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Title:

Calculating the Campus Carbon Footprint: Measuring University Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport
Cover of Calculating the Campus Carbon Footprint: Measuring University Associated Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport

Accession Number:

01626103

Record Type:

Component

Abstract:

While universities are significant generators of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, they are uniquely equipped with a comprehensive set of policy options to encourage more sustainable travel behaviors that can meet the global and local challenges toward reducing their carbon footprints. This research builds on previous university climate action plans, survey data, and literature to develop a comprehensive travel survey, and then employ an extensive and innovative geospatial analysis approach to estimate the transportation associated GHG emissions for faculty, staff, and students at San Diego State University (SDSU), in California. Specifically, the survey is analyzed through a series of geospatially calculated commute/policy zones that can be used to 1) estimate the transportation emissions of the campus community; 2) spatially frame tests of various policy scenarios; and finally, 3) serve as zones to help guide and target policies to reduce the campuses' carbon footprint. This comprehensively detailed trip route analysis not only reveals who the largest polluters are and where they are coming from, but it also informs and helps calibrate the testing of alternative scenarios that can be used to determine how certain policies may actually shift travel behavior and total GHG emissions. The results of the various policy scenario tests uncover promising actions for reducing campus GHG emissions such as encouraging more bicycling and walking, telecommuting transit and carpooling. This research also provides evidence that offering better and affordable housing options closer to campus can dramatically reduce university GHG emissions.

Supplemental Notes:

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ADC70 Standing Committee on Transportation Energy.

Monograph Accession #:

01618707

Report/Paper Numbers:

17-06580

Language:

English

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 United States

Authors:

Appleyard, Bruce
Mckinstry, Jeremy
Frost, Alexander R

Pagination:

19p

Publication Date:

2017

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 96th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC, United States
Date: 2017-1-8 to 2017-1-12
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Media Type:

Digital/other

Features:

Figures; References; Tables

Candidate Terms:

Geospatial analysis

Identifier Terms:

San Diego State University

Geographic Terms:

San Diego (California)

Subject Areas:

Environment; Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Policy

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2017 Paper #17-06580

Files:

PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Created Date:

Dec 8 2016 12:41PM