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Creating & Executing a Sustainability Plan

Creating & Executing a Sustainability Plan

Photo of EV charging parking spots in a garage
Bethlehem Parking Authority's logo represents their commitment to Parking Sustainability.

Bethlehem Parking Authority Proves that Sustainability Creates Good by Doing Good​

In early 2020, the Bethlehem Parking Authority (BPA) began to conceptualize incorporating a sustainability program as a built-in addition to our organization. Our goal was to build a robust program that would set an example for continuous sustainability improvement. After two short years, we could never have imagined what we would achieve. Success started with a clear understanding of what it takes to build a successful program. The building blocks of our program have been setting attainable and realistic goals; having the buy in and support of our Board of Directors and Mayor; and having a hardworking, dedicated team that is passionate about sustainability.

Any organization, large or small, has the potential to negatively impact the environment. A parking organization is no different:

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Photo of EV charging parking spots in a garage
  • We literally invite emission emitting vehicles to our facilities daily. 
  • We own and operate facilities that consume large amounts of energy 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 
  • We have large vehicle fleets that will circle city blocks for hours at a time.
  • We design and build large structures.
  • We use potentially harmful cleaning products.
  • We often have a large staff that consumes water and electricity daily.

In addition, most parking organizations are within dense, urban environments. Bethlehem is located in a PA DEP Environmental Justice Area, where historically minority and low-income residents have been forced to bear a disproportionate share of adverse environmental impacts. The opportunities to control our impacts were endless. We knew we had plenty of work to do, and that that work would keep us engaged for years. 

As the former Sustainability Manager at Sands Bethlehem, a one million square foot integrated casino resort, I am familiar with how rewarding it is to start and maintain a successful sustainability program. At Sands, I was fortunate to learn from industry leaders while being part of the most recognized and successful sustainability programs for integrated casino resorts. The obvious reward of a successful sustainability program is reducing an organization’s environmental impact; but seeing likeminded sustainability-driven members of the team focused on your organization’s sustainability initiatives, and having pride in their impact, is equally rewarding.

The sustainability program at BPA is arguably one of the most robust of its kind. It includes sustainability in all aspects of parking authority operations, and encourages active engagement from BPA’s leadership, team members, the community at large, and customers. 

But what did it take to plan and launch this program? And what were the key factors that led, and continue to lead, to long-term success? Let’s discuss the path that we took, and the lessons learned.

Don’t Go at it Alone 

Having allies to join forces with will make your journey easier. Any time a municipal parking organization can align their program with their city’s goals, it adds to the power of the effort. Don’t be alone on an island if you don’t need to be! Fortunately, in Bethlehem our current Mayor has deep sustainability commitments and goals. In 2021, Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds launched the city’s Climate Action Plan, marking the beginning of a sustainability-focused journey for the city. The Climate Action Plan established a new vision for Bethlehem as an equitable, prosperous, resilient, healthy, and inclusive city that takes actions to mitigate climate change while increasing our preparedness for climate change impacts. Mayor Reynolds said, “City government and our environmental coalition of community voices must design, create, and implement a vision in which every resident is able to be part of the journey to a more sustainable and equitable Bethlehem.” 

Build Your Team and Set Goals

Understanding the framework on how to successfully build a sustainability program, our team set off on the journey to create and build our own. First, we set up a small committee of sustainability-minded team members to champion starting the program. We knew we couldn’t mandate team members to be a part of effort, so we opened it up as an invitation to join. Our hopes were to attract team members that had a passion for sustainability. Once our team was set, we started to work establishing program goals. 

Sustainability is a far-reaching subject, so setting and committing to attainable and realistic sustainability goals can help an organization stay focused what factors can have the furthest-reaching impacts to the environment. While it can be easy to come up with a long list of projects, it is important not to get mired down with smaller, less impactful initiatives. 

As all the departments at the BPA can impact sustainability in some way, all departments were represented in creating our list of goals. With an open forum to start, the committee examined what within each of their departments could potentially negatively impact the environment. We then identified and created three program pillars that we bucket these examples into, and keep our progress organized: Transportation, Efficient Operations, and Green Garages. 

The Transportation pillar involves emissions reduction through public transit partnerships, promoting alternative transportation and alternative fueled vehicles. The Efficient Operation pillar focuses on our day-to-day operations and how we can create and implement operational processes to reduce our resource consumption. This pillar focuses on how our everyday actions and standard operating procedures can affect the environment, such as energy and water consumption and the waste we generate. Finally, the Green Garages pillar is all about designing, building, and maintaining our parking structures sustainably.

Build an Identity

We felt it was important for the sustainability program to have its own identity, with these pillars at the center. Building an identity around the sustainability program was important to demonstrate that it was more than just a tag line or a page on our website – it’s was a commitment. The program identity, represented by its own brand logo, made it easier to tell the sustainability story and delineate it from the rest of the organization. Sustainability initiatives were included as a consistent line item on our five-year strategic goals, and we began budgeting yearly for sustainability initiatives. It is also a substantial topic of our end of year highlight presentation to our Board of Directors. “We actually have the sustainability logo on one of our EVs, it’s a conversation piece to the public,” said Dick Lynn, BPA Facilities Manager. 

Our Progress

Once the BPA laid the foundation for the sustainability program, it was time for us to get to work on how these pillars would translate into tangible success. We started by prioritizing our goals based on the weight of the impact and how realistic it was from a time and financial commitment to make real progress. We then matched those with our program pillars and developed our yearly action plan. Each year, we prioritize the lowest hanging fruit and any potential grant funding that was applicable for our projects. In the past two years, we’ve received over $100,000 from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for sustainability projects. Your local government websites are a great resource to find potential grant funding. 

Transportation Pillar

The biggest success to date in our Transportation Pillar is the conversion of our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. To date, our fleet is made up of 40% electric vehicles, with the majority belonging to the Enforcement Fleet. We started the conversion to EV with the Enforcement Fleet because their vehicles are in operation most of the day. In late 2020, the BPA began to replace their aging Enforcement Jeep Wranglers in favor of Chevy Bolts and Nissan Leafs, all with License Plate Recognition systems. The conversion to electric vehicles, along with a prioritization of biking and walking, eliminates the consumption of approximately 2,500 gallons of gasoline yearly. 

The BPA was the recipient of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 2021 Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant, one out of only three awards given to organizations in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. This funding was vital to the success of this initiative, and BPA received overwhelming support on this and future grants from State Senator Lisa Boscola’s office. To keep our commitment to promoting alternative fuel strong, we installed more than 20 EV charging stations in our parking garages and two surface lots, a large portion funded by the PA Drive Forward grant program from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Since 2020, our EV charging stations have realized a reduction of about 40,000kg in GHG emissions.

BPA also partnered with the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Association (LANTA) to heavily promote the use of public transportation. This initiative started with our new Polk Street Garage, which is conveniently located next to the new Southside bus stop. We will install static and dynamic signage throughout the structure providing information like promotions, bus routes, and general LANTA information. The partnership with LANTA provides options and information to encourage our parkers to use public transportation to get to their further destinations.

Efficient Operations Pillar

We’ve also had a lot of great success in our Efficient Operations Pillar. We are proud to announce that all our garages and parking lots are 100% LED, which greatly reduces our energy consumption. In 2022, the BPA partnered with Lehigh University’s Community Fellowship Program to, among other projects, develop a comprehensive lighting database for all fixtures and lamps throughout all BPA properties. The worksheet captures information including the location, model, kWh consumption, useful life hours, date of install, and the projected end of life date for the lights. The BPA can then use this information to analyze other lighting options in planning for future upgrades and leverage the buying power for a mass lighting purchase. Our parking garages and lots have incredible potential for savings thanks to the large quantities and necessity to keep the lights on. Partner that with the ever-changing landscape of lighting becoming more efficient, light harvesting potentials, and smart lighting opportunities, lighting will always be a high priority to the BPA.

BPA has also retrofitted our office water fixtures to low flow and added integrated occupancy sensors in all our office spaces to keep the lights on only when needed.

Another achievement under the Efficient Operations Pillar is the creation of standard operating procedures prioritizing Enforcement Officers using walking and bicycling beats. Our Enforcement Department has created “Green Walking Beats” that were previously performed by vehicles, focused on accessibility. These standard operating procedures not only reduce the impacts to our environment, but also promote wellness and health for our team members by instituting a robust set of standards for walking and bicycling. When it’s not conducive to walk or bike, the standard operating procedures mandate our PEOs to use one of our EVs first before using a combustion vehicle. Some days, the BPA is vehicle emissions free!

We also worked with our cleaning products supplier to baseline our inventory, using that to identify and procure like products that are green certified. We also employ scrubber machines that use 70% less water and have a robust recycling program in our team member spaces.

Green Garages Pillar

Arguably, the BPA’s most important and proudest sustainability moment came from our Green Garages Pillar. In March 2021, the BPA Board of Directors unanimously passed a Sustainable Design Standards Resolution. This resolution solidified the commitment to the future design and construction of all parking garages using the Parksmart certification standards. Our first project using these standards will be the 731-space Polk Street Parking Garage designed by Desman Associates, which will be opening in late 2023.

Team Member Buy-In

The success of our program really relies on the commitment of our team members. Our team members are the ones that are out on the front lines of our operation, performing the work and putting our goals into play. Inclusion of our team members in the sustainability program was a focus in its creation. Team members shouldn’t be kept in the dark during sustainability planning; actually, the opposite – they should be provided the tools and knowledge to help drive what their organizations do, why they do it, and how they do it. They need to be educated on why they’re being asked to perform some of the tasks around sustainability: why they are using the machines and vehicles they’re being asked to use, and why they are utilizing some of the green products the BPA procures among many other explanations. When a team member fully understands the process between A and B, they’re become a part of that process and they tend to become more committed to their duties.

BPA team members are also our ambassadors to the public. When a customer sees them using a green product or a scrubber that uses less water, that team member can speak eloquently to the process and promote the brand, giving the public further piece of mind the organization is running responsibly. We also found that many of the best of the operational ideas come from the minds of the team members that are out in the field each day. We’ll incentivize a team member that provides us with a Green Idea, and we end up making it one of our goals!

What’s up for 2023 and beyond?

BPA will continue to focus on our Efficient Operations Pillar by working with our vendors and partners on technology and efficiencies that can reduce our impacts. We will look for additional ways to for people to do the right thing without having to even think about it. In 2022, we started to offer scan and text-to-pay in our parking garages to reduce idle times at our gates. We’re also promoting the use of virtual tickets, app use, and reservation-based parking to reduce the use of paper tickets as well. These frictionless and efficient options are good for the business and can help reduce our impacts – it’s two-fold. “The elimination of mag stripe tickets was huge for us, not only did it increase efficiencies, but it also greatly reduced the amount of paper and waste going to landfills,” added Paul Wagner, BPA Maintenance Supervisor.

2023 will also bring an exciting new partnership with a local elementary school, where BPA team members will travel to the school to educate the students on green initiatives and hold several “green events” during the year. We’re extremely fortunate to be in a position where we can intersect the parking industry with our local schools in a positive way. This will by far be our most rewarding and impactful project as we work with the youth of Bethlehem to educate them on living sustainably!

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