Social Value at CrossCountry
We’re proud to share that CrossCountry has generated an estimated £186 million in Social Value in 2025–26. Our Social Value Report quantifies the positive change we create for wider society — across the communities we serve, our colleagues, and the millions of customers who travel with us.
This year’s report reflects an expanded scope and improved methodology, incorporating additional data sources such as Community Rail activity and, for the first time, avoided emissions from modal shift to rail. As a result, the total Social Value is not directly comparable to last year’s total, but provides a more complete and robust picture of our impact. Future reports will follow this enhanced approach, enabling consistent year-on-year comparison.
Our Social Value is calculated using the Rail Social Value Tool (RSVT), based on Green Book methodology, which quantifies impact across social, environmental, and economic outcomes. Social Value is generated through delivery of our Sustainability Strategy and its three pillars: People, Places and Planet.
• People – supporting our workforce through skills, employment, inclusion and wellbeing
• Places – strengthening communities, improving connectivity and supporting local environments
• Planet – reducing emissions and delivering more sustainable operations
The RSVT enables us to measure and monetise impact across each of these pillars, ensuring a clear and consistent link between our strategy, the actions we take, and the value we create.
From over 500 colleagues undertaking apprenticeships in recent years, to leading the way on accessibility with initiatives such as BSL menus, we continue to make rail travel more inclusive and accessible for everyone.
Crucially, rail plays a key role in decarbonisation. By enabling millions of journeys to shift from higher-carbon modes of transport, we help avoid 89,000 tonnes of emissions, which form a major part of the Social Value we generate.
Key highlights from our 2025–26 report:
• £186.4 million total Social Value generated across our network
• £86.7 million of value delivered through avoided emissions, supporting national decarbonisation
• £27.1 million in employment-related Social Value, supporting jobs and skills
• £4 million Social Value relating to Community projects
• Rail travel on our network is 2.436x more carbon efficient than car travel, reinforcing its role in reducing UK transport emissions
Jessica Lockwood – Environment and Sustainability Manager at CrossCountry said:
“At CrossCountry, we use Social Value as the common currency to quantify the benefits our Sustainability Strategy delivers for our people, the communities we serve and to wider society. It drives transparency, better decision making, and increased social return on investment year on year”
At CrossCountry, we’re not just running trains - we’re reducing emissions, supporting communities, and helping people thrive.
We don’t just stop here.
Read our full Social Value Report here.
