As innovative champions in the safekeeping and environmental care of San Diego Bay and the surrounding waterfront, the Port of San Diego has earned a Gold Tier iCommute Diamond Award for Excellence in Commute Programs for Fiscal Year 2018 from the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG). The award comes as the Port celebrates September as Green Port Month, during which the Port showcases its progress in making the bay a healthy natural resource for generations to come.
“We are honored to be recognized by SANDAG for our efforts to encourage Port employees to take alternative and environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Among our many Green Port initiatives, our participation in the iCommute Diamond Awards Program is a no-brainer. Not only does it mean cleaner air for the San Diego region, but it will also help us meet our greenhouse gas reduction goals established in our Climate Action Plan,” said Chairman Rafael Castellanos, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners.
SANDAG’S annual iCommute Diamond Awards recognizes San Diego-area employers for outstanding alternative commute programs and are based on a point system tied to employee engagement, shifts in employee transportation choices and employer commuter benefit programs. Depending on the number of points earned, an agency can fall into one of the four tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
The Port’s FY18 alternative transportation initiatives and employee engagement events included:
- Hosting a Bike to Work Day 2018 pit stop (May 17, 2018)
- Promoting Bike to Work Day 2018 to Port employees and the public
- Participating in National Rideshare Week 2017
- Holding an alternative transportation informational booth at the Port’s annual Health & Sustainability Fair for employees
- Offering reimbursement for employees who use public transit and vanpools through an alternative transportation reimbursement program
- Offering an alternative work-week schedule
Participation in alternative transportation activities assists the Port in meeting its Climate Action Plan goals. In December 2013, the Port became one of the first ports in the nation to adopt a Climate Action Plan, which identifies greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The Port’s goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 10 percent by 2020 and 25 percent by 2035 relative to a 2006 baseline, which are consistent with the state’s goal to reduce California’s overall emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (AB 32).
