Lyft, Inc. – Tamar Saunders – 2019

Goals 

Lyft, a leading rideshare and micro-mobility transportation network company, enlisted EDF Climate Corps fellow Tamar Saunders to develop the first sustainability framework for Lyft’s office spaces and newly opened Driver Service Centers (DSCs).

Solutions

After assessing the feasibility of various green building certifications for Lyft’s office spaces, Saunders determined that the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system would provide a clear framework to create, pursue and maintain sustainable workplaces at Lyft. Tamar evaluated one of Lyft’s office spaces for LEED points and developed a LEED certification roadmap based on cost implications for achieving different levels of certification. Saunders tackled the unique waste streams associated with the DSCs, strategizing ways to promote a closed-loop waste management system. Saunders ultimately developed the first version of a DSC scorecard to help Lyft improve the internal evaluation of DSC waste streams.

Potential Impact

Saunders presented the LEED and DSC sustainability frameworks to their respective stakeholders within Lyft. Saunders’s work provided valuable sustainability frameworks for both Lyft’s office spaces and DSCs that will assist in future corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, public sustainability reporting, and will create the foundation for future procurement and zero-waste policies. Saunders’s work will promote healthier and more sustainable workplaces that benefits not only Lyft employees but the overall environment.