Sustainability shining brightly in San Diego

A group of 117 San Diego employers were celebrated at the San Diego Association of Governments’ (SANDAG) annual Diamond Awards reception in October for their efforts to support sustainable commuting, including walking, biking, taking transit, carpooling, and vanpooling.

Each employer who participates in the region’s voluntary Employer Commuter Services can earn an award. Their efforts are measured by three categories in this tiered recognition program:

• Commuter Program Attributes: providing benefits (such as pre-tax or telework support) and facility amenities (such as bike racks and shuttles).
• Annual Commuter Activities: hosting events or participating in campaigns to promote a sustainable commute choice (such as carpool formations or Bike to Work Day participation).
• Employee Commute Changes: conducting regular commuter surveys to calculate the company’s single occupancy vehicle (SOV) rate, measured over time to show behavior change.

This year, there was a new record (49) of Platinum award recipients, the highest tier. To reach this tier, an employer must achieve an SOV rate below 80% (the San Diego County average) or demonstrate a significant reduction in their SOV rate through multiple commuter surveys. Many of these Platinum employers reduced their SOV rates last year due to new telework policies, but change also happens through employee adoption of sustainable commute modes.

Many employers shared success stories at the Diamond Awards reception, including this quote from Geno:

“The SANDAG Employer Program has been an amazing exercise in learning what is possible. Our Geno team has learned that someone who sits at the desk next to them might also be the carpool buddy who lives around the block! They’ve learned what forms of public transportation would be most efficient for them and had safety training sessions. The Try Transit program also got rid of two key barriers we were seeing in motivating people to take public transportation: the initial cost of trying something new and having willing companions to try new commutes with.”

The Diamond Award employers have greatly contributed to the reduction of traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions in the region through the promotion of sustainable commuting. Steer has worked with SANDAG since 2014 on this program, initially revamping the program and reimagining the Diamond Awards to be more inclusive. Since implementing the new points-based Diamond Awards program, participation in the Employer Program has increased fourfold, and we are now better able to track change and impacts in employers’ individual commuter programs. These steps towards quantifying change have been valuable both for SANDAG and participating employers.

Recently, Steer has been taking a closer look at all employer commuter survey results and SOV numbers to further quantify the impact of the Employer Program. Look for the results of this analysis and the implications for other TDM programs coming soon.