The APTA sustainability commitment is open to all APTA members, whether they are part of the private or public sector. It calls on APTA members to commit to a set of actions on sustainability to take in a given period and offers a checklist of processes to conform to and reduction targets to meet the criteria of sustainability. Sustainability is viewed within the commitment as having environmental, social and economic components. It can be seen as preserving the environment for current and future generations, being socially responsible and maintaining economic viability.

Commitment signatories are asked to measure and communicate on the results of the actions they have taken on an annual basis. Following the one year pilot phase, commitment signatories will be able to choose the level of commitment they take based on their achievements on sustainability to date. They may choose to move up levels as they achieve their goals. The levels are defined as Entry, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum and are explained in appendix 1. Over time, as the industry progresses in its achievement of sustainability goals, it is expected the pre-requisites and targets for these levels will move upwards as well.

Pilot phase

The year 2009 will act as a pilot phase for the APTA Sustainability Commitment to allow for a refining of the elements of the commitment, to test whether the base requirements and pre-requisites to enter the higher levels of the commitment are appropriate and to ensure the mechanisms for achieving commitment goals can be consistently applied by all signatories. Founding signatories to the commitment, signing on at the latest by September 30 2009, will agree to adhere to the base principles of the commitment only but will actively take part in defining the higher levels of the commitment and assessing which level, i.e. the extent of action items, reduction targets and stretch goals, they are able to aspire to within the year of their signing. In that respect, founding signatories will be asked to make a progress report to the APTA Sustainability Task Force within five months of signing and will make a commitment to a higher status level by the end of the year of signing.  

Elements of the commitment

The base principles are applicable to all commitment signatories. They set the minimum actions which APTA members must take to demonstrate that they are serious about sustainability and are set up for success. The base principles also allow for establishing a baseline for reduction targets and long-term stretch goals. The base principles are outlined in appendix 2 and will be the entry-level commitment for all signatories, including in the pilot phase.

Action items demonstrate a commitment to take concrete actions and set quantifiable goals for the short- to medium-term (1-3 years) in operation, maintenance and capital, products and services and in education and outreach with a view to achieving economic, environmental and social sustainability objectives. Examples are outlined in appendix 3. During the pilot phase, the list of action items will be expanded upon and each action item will be weighted in accordance with its impact and level of difficulty.

Reduction targets are set for key environmental, social and economic indicators based on baseline measurements made as part of the minimum requirements for adhering to the APTA sustainability commitment. Examples of reduction targets are outlined in appendix 4 and will ultimately be defined at the end of the pilot phase. 

The stretch goals are longer-term programmatic and process goals (4-6 years) that challenge the organizations committed to silver, gold or platinum status to make a very significant difference in the way they function in view of meeting sustainability criteria. Examples of stretch goals are outlined in appendix 5 and this list will be expanded upon during the pilot phase.  

APPENDIX 1

Signatory levels

• Entry level: commit to achieving base principles within one year of signing

• Bronze: pre-requisite that base principles adhered to and there is a commitment to achieving 6 action items and reduction targets of 2 percent over baseline within one year

• Silver: pre-requisite that base principles adhered to, 6 action items and reduction targets of 2 percent over baseline have been achieved and commitment to achieving an additional 12 action items, reduction targets of 5 percent over baseline as well as 3 stretch goals within 3 years *

• Gold: pre-requisite that base principles adhered to, 18 action items and reduction targets of 5 percent over baseline have been achieved and 3 stretch goals have been met; a commitment to achieve an additional 18 action items, reduction targets of 10 percent over baseline and 3 additional stretch goals within 3 years *

• Platinum: pre-requisite that base principles adhered to, 36 action items have been achieved as well as a 10 percent reduction target over baseline and 6 stretch goals; a commitment to achieve a minimum 20 percent reduction target over baseline and 3 additional stretch goals within a maximum of 6 years *

* Good environmental compliance records are required to enter silver, gold and platinum levels.

APPENDIX 2

The base principles include:

1. Making sustainability a part of your organization’s strategic objectives

2. Identifying a sustainability champion within the organization coupled with the proper human and/or financial resources and mandates

3. Establishing an outreach program (awareness-raising and education) on sustainability for all staff of your organization  

4. Undertaking a sustainability inventory of your organization, including but not limited to a carbon footprint. A list of indicators has been established, outlining what needs to be measured as a minimum and for which a baseline year needs to be determined based on data availability:

• water usage*

• criteria air pollutants and water pollutant discharge*

• carbon emissions*

• energy use (electricity, fuel)*

• recycling levels/waste*

• operating expense per unlinked passenger trip and passenger mile**

• VMT per capita in community of operation***

 

*to be normalized in view of ridership and/or population growth
**applicable to transit agencies only
*** applicable to transit agencies signing at gold and platinum levels only

APPENDIX 3

Examples of short to medium-term action items

a) Operations, maintenance and capital (internal process and policy driven)

• Put in place ISO 14001 and similar efforts

• Establish in-house “Green Teams”

• Put in place procurement methods that require (or favor) sustainable practices

• Use sustainable practices in the operations and maintenance of organizations and transit systems:

  • Reduce water usage in at least one facility/office

  • Reduce hazardous waste and chemical usage in all agency facilities

  • Have a mobility plan for your organization and offer transit passes as part of employee benefits

  • Set a minimum recycling policy

  • Reduce carbon footprint of meetings e.g. establishing collaborative sites and email distribution of documents as part of a paper-reduction policy

  • Establish a no idling policy to minimize fuel consumption

• Integrate sustainability into system and facilities design and construction:

• Use green building principles for one new construction project or the adaptation of old infrastructure

• Build in photovoltaics and/or green roofs at at least one agency/company building

• Make contracting with DBE firms part of the design and construction policy

• Adopt an energy efficient appliance purchasing policy

b) Products and services (services or products that are externally based)

• Establish new energy efficiency targets for key products 

• Improve sustainability performance of key products

• Work systematically with customers to establish more sustainable processes and products

• Put in place a service(s) to help customers become more sustainable themselves

• Expand programs for populations with few transportation options, such as free passes for low-income school kids

• Use sustainable practices in project planning, development and implementation:

  • Integrate transport and land-use decision-making in all project development

  • Establish a comprehensive stakeholder engagement process for a new project

  • Put in place targets for costs savings from use of recycled materials/energy efficiency measures in all new projects

  • Establish a “sustainable proposals” policy (e.g. proposals for bids sent in on 100 percent recyclable paper, double-sided, only one hard copy, maximum set for amount of pages etc.)

  • Ensure all new system offices/stations/facilities are in areas zoned for compact, mixed-use development

• Put in place sustainability criteria in specifications for all new projects

c) Education and outreach

• Invest in training on EMS (Environmental Management Systems), SMS (Sustainable Management Systems) and/or ISO 14001 practices

• Ensure in-house expertise and coordination of the sustainability program

• Put sustainability on the agenda of regular staff meetings

• Establish resources and tools for use by employees, clients and the community on what sustainability means and how it can be achieved

• Establish an in-house knowledge management system on sustainability

• Put in place partnerships which can allow for resource exchange to achieve sustainability

APPENDIX 4

Examples of reduction targets:

• Reduce your organization’s carbon footprint in terms of emissions per passenger mile by __ percent percent over baseline by 20__

• Reduce criteria air pollutant emissions per vehicle mile by __ percent over baseline by 20__

• Reduce water pollutant discharge and water use per vehicle mile by __ percent over baseline by 20___

• Reduce overall carbon emissions of administrative function of organization by ___ percent over baseline

• Reduce waste by ____ percent over baseline

• Reduce electricity use by ____ percent over baseline

• Reduce fuel use per unlinked passenger trip by _____ percent over baseline by 20__ 

• Reduce VMT per capita in your community by __ percent over baseline by 20__  *

• Reduce operating expense per unlinked passenger trip and passenger mile by __ percent over baseline by 20__  *

*Applicable to transit agencies only

APPENDIX 5

           Examples of stretch goals

• Establish a comprehensive measuring and reporting process on targets set, progress made, results achieved which is disseminated both internally within the organization as well as externally, available to all interested stakeholders, including the publication of an annual sustainability report

• Establish an organization-wide policy and action plan which covers economic, social and environmental sustainability

• Ensure all new construction meets LEED-like principles and bring existing construction into line

• Implement EMS, SMS and/or ISO 14001 standards

• Put in place an sustainable-procurement policy which is based on comprehensive sustainability principles

• Develop in conjunction with your MPO an integrated transit/land use plan to reduce the acres of developed land/capita in your community

• Redefine life-cycle costing to sustainability criteria

• Obtain 3rd party verification of measurements and reductions

• Become viewed as a sustainability leader in one’s community or areas where can play an active role in the community

* APTA members who wish to add other indicators to include in their targets may do so as part of the pilot phase during which a final set of indicators will be determined

** APTA members that have been measuring certain indicators above prior to signing the commitment will be able to set a baseline in function of the year they started measuring. A methodology for determining the appropriate baseline year will be defined during the pilot phase.  

*** An APTA standard for measuring carbon footprints for transit agencies will be published in January 2009