An inter-comparison of sustainability performance of selected global railway companies

Purpose This study aims to explore railway-specific Sustainable Development Goals and make an inter-comparison across selected railway organizations from six different nations on their degree of implementation of sustainable measures and their sustainable performance disclosure for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Design/methodology/approach This study involves the analysis of secondary data derived from annual, integrated and sustainable reports of selected railway organizations for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Content analysis is used to transform qualitative data into numerical ratings on a five-point scale. The Fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting method is used to rank the organizations based on the extent of sustainable measures implemented. Additionally, this study evaluates the level of sustainable performance disclosure by calculating the percentage of performance indicators reported by the selected organizations and subsequently ranking them accordingly. Findings There is a notable difference in the efficiency and openness of sustainability initiatives of the six selected railway companies. The findings of this study indicate that Deutsche Bahn and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa rank at the highest and lowest positions, respectively, in terms of implementation of sustainable measures and the disclosure of sustainability performance. Moreover, railway organizations in developed nations exhibit a greater extent of sustainable practices and more comprehensive performance disclosures compared to those in developing nations. Originality/value There is a dearth of research on the railway industry’s adoption of sustainable measures and disclosure of sustainable performance, particularly in relation to railway-specific Sustainable Development Goals. This study makes a novel contribution by evaluating the degree of implementation of sustainable measures and the extent of sustainable performance disclosure concerning railway-specific Sustainable Development Goals across selected railway organizations.