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TO: |
Board of Trustees |
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THROUGH: |
Jay Fox, Executive Director |
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FROM: |
Jon Larsen, Chief Capital Services Officer |
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PRESENTER(S): |
Patti Garver, Manager of Environmental Compliance & Sustainability |
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Sarah Ross, Environmental Stewardship Sustainability Specialist |
TITLE:
title
2024 Sustainability Report and Sustainability Plan
end
AGENDA ITEM TYPE:
Discussion
RECOMMENDATION:
Informational report for discussion.
BACKGROUND:
From early 2024 to mid-2025, UTA conducted and completed a sustainability audit of the agency to quantify 2023 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and footprint, to quantify water use and footprint, to evaluate waste and recycling, and to compare UTA’s practices to peer agencies. The 2023 quantities serve as the base year from which we are reducing our carbon footprint and water use and demonstrating improved recycling. More recently, UTA completed a sustainability plan to implement recommendations made in the sustainability audit.
DISCUSSION:
Sustainability Audit
The audit found that UTA has many ways of storing and accessing data - some is tracked and stored manually, other data is automated. Streamlining environmental data into one system can increase processing speed and improve data quality & transparency.
The audit recommended the following:
• UTA should consolidate and automate GHG, water, and waste data collection into one platform for realtime visibility and reduce manual invoice tracking.
• UTA should foster supplier engagement through sustainability questionnaires and performance metrics.
• Integrate with procurement, asset management, and sustainability tracking.
The audit recommended setting goals for the following:
• Energy consumption and procurement
• Water conservation
• Waste reduction
Sustainability Plan
UTA has completed a sustainability plan to incorporate the recommendations of the sustainability audit. Implementation of the recommendations includes more near-term goals for 2030 and longer-term goals for 2050.
2024 Sustainability Annual Report
One of the agency goals is to reduce UTA’s carbon footprint by 30% by 2030. We compared our 2023 base year emissions to the 2024 emissions to track our progress. We also tracked emissions per passenger mile traveled to demonstrate how we are reducing emissions on a per-person basis. In addition to carbon footprint, our annual report includes total water use, energy use efficiency, and total ridership.
2025 Sustainability Implementation Activities
As the sustainability audit and plan were being finalized, sustainability priorities for UTA in 2025 have focused on the following initiatives:
• Warm Springs energy efficiency
• New recycling program at FLHQ
• Reducing water consumption at facilities through system & irrigation improvements and landscaping changes
ALTERNATIVES:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
Sustainability funding is included in the 5-year Capital Budget
ATTACHMENTS:
UTA Sustainability Audit
UTA Sustainability Plan
2024 Sustainability Report