The daily commute can be frustrating and expensive, not to mention damaging to the environment. With many companies looking for ways to improve their environmental footprint, sustainable transportation options are becoming more attractive and are creating a healthier and happier working environment for employees.

Smart Commute is part of a network of Transportation Management Associations (TMAs) across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) that works with employers to help encourage the use of sustainable modes of transportation among their employees. With customized, sustainable transportation programs, Smart Commute helps companies reduce their overall carbon footprint while making commuting easier, healthier, and more enjoyable for their employees.

Among the many workplace programs offered by Smart Commute, the Carpool Zone has been very successful in changing commuting behaviour. The Carpool Zone is a state of the art ride-matching software that helps employees find carpool partners as close to their work or home as possible based on a customized search criteria.

Partners in Project Green, an initiative led by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), has established a new Sustainable Hospitality Consortium. This is the first of its kind in the GTA. The Partners in Project Green Sustainable Hospitality Consortium is a facilitated team of organizations in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone that are committed to attaining World Class Environmental Sustainability Performance.

A survey by the Hotel Association of Canada this year showed an increasing awareness of environmental issues among hotel guests and an increased importance to the promotion of eco-friendly practices to their guests. The hospitality sector in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone, 12,000 hectares in the Greater Toronto Area that includes the entire Toronto Pearson International Airport as well as portions of the Region of Peel, City of Toronto, City of Mississauga and City of Brampton, had a total energy consumption of 2,505,000 GJ in 2008. Members of the Hospitality Consortium are striving to reduce their consumption by leveraging each other’s strengths through sharing, learning and improving to achieve accelerated results in their sustainability programs.

Partners in Project Green and PAC – The Packaging Association are pleased to announce a new partnership that will leverage the knowledge and resources of each organization to help their respective memberships realize the business benefits of sustainability.

“By allowing members access to each organization’s programming and leveraging the resources, knowledge and skills of every group, we can accelerate sustainability practices of our members,” says Toby Lennox, Chair, Partners in Project Green Steering Committee and Vice-President of Corporate Affairs and Communications with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

Many people visualize the Pearson Airport area as a broad array of runways, highways, terminal buildings, and industrial zones. With all that concrete, many would be surprised to learn that the Pearson Eco-Business Zone is the largest eco-business zone in North America and is committed to reducing its carbon footprint with environmentally-friendly initiatives.

As one of the founding members of Partners in Project Green, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) has taken this commitment very seriously. By joining forces with Smart Commute Mississauga, the GTAA has successfully implemented smart commuting initiatives for its employees and has become a sustainable transportation leader in the Pearson Eco-Business Zone.