Skip Elliott of CSX

In this episode, Elliott shares how railroads are an energy efficient way to move goods on land, and offers listeners insight into how CSX has helped lead the industry in becoming the most environmentally-friendly transport option. In fact, according to CSX, trains can move a ton of freight more than 436 miles on a single gallon of fuel.

“CSX is an important part of the sustainable supply chain,” Elliott states. “And as our customers and consumers in general are increasingly focused on the footprint of a product, the environmental advantage of shipping goods by rail is becoming even more apparent.”

As a Charter Member of the EPA Smart Way Program and the first railroad to join the EPA’s Climate Leaders Program, CSX is committed to developing long-term, comprehensive climate change strategies. In addition to inventorying its own greenhouse gas footprint, in 2008 CSX launched an online carbon calculator that calculates the carbon dioxide emissions savings of transporting freight by rail, thereby providing shippers and other interested parties the ability to select an environmentally sound shipping option among the many options available.

Additionally, since 2000, CSX has invested more than $1 billion to upgrade its locomotive fleet with technology that reduces both fuel consumption and air pollutant emissions. Through these efforts, the company has improved its fuel efficiency by approximately 90 percent since 1980.

Further demonstrating CSX’s commitment to the environment, Elliott shares with On Paper listeners, “As part of the Climate Leaders Program, CSX announced a plan to reduce the company’s CO2 emission intensity by 8 percent by 2011. That’s the equivalent of taking 441,000 cars off the road each year or burning almost six million fewer barrels of oil.”

Skip Elliott, Vice President of Public Safety and Environment with CSX Transportation in Jacksonville, is a 33 year veteran of the railroad and a recognized leader in the transportation industry in hazardous materials transportation safety, environmental protection, railroad police and homeland security initiatives.

Under his leadership, CSX Transportation has put in place state-of-the-art crisis management and security measures for the railroad, working in cooperation with the federal Department of Homeland Security, as well as state and local police and emergency responders.

Through his guidance, the company also has earned recognition as an environmental leader, becoming the first railroad selected to the Climate Leaders Program of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for developing long-term climate change strategies.

Prior to joining CSX Transportation in 1998, Skip worked for Conrail, the Philadelphia-based freight railroad, in a variety of capacities in the police, safety and environmental departments. There he served as director of hazardous materials from 1992 to 1998.

A graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, with degrees in forensic studies and English, Skip received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University’s Department of Criminal Justice in 2009, the first ever awarded by the Department.

Skip represents CSX Transportation on the Association of American Railroads Risk Management Working Committee and Security Committee. He serves on the executive and policy committees of Business Executives for National Security, a nationwide organization through which senior business executives help enhance the nation’s security. In 2007, he joined the Board of Directors of National Safe Place, a national youth outreach program that provides immediate help and supportive resources to young people in crisis.

In 2001, Skip received the Association of American Railroads prestigious Holden Proefrock Award, given in recognition of his lifelong contribution in the field of hazardous materials transportation safety.

In recognition of his team leadership, Skip was selected to represent CSX Transportation in the 2001 Olympic Torch Relay. In 2005, he and a colleague at CSX Transportation were recognized as Employee Campaign Chairpersons of the Year by the United Way of Northeast Florida.

A graduate of the Ivy League's Columbia University, Maureen Kedes spent several years as a freelance public relations and advertising writer, and as spokesperson for several major corporations including: Toshiba, Yamaha, Sharp Electronics, Con Agra Foods, and Oxford University Press. Ms. Kedes also worked as a Test Marketing Director at CBS Television and also recently served as Sr. VP of Public Relations at Fortune Broadcasting in West Hollywood.