How SEPTA is Driving Change for a Sustainable Future
As our city strives to make positive changes in infrastructure and meet Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), more Philadelphia-based companies are stepping up to make changes for their community. Among them is the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
SEPTA has released its plans for a new sustainability initiative in their new Sustainability Playbook, reaffirming its dedication to environmental health and a more equitable future. These plans, focused on addressing environmental challenges, also emphasize the importance of fostering healthy communities and economic vitality, recognizing the interconnected nature of these issues. Yet, challenges await as SEPTA looks to overcome the impacts of the pandemic and slow funding.
SEPTA has been proactive in sustainability, setting goals since 2011, and in 2017, SEP-TAINABLE 2020 encompassed their most ambitious set of goals yet. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit and reshaped urban mobility, SEPTA faced unprecedented obstacles that affected its ability to meet its sustainability goals. The 2024 playbook reviews past successes and assesses the failures of the company to achieve all SEP-TAINABLE steps thus far, recommits to unmet goals, and sets even more ambitious objectives, including achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The playbook includes 13 goals for SEPTA to work toward. The first set addresses the natural environment:
- Reduce SEPTA’s Carbon Footprint
- Improve Energy Efficiency
- Improve Water Efficiency
- Reduce Stormwater Runoff
- Reduce & Reuse Waste
SEPTA will need to hit marks such as decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, retaining a zero-emission bus fleet by 2040, and emitting zero greenhouse gases by 2050. The majority of reduction goals aim to decrease consumption of respective materials by 20%.
The next goals pertain to healthy communities and workforce:
- Promote Livable Communities
- Improve Access to Local Food Via Transit
- Develop A Highly Skilled, Healthy, and Versatile Workforce
- Foster Equity, Inclusion & Fairness in our Workforce, Business Partnerships & Communities
These goals will be realized through the development of new properties, innovative uses of SEPTA properties (like farmers markets), and the creation of career and partnership opportunities for minority communities.
As a major employer in the region, this set of goals aligns closely with SDG #8, Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, and SDG #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities.
As for the steps that will encourage economic vitality in Philadelphia, SEPTA will:
- Increase Ridership
- Improve Operating Expense Performance
- Institutionalize Environmental Management Practices
- Demonstrate the Financial Value of Sustainability
SEPTA acknowledges the reality of post-pandemic Philadelphia throughout this playbook. Ridership has only seen a 64% return, as more people work from home but also look to avoid the unfortunate rise in crime and security risks that have come about since 2020. SEPTA’s revenue has suffered, slowing down progress toward sustainability goals.
One major step this year that will take place is the authority's transition to "a 100% green bus fleet in early 2024, when the last diesel buses are retired. New hybrid buses entering the fleet use less diesel than first generation hybrids." This step is one of the first aimed towards reducing emissions on a larger scale.
Consequently, boosting ridership has become a secondary goal. This will increase the budget allocated for sustainability efforts as more people buy train tickets, while also decreasing emissions produced by personal vehicles. This cyclical effect will increase city sustainability efforts and encourage collective action for a greener future. The key to all of these goals is the ability to demonstrate the tangible benefits of sustainable efforts in generating additional funding that can assist in boosting SEPTA to meet these goals.
Public transportation is inherently more sustainable than private transportation, but it is reassuring to see that SEPTA has not put sustainability on the back burner as other issues have arisen.
