VTA values sustainability as part of its core mission. Building on this legacy of sustainability efforts and actions, VTA issued a Sustainability Charter for the BART to Silicon Valley Phase II Project. The Charter affirms VTA’s commitment to take a comprehensive sustainable approach to the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the BSVII Project. The design teams will include several sustainability elements in design and contract documents to ensure that the Project is built in a manner that is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable.
The Project’s Sustainability Master Plan serves as a roadmap to achieve Envision Platinum, the highest level of certification from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure. VTA was successful at achieving Envision Platinum for the Berryessa Transit Center as part of BART Silicon Valley Phase I. To achieve a Platinum award, a project must demonstrate that it delivers a heightened range of environmental, social and economic benefits to the project implementor and surrounding communities. The Envision system examines the impact of sustainable infrastructure projects as a whole, through five distinct categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World and Climate, and Resilience. These key areas contribute to the positive social, economic, and environmental impacts on a community.