s choice to firmly focus on ecological transition and sustainable mobility as pillars of development is in line with La Clairvoyante Vision Royale, which places sustainable development at the heart of a societal project. Hence the Office’s ambition to strengthen the eco-responsible DNA of rail, as the backbone of sustainable mobility, serving socio-economic prosperity and future generations. It remains committed to continuously improving its carbon footprint with the objective of neutrality by 2035. Finally, it should be remembered that the train is recognized as an ally for eco-responsible travel and the least burdensome in terms of emissions: it represents only 0.47% of total GHGs in Morocco and 2.6% of the transport sector, for a key position in terms of passenger and goods mobility.
Traveling by train means advocating sustainability and preserving our planet!
