The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) released its annual Sustainability Report. As an element of the authority’s commitment to transparency and accountability, the report details the cumulative and annual progress the high-speed rail project has made on its social, economic and environmental goals in the past year as it builds one of the most significant, greenest public infrastructure projects in the U.S.
“Realizing California’s core goal of carbon neutrality is why we are building this state-of-the-art, resilient high-speed rail system. This report illustrates how investment in cleaner construction practices and disadvantaged communities today delivers meaningful economic, social and environmental benefits now and paves the way for the greatest long-term benefits: A clean and profoundly more connected California with the nation’s first 220-mph electrified high-speed rail system powered by 100 percent renewable energy as a centerpiece,” said CHSRA’s Director of Planning and Sustainability Margaret Cederoth.
Key milestones highlighted in this year’s report include:
- Continuing to grow the number of small and disadvantaged businesses at work on the project. Small businesses have increased by nearly 166 percent since 2015, and the number of disadvantaged business enterprises has grown by 191 percent since 2015.
- Avoiding 110,000 pounds of criteria air pollutants, including short-lived climate pollutants, in 2023 alone, with more than 570,000 pounds of pollutants avoided since the start of construction.
- Continuing with preserving and restoring more than 4,400 acres of habitat, protecting more than 3,400 acres of agricultural land from development.
- Continuing to divert more than 95 percent of non-hazardous waste from landfills, as 306,159 tons of 323,739 total were recycled or reused. In 2023 alone, CHSRA diverted 3,198 tons of the 4,445 tons of non-hazardous waste generated.
- Advancing station design and delivery to prioritize a phased build-out that brings value to communities and builds ridership. Additionally, keeping in touch with the core public, as more than 33,700 community members joined the 346 community meetings CHSRA hosted.
CHSRA says it also focuses on delivering extensive additional co-benefits, including:
- 3,000 future jobs
- 14,096 construction jobs dispatched
- 847 small businesses engaged
- $6.6 billion investment in disadvantaged communities
- 142 million metrics tons of carbon dioxide emissions to be avoided during system operation
- 570,840 pounds of criteria air pollutants already avoided through use of clean construction vehicles
- 527,707 metric tons of carbon already sequestered and avoided through habitat and conservation
- Maintaining a net-positive balance on carbon-neutral construction
The annual report provides details on CHSRA’s efforts from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, and captures critical data from the first part of 2024.
CHSRA has begun work to extend the 119 miles currently under construction to 171 miles of future electrified high-speed rail from Merced to Bakersfield, Calif. There are currently more than 25 active construction sites in California’s Central Valley, with CHSRA having also fully environmentally cleared 463 miles of the high-speed rail program from the Bay Area to downtown Los Angeles.
Since the start of high-speed rail construction, the project has created more than 14,000 good-paying construction jobs, a majority going to residents of the Central Valley. Nearly 1,500 workers are dispatched to a high-speed rail construction site daily.
A copy of the full 2024 Sustainability Report, including other resources such as fact sheets, can be found on CHSRA’s website.
