APTA honors five organizations for sustainability efforts

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) yesterday recognized five organizations for their sustainability achievements.

The organizations, comprising four public transit agencies and one business, chose to participate in APTA's Sustainability Commitment program in order to improve environmental, social and economic sustainability, APTA officials said in a press release.

Depending on their level of accomplishments, organizations are presented with platinum, gold, silver, and bronze level certification.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and TransLink received the platinum level recognition, and are now two of only four organizations to be recognized at this level.

During California's period of extreme drought, SFMTA cut its water consumption by 25 percent to mitigate its impact on depleted local and state resources from 2010 through 2013. The agency also cut its criteria air pollutant emissions by nearly 96 percent and cut fuel costs by 25 percent during the same three-year period.

For its part, TransLink achieved a 60 percent increase in its recycling rate and a 20 percent decrease in water consumption since 2010.

The remaining winners are:
• Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Gold);
• SYSTRA Consulting LLC (Silver); and
• Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (Bronze).