Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
APTA SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENT PROGRAM
In May 2012, the MBTA Acting General Manager Jonathan R. Davis signed the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Sustainability Commitment Pledge. APTA′s Sustainability Commitment is a voluntary program for transit agencies and other organizations involved in public transportation to join and pledge their commitment to sustainability. The basic premise as stated in the commitment is, “preserving the environment, being socially responsible and maintaining economic viability, with an overall contribution to quality of life.”
Transit agencies that sign the APTA Sustainability Pledge commit to instituting procedures, policies and programs designed to quantify to their level of continuous improvements in the areas of water, energy and fuel consumption, reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, increased recycling and decreased waste generations as well as other areas within their organization. Signees are rated based upon an evaluation system that qualifies their level of implementation from Bronze to Silver, to Gold and finally Platinum. Each level represents a bigger commitment and thus a reduction in critical environmental categories such as green house gas emissions. Over the course of the next year, the MBTA will develop metrics to measure each of these areas and then determine which Sustainability commitment level they will commit to.
The core commitment to sustainability starts with the men and women who work on the front lines at the Authority and continues all the way to the highest levels of the organization, including the Governor, the members of the MBTA Board of Directors, Secretary of Transportation, and the MBTA′s General Manager. The primary goal of the Authority is to strive for sustainable operations, not just on the environmental front, but as an ongoing strategic relationship with the communities it serves. Governor Deval Patrick stated during the introduction of the Massachusetts GreenDOT initiative, “By making this commitment, MassDOT has declared its contribution to creating a clean energy economy for Massachusetts. In the coming years, we will see the results in smarter growth, cleaner vehicles, and jobs devoted to building a lower carbon transportation system.”
The Environmental Affairs department at the MBTA is aggressively pursuing sustainable programs throughout the entire Authority. The department focuses on strategic functions such as energy, waste management, compliance, facilities, and EMS.
The link to the APTA Sustainability Commitment is: http://www.apta.com/resources/hottopics/sustainability/Documents/APTA-Sustainability-Commitment.pdf
