Hitachi Rail has released its 2025 Sustainability Statement, setting out the company’s progress and ambitions across environmental, social and governance priorities. The update follows the launch of Hitachi’s group-wide sustainability strategy, PLEDGES, in April 2025.
PLEDGES outlines seven strategic pillars that form the foundation of Hitachi’s sustainability efforts, including a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions at operational sites (Scope 1 and 2) by 75 per cent by 2027 compared with 2019 levels. Hitachi Rail’s new statement details how the business is embedding this strategy into its operations and accelerating the shift to low-emission, more sustainable mobility.
Key achievements highlighted in the report include:
- Zero waste to landfill at Hitachi Rail sites in Hagerstown (USA), Naples and Reggio Calabria (Italy).
- The opening of a carbon-neutral digital factory in Hagerstown, powered entirely by renewable electricity and photovoltaic generation.
- Continued development of tri-mode rolling stock, including a UK contract for intercity battery trains capable of operating on both electrified and non-electrified routes.
- Eco-Design principles applied to all new vehicles under development.
- Expanded use of digital technologies such as HMAX to support energy efficiency and accelerate the ecological transition.
- Progress in the company’s BeWell programme, which promotes employee well-being and mental health.
The 2025 Sustainability Statement aligns with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards and introduces a renewed Double Materiality Assessment, developed under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. The approach integrates financial performance, risk management and operational activity, supported by extensive engagement with stakeholders.
Giuseppe Marino, Group CEO of Hitachi Rail, said:
“Hitachi Rail is a business with a clear social purpose and our 2025 Statement underlines that sustainability is as the core of our growth. By embedding the PLEDGES strategy at the core of our operations and decision-making, we are positioning our business to meet global challenges and deliver on our mission: the sustainable mobility transition.”
Hitachi Rail employs more than 24,000 people across over 50 countries and continues to invest in diversity, inclusion and equity. Through targeted programmes and initiatives, employee engagement rose by nearly five percentage points year on year in FY24.
Hitachi’s long-standing philosophy of contributing to society through innovation is reflected in its new management plan, Inspire 2027, which focuses on creating value by addressing social challenges and leveraging the company’s strengths in IT, OT and products. Hitachi considers sustainability foundational to its competitiveness amid a rapidly changing global landscape.
