Amtrak is joining efforts to voluntarily and publicly report its greenhouse gas emissions and undergo an independent assessment of its programs to reduce its carbon footprint.

"Putting our emissions data out in the open for all to see and getting an outside review of our environmental programs will help make Amtrak a greener railroad," said Amtrak president and CEO Joseph Boardman.

Boardman announced that Amtrak is a new member of The Climate Registry, a non-profit organization founded to set consistent and transparent standards for businesses and governments to calculate, verify, and publicly report their greenhouse gas emissions. As a member, Amtrak is committed to the organization's comprehensive reporting standards for recording and managing greenhouse gas emissions throughout its system including those from diesel and electric locomotives, passenger rail cars, maintenance equipment, stations, offices and other facilities. Amtrak is the first railroad to join this group.

Amtrak also is a new participant in Climate Counts, a non-profit organization which provides an independent and verifiable assessment of a company's commitment to reduce its impact on the environment. The group uses 22 specific criteria to produce a scorecard to rate companies on how they measure their carbon footprint, reduce their impact on climate change, support effective climate legislation, and publicly disclose their climate actions in a clear and comprehensive manner.