Specifications include, but are not limited to:The objective of this research is to develop tools to address how environmental, economic, and social sustainability objectives can be established and implemented by transit agencies. The tools should help transit agencies formulate, plan, finance, and integrate agency-specific sustainability strategies that improve transit performance and the livability and vitality of their communities. The research should provide transit agencies with information and ready-access to methods, tools, and examples of best practices to fully develop and implement a sustainability program, including (but not limited to) how to: Present options for defining sustainability; Articulate and quantify transit’s environmental, economic, and social value to its region; Monetize non-traditional sustainability-related outcomes of public transportation; Leverage the role that transit plays in a sustainable society to help secure greater financial support for public transportation; Establish an organizational structure for sustainability and engage staff and officials at every level of the transit agency; Make the internal and external business case for sustainability; Address messaging and outreach on sustainability for internal and external stakeholders; Develop sustainability programs, plans, and strategies; Integrate sustainability into existing transit agency plans and processes, such as planning, design, construction, operations, and maintenance; Maintain a program, develop training, and drive continual improvement of a sustainability program; Use existing management systems to optimize sustainability standards and practices; Integrate sustainability into investment decisions for transit system expansion, asset management, and state of good repair; Address financing and funding for sustainability programs and projects; Include sustainability in contracting and procurement; and Establish and use sustainability performance reporting and monitoring, identifying software and other methods for tracking.
