In celebration of Earth Day, Metro partnered with the Washington Nationals and Coca Cola to raise awareness about sustainable travel choices at the Washington Nationals Earth Day game at Nationals Park.
By taking Metro to a typical Nationals game, fans avoid driving approximately 98,000 miles per game — four times the distance around the world. In the 2014 season, that means Nationals fans taking Metrorail to the game went the distance from the earth to the moon and back 24 times.
Nationals fans who attended the game received a free “Green Ride – Green Game” souvenir tumbler. The tumbler was used within Nationals Park to receive a soft drink discount courtesy of Coca Cola. The promotion was developed to highlight a simple way fans could reduce the solid waste generated from a game while raising awareness of how taking Metro to the game reduces the impact of vehicle emissions on the region.
Metro is also due to release its first Sustainability Report this week highlighting the Authority’s progress toward the ambitious but achievable sustainability targets adopted last year. This year’s report documents significant efforts to date and sets the path forward to achieving green operations, reduced costs, and improved efficiency across Metro operations.
Highlights from 2014 include:
- Metro’s first net-zero, or energy neutral, operation - an innovative Largo water treatment facility.
- Metro’s sixth and seventh facilities constructed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements - Metro’s Transit Police Department (MTPD) II Police Station and Range Training Facility in Franconia-Springfield.
- Launch of Metro’s Sustainability Lab with projects to date expected to save the Authority $550,000 in operating costs over the next five years.
- Bus fuel economy increase to 3.42 miles/gallon, or nearly 40 MPG for the average bus passenger, a 15 percent increase since 2005.
