HART's Continued Commitment to Sustainability

HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward attends 15th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

HART Interim Chief Executive Officer Jeff Seward is continuing HART’s dialogue in sustainability conversations as he attends the 15th International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.  As the region’s public transportation provider, it is imperative that we fully understand our services’ impact on all legs of the sustainability stool, and how to lessen the impact on the environmental leg, while building a strong influence over the cultural, economic and social legs. 

HART Interim CEO Jeff Seward

Mr. Seward has ensured HART’s representation in the sustainability and climate change conversations over the last 5 years by presenting HART’s on-going environmental and climate change mitigation work in academic centric and industry conversations held at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK, University of California, Berkeley, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon and several American Public Transportation Association sustainability conferences.

HART’s work on reducing its carbon footprint by over 17% over the past 5 years, significantly reducing energy consumption in its operating facilities, and its international certification as the only ISO 14001 environmentally sustainable transit agency in the State of Florida, one of only a dozen in North America, has been lauded by these organizations.

MTC Recycling Program Kicks Off Sept. 29!

Recycling kicks off at Marion Transit Center on Sept. 26!

HART is happy to announce that we are kicking off a recycling pilot program at Marion Transit Center on September 29th!

Every three months, Americans throw enough aluminum in the landfills to build our nation's entire commercial air fleet. THREE months.

That's a lot of waste!

A large portion of the waste streams produced by HART operations come from the patrons who use our network of vehicles and facilities. You can imagine just how substantial that amount of potential waste is with the HART system seeing upwards of 50,000+ trips taken daily.

HART takes our environmental stewardship role serious. HART is 1 of only 13 transit agencies in the country (and the only in Florida) to be ISO 14001-certified in environmental management.

Fortunately, our riders appear willing to do their part. A recent survey of Marion Transit Center commuters shows that 73% of riders currently practice recycling.

This is where our riders come in. The success of this initiative will directly depend on the participation of our patrons.

HART patrons will be helping to preserve the natural environment by correctly placing recyclable items in our collection bins. Signs located near the recycling bins will clearly identify prohibited and approved items.

Join us for kickoff!

Pledge to Learn, Act, & Share for a chance at 1-day/31-day farecard!

HART staff will be out at Marion Transit Center on Thursday, September 29, from 6:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Inc. joining us in the afternoon from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Drop by the HART tent, as we will be raffling off both 1-day and 31-day bus passes for those who take a pledge to support the HART recycling initiative. Other giveaways and information on how to help "Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful" will be available as well.

Follow HART & Recycle! Visit goHART.org for more information on the HART Environmental and Sustainability Management System.

HART Achieves Prestigious Environmental & Sustainability Certification!

HART is 1 of 13 transit agencies in US to be ISO 14001 certified

HART recently received an official ISO 14001 Certification for its Environmental Sustainability and Management System (ESMS). Audit firm, DQS Inc., has certified HART as one of only 13 transit agencies in the country and the only transit system in Florida to achieve International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) 14001 Standard.

Sounds good, right? But, what does it mean?

Jeff Seward, HART Chief Financial Officer explains.

"Developing an ISO 14001 certified Environmental and Sustainability Management System (ESMS) program provides assurance to our community, stakeholders, and employees that our operations and services are environmentally friendly. Now that we're certified, the ESMS also provides a framework for us to continuously take steps to reduce pollution and continually improve our environmental footprint on the Tampa Bay region."

HART began work to achieve this certification in 2013 when it was accepted to the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) ISO 14001 EMS Institute at Virginia Tech University. A two-year program, the academy is designed to help transit agencies develop and implement an ESMS, using the ISO 14001 Standard. ISO is an independent, non-governmental organization that brings together experts to share knowledge and develop standards that provide solutions to global challenges such as environmental management.

Our ESMS provides improved internal controls

These management tools enable an organization to control the environmental impact of its activities and represent a structured approach to setting environmental objectives and targets. Fulfilling the requirements of the standard demands objective evidence which can be audited to demonstrate that the environmental management system is operating effectively in conformance with the standard. Benefits include higher conformance with legislative and regulatory requirements, improved efficiency, minimized risk of regulatory and environmental fines, reductions in waste and consumption of resources, and better internal controls.

The FTA has sponsored four ESMS academies, each with a class of 10 transit agencies. Of those, 13 have gone on to become ISO 14001 certified and HART is the only one in Florida, placing it in the upper echelon of transit agencies that have made a commitment to the environment.

In terms of ridership, the other thirteen transit systems are diverse. Several transit agencies are close to our size; Foothill Transit in California provided more than 14 million rides in 2015. Sound Transit in Seattle is over twice our size and provides 28 million rides a year; Lane Transit District (LTD) in Oregon provides an average of 11 million rides a year. Another peer with the certification is the nation's third largest transit provider, Los Angeles Metro, which provided 453 million boardings in 2015. Agencies of all sizes are making the commitment. Pursuing this level of environmental performance makes for a safer, cleaner environment.