National Academies Press: OpenBook

TR News September–October 2013: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation (2013)

Chapter: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Creating a Multiagency Sustainability Framework for Colorado Agencies

« Previous: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Eco-Logical in Practice: Implementing an Ecosystem-Based Approach, Streamlining Environmental Processes for Transportation Projects
Page 28
Suggested Citation:"Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Creating a Multiagency Sustainability Framework for Colorado Agencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. TR News September–October 2013: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22466.
×
Page 28
Page 29
Suggested Citation:"Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Creating a Multiagency Sustainability Framework for Colorado Agencies." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. TR News September–October 2013: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22466.
×
Page 29

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

TR N EW S 28 8 SE PT EM BE R– O CT O BE R 20 13 28 The author is Senior Environmental Scientist, Environmental Policy and Planning Practice Lead, Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, Centennial, Colorado. Conversations between agencies about sus-tainability can be riddled with mismatchedterminology that does not translate. For example, one agency may be referring to the social, economic, and environment categories of sustain- ability, but another agency may be focusing on efforts involving art or wellness. Establishing a common terminology promotes the seamless integration of sustainability into projects without the barrier of variant definitions. To facilitate positive, productive planning and the integration of sustainability into projects in Col- orado, the Transportation Environmental Resource Council (TERC)1—a forum sponsored by the Col- orado Department of Transportation (DOT)—estab- lished the Sustainability Subcommittee (TSSC). TSSC was charged with developing a common lan- guage and framework for sustainability that TERC members could use in their projects. Topics and Tools A consultant team from Felsburg Holt & Ullevig, Good Company, and CH2M Hill assisted by facili- tating five half-day workshops between September 2010 and April 2011. TSSC agency members from 15 state and federal agencies attended the structured, sequential series of workshops, which focused on refining and advancing internal agency principles into a meaningful sustainability framework. The top- ics of the workshops were as follows: Workshop 1. Moving from Principles to Guiding Framework; Workshop 2. Developing Performance Measures for Sustainability; Workshop 3. Evaluating and Planning for Sus- tainability in Projects; Workshop 4. Resolving Conflicts and Construct- ing Partnerships; and Workshop 5. Building the Centralized Resource. During the workshops, TSSC agreed to a common language and framework for sustainability that included three key topic areas: u Community well-being, u Environmental stewardship, and u Economic vitality and quality. Participants also agreed to a hierarchy of terms for the key topic areas, as illustrated in Figure 1 (page 29). The five workshops included discussions on the development and dissemination of eight tools to assist agencies with integrating sustainability into their policies and projects. How and when an agency uses each tool will depend on the sustainability objectives, the regulatory context, and the extent of the current sustainability program. The tools are described in Table 1 (page 29) and are available on the web.2 Creating a Multiagency Sustainability Framework for Colorado Agencies J E S S I C A S . M Y K L E B U S T Environmental Sustainability in Transportation P H O TO : U SA C E Civil engineers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Albuquerque District perform a flood risk assessment after Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The district is one of the many agencies participating in the Transportation Environ - mental Resource Council. 1For a complete listing of TERC members, see www.coloradodot.info/programs/environmental/ transportation-environmental-resources-council-terc/ terc-members.html. 2www.coloradodot.info/programs/environmental/transporta tion-environmental-resources-council-terc/sustainability- workshop-tools.html.

TR N EW S 288 SEPTEM BER–O CTO BER 2013 29 Centralized Resource The workshop series culminated with the decision to develop a centralized resource for TSSC participants to use in maintaining progress toward sustainability. The centralized resource would provide the following: u Tools, static and active, such as the eight tools developed in the workshops; u Experts forum, to share files on sustainability and to receive input from other agency sustainabil- ity experts; u Sustainability announcements, posting events, seminars, and workshops related to sustain- ability; u Research and development, to keep agencies up-to-date on ongoing research and on initiatives within other agencies, to reduce redundant efforts; u Peer agency contacts, an address book of sus- tainability contact staff; u Opportunities, a list of projects with opportu- nities for sustainability efforts; u Project examples, showing how sustainability elements have been implemented and sharing lessons learned from the projects; and u Funding sources, including grant opportuni- ties and other funding for sustainability efforts. Foundation for Success The TSSC considered the workshop series a success for several reasons: 1. The series produced a common language and framework for agencies in streamlining and enhanc- ing sustainability projects, providing an effective mechanism for interagency collaboration and for success in achieving sustainability goals and objec- tives. 2. The series advanced individual agencies’ efforts to become more effective, efficient, and elegant in their sustainability programs, benefitting agency sus- tainability functions internally and externally. 3. The series established a foundation for TERC to pursue sustainability efforts successfully, with tools for developing achievable goals and priorities, for determining strategic agency partners, for mea- suring and monitoring progress, and for prioritizing initiatives for the best use of limited funds. TABLE 1 Tools Developed for TSSC Workshops to Assist Agencies with Integrating Sustainability into Policies and Projects Tool Value of Tool Program Inventory and Inventory of an agency’s programs, assets, and activities Planning Worksheet under way; a baseline for comparing future sustain - ability activities. Handbook to Develop A 30-page guide for measuring sustainability and Sustainability Measures managing sustainability performance; includes practice tables to measure efforts. Sustainability Evaluation Spreadsheets to evaluate projects and initiatives at a Tool Worksheet high level or at a detailed, quantitative level; includes information on life-cycle analysis. Tool to Determine Topics, A spreadsheet to establish short- and long-term internal Categories, and Aspects and external goals, as well as to identify responsible par- ties, performance measures, and data sources. Decision Flow Chart A flow chart that provides a path for decision making when conflict arises within a project or program between sustainability measures or strategies and between agencies. Mitigation Screening Tool If conflict is encountered within a project or program, this matrix allows for screening the sustainability strate- gies to determine which is preferable. Identifying Key Partners A worksheet for determining the key partners to invite into the project. Strategy Plan An approach for breaking down identified sustainability strategies into smaller components (e.g., contracting, technologies, risk). FIGURE 1 Hierarchy of terms for the key topic areas of community well- being, environmental stewardship, and economic vitality and quality. The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Wetlands Program funded efforts to protect the piping plover and other at-risk species. P H O TO : S U SA N H A IG, U .S. G EO LO G IC A L S U R V EY

Next: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Recycling Materials and Techniques to Improve Sustainability: Delaware Department of Transportation s Model »
TR News September–October 2013: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation Get This Book
×
 TR News September–October 2013: Environmental Sustainability in Transportation
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

This issue of the TR News focuses on environmental sustainability in transportation and how it can help improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. Articles highlight practice-ready research and cover such topics as integrating vegetation and green infrastructure into sustainable transportation planning; implementing the Eco-Logical approach in Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Washington, and Oregon; Virginia's improved construction specifications for stormwater pipe-lining materials; creating a multiagency sustainability framework in Colorado; effective noise barriers in North Carolina; Delaware's use of recycling materials and techniques; sustainability in airspace system planning; and more.

The September-October 2013 issue of TR News includes the following articles:

Environmental Sustainability in Transportation: Improving the Quality of Life

Evaluating Sustainable Development: A Quality-of-Life Focus for Transportation Decision Making

Integrating Vegetation and Green Infrastructure into Sustainable Transportation Planning

Eco-Logical in Practice: Implementing an Ecosystem-Based Approach, Streamlining Environmental Processes for Transportation Projects

Soundscapes: A Sustainability Approach to Transportation Noise Management

Sustainability in Airspace System Planning

Research Pays Off: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement with Steel Slag Aggregate: Successful Use in Illinois Pavements

The TR News is TRB's bimonthly magazine featuring timely articles on innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in all modes of transportation. It also includes brief news items of interest to the transportation community, research pays off articles profiles of transportation professionals, workshop and conference announcements, new book notices, and news of TRB activities. Submissions of manuscripts for possible publication are accepted at any time.

Copies of the TR News may be purchased individually or ordered on an annual subscription basis.

READ FREE ONLINE

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!