SESSION: EDUCATION AND PRACTITIONER TRAINING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
Industry Perspectives on Transportation Sustainability Issues and Practitioner Needs
Damon Fordham, Cadmus Group
This presentation will highlight the needs of transportation industry practitioners in commercial and government organizations in
terms of how education and training can support the integration of sustainability into agency planning, project development,
operations, and maintenance.
Damon Fordham is a recognized national sustainable transportation expert and an experienced project and program manager with
a background in civil engineering and Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Prior to his career in consulting, Mr.
Fordham was the first Sustainability Program Manager at the Oregon DOT, where he provided program development, strategic
planning, and policy analysis to redefine and execute Oregon’s sustainability and climate change agenda. Mr. Fordham is an active
member of TRB, serving as Vice Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Sustainability and a member of the Committee on
Transportation Energy.
Industry perspectives on transportation
sustainability issues and practitioner needs
Damon Fordham
Principal, Sustainable Transportation Practice,
The Cadmus Group, Inc.
Vice Chair, TRB Committee on Transportation
and Sustainability (ADD40)
Sustainability and Resilient Infrastructure Workshop
June 18, 2014
Evolving Challenges
• Uncertainty in revenues
• Responsiveness to community
concerns
• Changing demographics
• Increasing freight
• Climate change
• Performance-based
management
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A sustainable transportation system strives to:
1. Reinforce livable and economically strong
communities
2. Facilitate modal choice
3. Support efficient land uses that reduce travel
distances and increase travel options
4. Distribute system benefits and burdens equitably
across society
5. Encourage pricing that reflects true costs
6. Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to address
climate change
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A sustainable transportation system strives to: (con’t)
7. Protect local air and water quality from pollutants
8. Transition away from nonrenewable fuels to
cleaner, renewable alternatives
9. Use maintenance and construction practices that
are compatible with native habitats and species
10. Apply life-cycle costs to transportation
investments
11. Minimize raw material use and disposal during
construction and maintenance
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A sustainable transportation system strives to: (con’t)
12. Improve safety to eliminate accidents and
fatalities
13. Prioritize accessibility over mobility where
appropriate
14. Exhibit resilience to extreme weather events
15. Minimize noise impacts to communities and
natural areas
16. Be funded with sustainable revenue streams that
are publicly accepted and reflect the beneficiarypays concept
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“The U.S. overall policy system and institutional
framework today is not yet capable of making the
strategy, policy, and funding decisions that are
truly driven by TBL considerations.”
Source: NCHRP Report 750, Vol. 4 (2014)
Transportation sustainability programs:
Practitioner lessons
• Internal & external
• Cross-divisional
• Integrated into existing policies and
practices
• Top-down & bottom-up
• Governance
• “Management system” approach
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Vision
Vision
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•
•
•
Goal(s)
Indicator(s)
Strategies
Actions
9
Sub-Area
Building
energy use
Long-Run Goal
Short-Run Goal
Electricity use
reduction: 50%
below 2000
levels
Electricity use
reduction: 20%
below 2000
levels by 2010
Natural gas:
zero use of fossil
natural gas
(stretch goal)
Natural gas:
20% reduction in
use from 2005
baseline
100% of total
electricity needs
will be met by
new renewable
energy sources
by 2025
25% of total
electricity needs
will be met by
new renewable
energy sources
by 2010
Indicators
Strategies
Total electricity
use (kWh)
Use of renewables in grid
mix
Total natural gas
use (BTUs)
Monitoring/ tracking of
energy use
Renewables
(excluding largescale hydro) as
percentage of
electricity grid
mix
Encourage efficiency
measures & conservation
Energy retrofits for
existing buildings
Switch lighting fixtures to
LED’s
On-site generation where
appropriate
Use of ENERGY STAR
equipment
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Emerging tools and rating systems
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Final thoughts…
Get over the squishy-ness
Use buckets – even if imperfect
… But don’t silo by department
Get your data sorted
Recognize the significance of operations and
maintenance
• Make friends with land use professionals
• Reinforce links to other critical initiatives, like
safety, asset management, and funding
• Transportation in service of a sustainable society
(i.e., not necessarily “sustainable transportation”)
•
•
•
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Thank you!
Damon Fordham
Principal, Sustainable Transportation Practice
The Cadmus Group, Inc.
1555 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300
Arlington, Virginia 22209
Tel: 703.842.5524
Email: damon.fordham@cadmusgroup.com
Cadmus is committed to helping our clients create social and economic value
and improve the quality of people's lives, today and for future generations.
6/18/2014
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SESSION: EDUCATION AND PRACTITIONER TRAINING TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY
Education Development in Sustainable Transportation
Ann Xu, Georgia Institute of Technology
The National Center for Sustainable Transportation (NCST) is a national university transportation center funded by the US
Department of Transportation (USDOT) and includes the participation of the University of California Davis (lead institution),
Georgia Tech, University of Southern California, University of California Riverside, Cal State Long Beach, and University of
Vermont. Georgia Tech is the designated lead for the development of the NCST education program. The established NCTS
education goal is to create a new course series of eight courses in Sustainable Transportation and develop the materials for the
first four university courses (one undergraduate, one graduate, and two in professional education). The team has cataloged
Georgia Tech’s transportation and sustainability courses, as well as those at our partner institutions and other universities. The
team compared the foci of existing courses to those of the sustainability tools and performance measures being used by
practitioners and researchers. Through the comparisons, along with an expert survey, the team identified the most important
elements of these courses with respect to sustainability education in transportation.
Dr. Yanzhi "Ann" Xu’s research focuses on policy evaluation and emissions and energy analysis. Her research cuts across a broad
range of transportation engineering, from travel behavior, emissions, to safety, with an explicit emphasis on sustainability. Xu has
managed multiple projects and collaborated with various organizations. As Center Operations Director at Georgia Tech, she
manages the development of 8 new courses related to sustainable transportation. Xu’s multidisciplinary research also includes
resource mapping and environmental evaluations for renewal energy sources. She is passionate about STEM education in K-12
schools, and is directing STEM programs at local inner city schools.