Annual Diamond Awards Presentation Held Virtually

San Diego CA— Employers all over San Diego County are embracing methods to reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. SANDAG celebrated their hard work with a virtual event on Thursday. One hundred thirty eight employers countywide were recognized with Diamond Awards for their outstanding efforts in encouraging employees to use environmentally sustainable transportation choices.
Diamond Awards recipients promote alternatives to driving alone, including carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, transit, telework, and compressed workweek schedules. Some organizations also provide incentives, subsidies, or pre-tax deductions to support their employees’ participation in eligible programs.
The Diamond Awards are administered by the SANDAG iCommute program, which provides services to commuters and employers to help reduce traffic congestion, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and improve mobility.
This year, many local employers turned to iCommute for assistance with implementing telework programs. iCommute held a series of telework webinars to support regional employers and is developing a new Telework Assistance Pilot Program to start this fall.
A record-breaking twenty-nine local companies were presented with a plaque for a Platinum Diamond Award, the highest award level. A recording of the event is available on the SANDAG YouTube channel. A list of Diamond Awards recipients is posted on the iCommute website.
Employers throughout the San Diego region are invited to take advantage of complimentary iCommute employer services to be eligible for Diamond Awards. To learn more about the program, visit iCommuteSD.com/DiamondAwards.
Next month, many of these employers will encourage their employees to pledge to “clean the air” and leave their car at home in celebration of California Clean Air Day on Wednesday, October 7. Employers who take the pledge for Clean Air Day get a toolkit of promotional materials from iCommute and earn a Diamond Awards point. More information about Clean Air Day can be found at iCommuteSD.com/CleanAirDay.
Four tiers of Diamond Awards were presented at yesterday’s reception:

Platinum Tier:

AECOM, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc., BD Biosciences Pharmingen, Caltrans District 11, Center for Sustainable Energy, Circulate San Diego, Del Mar Fairgrounds*, Dudek, Fehr & Peers, HII San Diego Shipyard, HM Electronics, Inc., ICF, Illumina, Inc., Jacobs, LPL Financial, Mixte Communications*, Outdoor Outreach, RECON Environmental, Inc., San Diego Convention Center*, San Diego State University*, Sempra Energy, Sharp HealthCare*, Southwest Strategies LLC, TD Ameritrade, U.S. Coast Guard San Diego, UC San Diego, Verimatrix*, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., WSP

Gold Tier:

AleSmith Brewing Company*, BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair, Balboa Park Cultural Partnership*, Catalent Pharma Solutions, City of Chula Vista, City of Coronado*, City of Encinitas, Collins Aerospace, Cuyamaca College, Grossmont College, HDR Engineering, La Jolla Institute for Immunology*, Naval Base Point Loma, Naval Base San Diego, Pfizer, Port of San Diego, RICK Engineering Company*, San Diego County Operations Center, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, San Diego Gas & Electric, Sony Electronics, ViaSat, Watkins Wellness

Silver Tier:

ACE Hardware*, Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma Services*, Alliant Insurance Service, Inc., BioLabs, Celgene, City of Carlsbad, City of Del Mar, City of El Cajon, City of La Mesa, City of Oceanside*, City of Solana Beach*, City of Vista, Fresh Start Surgical Gifts*, Full Swing Golf, Genentech, General Atomics, GenMark Diagnostics, Hunter Industries*, Irvine Company Office Properties (La Jolla Center), Janssen Research & Development*, LeeMarc Industries*, Mission Federal Credit Union, Naval Base Coronado, Northrup Grumman Mission Systems, REI San Diego*, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego County Office of Education*, San Diego Unified School District*, Scripps Health, The Scripps Research Institute, Thermo Fisher Scientific

Bronze Tier:

Alta Planning + Design, Inc., Ambrx*, ASML, Avison Young (655 West Broadway), Axos Bank*, Brookwood Management Partners LLC, California State University San Marcos, City of Escondido, City of San Diego, Cooley LLP, Cruzan – MAKE, Cubic Defense, Dexcom, Ernst & Young U.S., LLP*, General Dynamics NASSCO, Go Daddy, Google, Hawthorne Cat*, Hotel Republic,*, Hydranautics*, iMatrix, Instrumentation Laboratory*, Intuit, Irvine Company Office Properties (Campus), Irvine Company Office Properties (La Jolla Square), Irvine Company Office Properties (The Plaza), ISS Governance*, Jerome’s Furniture, L’Auberge Del Mar*, LEGOLAND California LLC, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton*, Meissner Jacquét, MiraCosta College, Northrup Grumman Corporation – Rancho Bernardo, Pacific Advisors, Palomar College, Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Poseida Therapeutics, prAna Living LLC, QDOBA, Qualcomm, Raken Ap*, Raytheon*, San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego Humane Society, San Diego Zoo Global, Shorenstein Realty Services, L.P., Solar Turbines, Texas Instruments, Inc., Tocagen, University of San Diego, US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Z57
*These organizations are new recipients or recently graduated to a higher tier.

About iCommute

Powered by SANDAG and in cooperation with the 511 transportation information service, iCommute is the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) program for the San Diego region. iCommute encourages use of transportation alternatives to help reduce traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. iCommute aids local businesses, helping them develop and implement customized employee commuter benefit programs that lower costs, increase productivity, and help the environment. iCommute also assists commuters by providing information about carpool services, a subsidized vanpool program, transit solutions, regional support for biking, the Guaranteed Ride Home program, information about teleworking, and bike and pedestrian safety program support for schools.
FACEBOOK: iCommuteSD

About SANDAG

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the San Diego region’s primary public planning, transportation, and research agency, providing the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and construction, environmental management, housing, open space, energy, public safety, and binational topics. SANDAG is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mayors, council members, and supervisors from each of the region’s 18 cities and the county government.
To protect the health and safety of staff, partners, and the general public, SANDAG offices are closed to the public. Staff continues to review the calendar of events and will recommend changes, cancellations, or postponements on a case by case basis. Most employees are working remotely during this time to provide essential services, and to continue progress on critical regional projects. SANDAG continues to monitor the development of COVID-19 in the region and follow guidance from the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency.

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