NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 17, 2012  /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) earned the top ranking among railroads in the S&P 500 Clean Capitalism Ranking published by Corporate Knights, a media, research, and financial products company that focuses on clean capitalism.

The 2012 ranking transparently ranked companies in the S&P 500 based on 11 key performance indicators, including carbon productivity, energy productivity, safety productivity, highest executive pay to average employee ratio, leadership diversity, and percent of tax paid in cash, with data collected by Corporate Knights and verified with The Bloomberg Professional service. Companies were ranked relative to their industry peers.

"Norfolk Southern's recognition in Corporate Knights' S&P 500 Clean Capitalism Ranking is a great honor for both our company and our employees," said Blair Wimbush, Norfolk Southern corporate sustainability officer. "It reflects our commitment to proactive management of sustainability issues and strong stakeholder communication."

Among the S&P 500, Norfolk Southern ranked 66. The top-ranked company was Hess Corp., an integrated energy company based in New York City.

More information on the rankings and the criteria can be found at the Corporate Knights web site at http://www.corporateknights.ca.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is one of the nation's premier transportation companies. Its Norfolk Southern Railway subsidiary operates approximately 20,000 route miles in 22 states and the District of Columbia, serves every major container port in the eastern United States, and provides efficient connections to other rail carriers. Norfolk Southern operates the most extensive intermodal network in the East and is a major transporter of coal and industrial products.

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SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation