WSF weekly update: How they are making every day Earth Day

||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES |||

In honor of Earth Day, here’s an update on our first-ever Sustainability Action Plan. As part of our Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Program, we launched the two-year plan on this day in 2019 to outline our goals and actions to protect orca whales, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, decrease waste and implement sustainability recommendations outlined in our 2040 Long Range Plan.

Solar panels were installed at our Bainbridge terminal last year and they began producing energy for the facility in the fall.

Here are highlights from the plan’s latest performance dashboard:

• Solar installations at our Bainbridge and Mukilteo terminals began producing energy in late 2020. Much of the energy goes directly to facility use, with any extra sold to local electric utilities. At Bainbridge alone, we have already saved nearly 25,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, which equates to almost 200 trees planted!
• We set a baseline emissions reduction goal based on our system electrification plan. If all elements are funded, we would reduce our nitrogen oxide emissions by 94%, sulphur oxide emissions by 75% and particulate matter by 90% by the year 2040.
• As part of our deep-energy retrofit efforts, high-efficiency water fixtures and LED lighting were recently installed at all of our terminals. We have also switched over to more efficient heating systems at our Edmonds and Kingston terminals, as well as our Eagle Harbor Maintenance Facility.

We’re currently drafting our next Sustainability Action Plan for the 2021-2023 biennium based on community and customer engagement. Provide feedback on either the current plan or the next plan by sending us an email. We’re committed to making our ferry system the greenest in the world!