Thousands of Booz Allen Staff Participate in Firm-Wide "Green" Initiatives

Creative transportation and work options are reducing environmental impacts while supporting both employee and client needs.

Every year, Earth Day encourages us to assess the impact of our environmental stewardship on the planet. At Booz Allen Hamilton, environmentally sensitive procedures are practiced firmwide, and many of its staff routinely participate in volunteer initiatives to support “green” causes. For example, senior consultant Adam Lucas recently spent a day planting trees along the banks a river in Washington County, Maryland as part of his commitment to restoring natural areas.

But Earth Day isn’t the only time that Booz Allen provides employees with smart solutions to protect the environment. Several year-‘round programs are reducing environmental impacts, the depletion of natural resources—and the stress levels of staff. The most popular alternatives at the firm are commuter shuttles, flexwork programs, and ride sharing.

Shuttle Service

Available to all employees, the Booz Allen shuttle service transports 2,350 passengers per month to and from the West Falls Church metro station and McLean headquarters, and more than 1,600 passengers from McLean to Herndon’s One Dulles office and back.

The service consists of three diesel-powered buses featuring GPS tracking that allows employees to monitor the shuttle’s progress on the firm’s Intranet, says senior associate Velma Booth. Because the buses also have WiFi, employees can use their laptops during their daily commutes.

“The shuttle program began in 2002 to ease the employee commute and reduce the traffic congestion surrounding the McLean campus,” Booth says. The service consists of two routes that operate Monday through Friday:

• The first route travels to the West Falls Church metro station with two 24-passenger buses during peak commuting hours (6:35 am to 9:30 am and 4 pm to 7:30 pm). One bus operates between 9:30 am and 4 pm.
• The second route operates from 7 am to 6:30 pm between McLean and One Dulles with one 24-passenger bus.

Benefits of this program have been consistent and significant. The most important is reduced fuel costs for employees—monthly savings are estimated at $30 per person for the metro shuttle and $87 for the Herndon shuttle. “In addition, employees enjoy convenient pick-up points in McLean, use of WiFi service and enhanced personal time, and a stress-free shuttle ride, versus driving in heavy traffic each day,” Booth says.

“We’re reducing gas consumption,” she adds, “and being good corporate citizens by reducing overall congestion in Tysons Corner, which provides a better quality of life for all Tysons commuters.”

The greatest challenge, Booth admits, is maintaining shuttle schedules in the second-most congested city in America. But the shuttle has met the challenge by adapting to changing traffic conditions. “We use several different driving routes to ensure that we meet the posted schedules and passengers are guaranteed first-class, on-time service.”

Flexible Working Arrangements

Teleworking, job-sharing, a compressed workweek… These are just a few of the flexible work arrangements (FWAs) that help Booz Allen staff navigate personal and professional commitments.

Flexible work options allow an employee to change her/his schedule to accommodate both professional needs and personal issues—such as those involving education, family, or health—for which more time or flexibility is needed. This could include working a non-standard schedule, e.g., arriving and leaving earlier in the day; job sharing, (one position shared by two part-time employees); working part-time (less than 40 hours per week); and teleworking (working from a location other than a Booz Allen office or client facility).

Says associate Natalie Jackson, “Telework and other flexible job options also address environmental concerns by reducing traffic congestion, which reduces emissions.”

Flexible working options are so popular, employees created a Booz Allen FlexWork Forum in 2004 as a resource for flexworkers with non-traditional schedules or staff to network and share best practices. Senior consultant Eileen Miller is forum co-chair. “We have over 300 members,” she says, “and because we are primarily a virtual forum, we don’t use as many physical resources, such as paper, to meet and maintain communications.”

The forum provides members with a community resource and support group, and facilitates the creation of flexwork best practices and tools. It also provides support to supervisors of flexwork employees, and standardizes flexwork practices to ensure equality and fairness across the firm. Flexwork arrangements enhance Booz Allen’s competitive advantage for clients and staff.

Jackson notes that, although overcoming some misconceptions remains a challenge, many employees are drawn to the potential of alternative work options. “Eligibility for a FWA is determined on a case-by-case basis,” she explains. “To be considered, an employee must have at least two years of service with the firm and received at least a ‘meets’ rating on his or her last assessment. Employees with less than two years, however, may also be eligible at the firm’s discretion.”

Ride Sharing

To further reduce traffic congestion and the pollution and wasted time that accompany it, Booz Allen partners with two services, NuRide and Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH), to provide fast, reliable transportation alternatives.

NuRide is a ride network that allows employees to plan trips online, “get matched” to other commuters, and receive rewards every time a ride is shared.

“It’s highly flexible,” Jackson says. “Regardless of how someone currently commutes or how busy their schedule is, they can join NuRide today for free, with no ongoing commitments, and they will earn rewards for every trip they take, whether they use the service for one day or five days a week.” The service is currently available to commuters and employers in only a few regions, however, including metro Washington, D.C., Hampton Roads, Virginia, New York City, St. Paul, Minnesota, and Houston.

Booz Allen joined the network in 2006 to provide its staff with another commuting option, and reduce congestion, stress, and parking demands for employees. The flexible service not only saves participants money on gas and subway or bus fare, but also provides rewards such as gift cards.

“NuRide removes commuting miles from the roads, too, which prevents tons of vehicle emissions from being released into the environment,” Jackson says. Booz Allen has 200 registered participants in NuRide, who have reduced an estimated 54,000 miles on the road through their participation in the network.

When unexpectedly emergencies arise, the GRH program provides commuters with a reliable, free ride home. For commuters who carpool, vanpool, bike, walk, or take transit to work at least twice a week, GRH is an alternative that will “rescue” commuters who otherwise would find it difficult to find a ride home. Commuters use GRH for a wide range of unplanned circumstances, from caring for a relative who becomes ill, to unscheduled overtime that forces them to stay so late, they’re unable to take their usual form of transportation.

Commuters may take advantage of GRH up to four times a year, and some restrictions apply. But knowing they have a guaranteed ride home is all many commuters need to choose public commuting options rather than their own vehicles—and that helps not only those commuters, but thousands of others with whom they would otherwise share the road.

story posted April 25, 2008