San Diego County CA—Sixty-seven employers countywide were recognized on Friday with Diamond Awards for their outstanding efforts to encourage workers to use environmentally sustainable transportation choices.
The Diamond Awards is an annual recognition event hosted by the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) iCommute program, which provides a variety of services to commuters and employers to help reduce traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions. The number of Diamond Awards recipients continues to grow each year.
“SANDAG is proud to recognize the 67 employers honored today for their success in developing programs that help their employees find more sustainable options to commute,” said County Supervisor and SANDAG Board Chair Ron Roberts. “Choosing an alternative to driving solo just once a week helps reduce regional congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, and can make a big difference in employee wellness, productivity and retention.”
Diamond Award recipients promote commuting alternatives such as carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, transit, telework, and compressed workweek schedules. Many provide incentives, subsidies, or pre-tax deductions to support their employees’ participation in eligible programs.
Employers must meet milestones in the development of their commuter benefits programs. The program is based on a points system tied to employer engagement, annual event participation, and shifts in employee transportation choices. In Fiscal Year 2017, 13 employers achieved the highest recognition level – Platinum.
“Sustainability is a top priority at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and we’re committed to providing commuter benefits and incentives to reduce single-car trips. This year, more than 200 of our employees have used iCommute options and say they are appreciative of these opportunities to reduce their footprint on the planet while saving money on their commute,” said Tim Fennell, Platinum awardee and CEO of the Del Mar Fairgrounds. “We are thrilled to win this prestigious award and we will continue to boost access to alternative transportation options for our employees.”
Four tiers of Diamond Awards were presented:

Platinum Tier:

• AECOM
• Alta Planning + Design, Inc.
• BD Biosciences Pharmingen
• Del Mar Fairgrounds
• Dudek
• ESET
• Fehr & Peers
• ICF International
• Kleinfelder
• Mixte Communications
• Scripps Health
• UC San Diego
• Watkins Manufacturing

Gold Tier:

• CH2M
• Circulate San Diego
• City of Chula Vista
• County of San Diego – County Operations Center
• Port of San Diego
• San Diego State University
• Sempra Energy
• Sharp HealthCare
• Sony Electronics

Silver Tier:

• Component Control
• Continental Maritime of San Diego
• Hydranautics
• Illumina, Inc.
• Intuit
• LPL Financial
• Naval Base Coronado
• Naval Base Point Loma
• Naval Base San Diego
• Qualcomm, Inc.
• San Diego Mesa College
• Thermo Fisher Scientific
• University of San Diego
• US Coast Guard
• US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Bronze Tier:

• ACE Hardware, Downtown
• Alesmith Brewing Co.
• Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.
• BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair
• Brixton Capital
• CGI
• City of Carlsbad
• City of Del Mar
• City of Encinitas
• City of San Diego – Environmental Services Dept.
• Cubic Defense
• Dexcom, Inc.
• Grossmont College
• iMatrix
• Legoland California, LLC
• Luna Grill Restaurants
• Luxtera
• Medimpact Healthcare Systems 1
• Mission Federal Credit Union
• Northrop Grumman Carmel Mountain (Missions)
• RECON Environmental, Inc.
• San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
• The Scripps Research Institute
• Sequenom
• SportRX
• TD Ameritrade
• Texas Instruments, Inc.
• UTC Aerospace Systems
• Verimatrix

Employers throughout San Diego County are invited to take advantage of complimentary iCommute employer services to be eligible for Diamond Awards. To learn more about the program, visit 511sd.com/iCommute.