sustainability update INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX Introduction The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) provides public transportation services by way of bus, heavy rail, light rail, and paratransit to the 4.4 million Atlanta Metropolitan Region, home to over 4.4 million people in Atlanta Metro Area people. With over 400,000 passengers daily, MARTA’s comprehensive and wide-reaching transit option connects people to employment, entertainment, and recreation. In November 2016, voters in the City of Atlanta overwhelmingly approved a half-penny local sales tax + that set plans in motion for the largest investment in 400,000 transit enhancements and expansion in four decades. passengers daily Known as the More MARTA,1 the plan is already underway. With this expansion, our role in the Atlanta region’s transportation, connectivity, and environmental connects people to discussions will only grow in years to come. Sustainability is inherent in our agency’s mission of providing public transit options to the region. employment, We remove passenger vehicles and associated congestion from our roadways, as well as impact land use changes throughout the region. By reducing the entertainment number of vehicles on the road, MARTA is actively improving the region’s air quality, which has improved substantially over the last decade. MARTA currently & recreation helps to alleviate heavy traffic issues that lengthen commutes and contribute to air pollution. 1 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX 2019 Update Report The 2019 Update Report reviews the progress MARTA has made towards realizing the Triple Bottom Line — achieving cost- savings, having a net-positive impact on the environment, and improving the communities in which we operate, work, and live. Following the organizational format of the 2018 report, we provide 2018 new updates categorized into four main sections: Sustainability Report BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE In 2018, MARTA released our 2017 2 Carbon Footprint Update inaugural Sustainability Report, detailing our sustainability We conclude with our Vision Forward and next steps for MARTA’s Our recent Carbon Footprint Update program since its 2012 inception. sustainability program. for 2017 found that MARTA’s provision of alternative transportation to the region’s population prevents 1,725,435 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from being released into the atmosphere due to mobility mode shift and changing land use. 2 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX 2012 CHANGE 2018 Continually Improving EMISSIONS 3 (CO2e per PMT) 0.643 0.568 -13% Continual improvement is central to MARTA, and our sustainability and environmental management programs are no exception. To the left, WATER (gallons per PMT) 0.048 -25% 0.036 our high-level data points show the progress we’ve made in reducing our impacts on the environment. All metrics are normalized by our WASTE ridership metric (passenger miles traveled, or PMT); this accounts for (lbs. per PMT) 0.0064 -5% 0.0061 our increasing service levels, and also makes our values more easily comparable to other transit agencies. Initiatives enacted to achieve ENERGY4 (kBtu per PMT) 1.86 +0.5% 1.87 these reductions are further described later in the report. 3 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX buildings building a more sustainable MARTA INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX Efficiency Upgrades MARTA has entered into a contract with an energy service company (ESCO) to complete energy efficient upgrades across the Authority. The projects began in late 2018 with anticipated completion by May 2021. 17 years after initiating these energy savings projects, it is expected these projects will save MARTA over $55 million from avoided electricity usage and over $2 million in avoided operations and maintenance costs. This is in addition to the energy and associated GHG reductions. The projects include: Installation of submeters Mechanical retrofits at 23 rail stations/yards at 28 locations (for more accurate (heating and cooling systems/ Light-emitting diode Installation electricity usage units, hot water boiler burners, (LED) lighting upgrades of building monitoring) chilled water pumps, etc.) at 36 rail stations, automation systems 54 support facilities, in 12 facilities/offices and 3 parking garages (can be controlled from a central workstation) 5 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX environment conserving resources and being good stewards INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX Environmental Management System MARTA EMS Facility Locations MARTA’s Environmental Management System, or EMS, is a set of policies, processes, and procedures for assessing, controlling, and reducing the environmental impact of its activities, products and services. MARTA’s EMS Program has expanded to encompass seven facilities within its scope. These facilities are geographically spread across MARTA and cover all our modes of transportation, including heavy rail, bus, mobility and light rail. MARTA is externally certified to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)’s Headquarters Print Shop standard 14001:2015 as a multi-site organization. The plan is to continue Armour Yard Rail Maintenance Facility expansion to all maintenance facilities in the next couple years. Brady Mobility Facility To maintain environmental compliance, MARTA’s Department of Safety and Quality Assurance performs dozens of inspections across numerous Streetcar Vehicle Laredo Bus Maintenance Facility Maintenance Facility geographical and operationally diverse facilities each month. In 2018, MARTA developed an Environmental Management Information System tool (using Microsoft Excel) to: South Yard Rail Maintenance Facility Track and summarize Track open issues Help management all findings found during through closure personnel identify trends regular inspections and common findings at different facilities In order to review inspections, this tracker uses easy-to-understand formulas, pre-populated tables and graphs, and a pivot table that can be adjusted to MARTA contributed to view the results most important to the user at the time. the development of the first Externally, MARTA contributed to the development of the first EMS Working Group for American Public Transit Association’s (APTA) Sustainability Committee in 2018. This group kicked off in January 2019 and will foster a EMS Working Group network of EMS practitioners from transit agencies to exchange best practices for APTA’s Sustainability Committee and challenges within their own programs. Our EMS Program Manager is currently serving as the inaugural Chair of the working group. 7 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX Waste Reduction and Recycling From 2017 to 2018, MARTA saw an We’ve also improved our data increase in recycling tonnage of over tracking by following up with 80 tons. This resulted in improved contractors at project completion diversion rate of 12 percent in 2018 to obtain waste and recycling replacing railcars versus 8 percent in 2017. MARTA tonnage information to include in our continues efforts to increase our totals. We retroactively increased in service since 1979 recycling while also decreasing the our 2017 recycling totals by 5 tons with plans to recycle all total amount of produced waste. of electronic waste that one of our contractors produced from a materials when possible MARTA is about to start the process project at South Yard. We’ve also of replacing all railcars in service been receiving data from our ESCO since 1979 — the year our heavy rail contractor on their recycling efforts system first opened. The Request as they work through the efficiency for Proposal (RFP) for the disposal upgrades across the Authority. of MARTA’s existing railcars will In the first half of 2019 alone, the include language for all materials contractor has recycled over 17 tons to be recycled when possible. This of scrap metal and cardboard. 80+ ton recycling increase disposal information will be reported back to MARTA and included in future waste data. Total Annual Tonnage for Waste and Recycled Materials Produced by MARTA 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 Waste Recycling 8 INTRO BUILDINGS ENVIRONMENT COMMUNITY CLIMATE VISION FORWARD APPENDIX Water Usage Water use decreased in 2018 by 13 Finally, the Five Points MARTA rail percent to the lowest annual usage on station is currently being redesigned water usage decreased record since MARTA began recording and updated with and sustainability in 2018 by 13 to the data in 2012. The planned retrofits to considerations. MARTA’s Custodial cooling and heating systems in (the and Landscaping (C & L) department ESCO contract) will likely contribute is planning to replace all planter to further reductions in water use. beds with drought tolerant native lowest annual usage MARTA’s bus wash water reuse plants. This will build resiliency into since MARTA began recording data in 2012 systems continue to save MARTA an the landscaping to endure periods estimated 3,500,000 gallons of water of drought, as well as require fewer each year that would otherwise be water resources and likely less maintenance cost. As well, it creates Historical Water Usage at MARTA drawn from the City’s potable water system.5 a positive aesthetic