Network Rail and our projects follow the Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment (PACE) process. There are specific PACE products that are mandated for managing sustainability in projects.  The requirements for these products are outlined in our standard NR/L2/ENV/015 Sustainability Minimum Requirements for Projects – Design and Construction. For further guidance, please see the NR/L2/ENV/015 Guidance Note.

For internal users, please access this using the Network Rail Standards and Controls site. Suppliers and contractors can access Network Rail standards by registering for the standards supplier portal.

What are the requirements?

Within the PACE Digital Product Index, a project must complete an EN1 (Environment and Social Appraisal tool) and an EN3 (Review and Acceptance Form).

An Environment and Social Management Plan (ESMP) must be completed alongside these two PACE products. 

PACE EN1: Environment and Social Appraisal (ESA) Tool

The ESA tool is designed to help identify and manage the sustainability risks and opportunities associated with a project. This should be completed during Phase 1 (Strategic Development and Project Selection) and needs to be kept up to date throughout the project. The template can be found attached to this page.

PACE EN3: Review and Acceptance Form

EN3 provides a way for reviewing and accepting the ESMP. This should be completed in Phase 2 (Project Design). The template can be found attached to this page.

Environment and Social Management Plan

The ESMP template provides Network Rail teams and suppliers with a way to manage the risks and opportunities identified in the ESA. The template attached to the page has been produced to meet the minimum requirements of NR/L2/ENV/015.

Other useful documents:

Environment and Social Site Inspection Template (formerly EN4)

The Environment and Social Site Inspection template helps assess compliance with legislation and Network Rail standards and procedures. It also includes deep dive templates into key environmental and social topics. This template was previously EN4 within the PACE Product Index. The template is attached to the page.