For TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program, Cambridge Systematics assisted with the effort to prepare a guide for state departments of transportation and other transportation agencies that describes the underlying principles of sustainability as it relates to transportation, possible goals that can be used to address those principles, and performance measures that can be used to address those goals. Aspects of sustainability-related performance measures, including data sources and examples of use, are discussed. A reference compendium of performance measures has also been provided. 
For the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials Standing Committee of Environment (SCOE), Cambridge Systematics assembled a team of leading experts in environmental mitigation, who assessed the potential benefits of progressive approaches to the Clean Water Act or Endangered Species Act compensatory mitigation compared to more traditional techniques. This report highlights new tools and methodologies that state DOTs can use to implement cost-effective mitigation with high quality ecological results.
TRB Special Report 307: Policy Options for Saving Energy and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transportation examines the potential for policies targeting cars and light trucks, medium and heavy trucks, and commercial airliners to yield major changes in transportation energy use and emissions trends. Lance Grenzeback of Cambridge Systematics and CS Board Member, Emil Frankel, served on the Committee for a Study of Potential Energy Savings and Greenhouse Gas Reductions from Transportation that produced this report. A 4-page summary of this report is also available.
TRB’s Transportation Research E-Circular E-C152: Adapting Transportation to the Impacts of Climate Change: State of the Practice 2011 focuses on transportation adaptation practices that can be implemented to yield potential benefits now and in the longer term. This document highlights what climate change adaptation means for the transportation industry and consists of individually authored sections that represent the viewpoints of the authors. Joanne Potter and Alan Meyers of Cambridge Systematics, and Michael Savonis co-authored one of the articles on Climate Change Impacts on Ports.
In compliance with the Global Warming Solutions Act (GWSA) signed in 2008, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Ian Bowles has set the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions limit 25 percent below 1990 levels for 2020. The newly released Massachusetts
Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020 details how the state will comply. Building on existing measures necessary to meet the goal, the EEA plan comprises a targeted portfolio of additional policies that promise overall cost savings and clean energy jobs, while allowing the Bay State to reach the most ambitious target for GHG reduction in the country. CS provided strategic and analytical support for transportation GHG inventory development and forecasting as well as strategy development, GHG modeling, estimation of costs and benefits, and policy analysis for transportation and land use strategies.
Here is the latest and final release in a series of three from The Center For Clean Air Policy (CCAP) on research conducted in collaboration with Cambridge Systematics. Report 1 focuses on current data availability, which evaluates the availability and quality of different types of transport-related data in developing countries. Report 2 focuses on data selection, which presents recommendations and guidelines for the type and quality of data needed to evaluate transport NAMAs; and Report 3 focuses on technical assistance resources and capacity building needed to support development, implementation and assessment of transport NAMAs. NAMA or Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action refers to a set of policies and actions countries undertake as part of a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Read Report 1: Data Availability
Read Report 2: Data Selection
Read Report 3: Capacity-Building Needs
For the New Jersey Department of Transportation's Bureau of Research, Cambridge Systematics evaluated and comprehensively assessed a selection of common products and materials used in marine applications against five families of key sustainability attributes related to extraction, production, transport, service life, and disposal. A matrix of "green products" was developed to provide marina owners and patrons who wish to operate more sustainably with an objective resource for making informed purchasing decisions.
For the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), Cambridge Systematics conducted research to identify which types of control strategies will have beneficial effects on reducing all pollutants, including ozone precursors, particulate matter (PM), air toxins, and greenhouse gases (GHG); as well as which ones may reduce some pollutants while increasing others, and the specific tradeoffs involved. The research identified factors and uncertainties that may affect these interactions and tradeoffs. Cambridge Systematics also identified how transportation and air quality agencies have evaluated cost-effectiveness, considering multiple pollutants, and made tradeoffs among these pollutants when prioritizing control strategies.
On April 22, 2010 (Earth Day), the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a Report to Congress on the role of transportation in reducing U.S. greenhouse gases. This study provides background on climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, inventories and projections of transportation GHG emissions, as well as a detailed examination of potential ways to reduce these emissions. Strategies examined include economy-wide market-based strategies, use of low-carbon fuels, increasing vehicle fuel economy, improving system efficiency, and reducing travel that involves high levels of carbon emissions. The study includes an analysis of the relative effectiveness and costs of these different strategies, as well as other feasibility considerations, and presents policy options to promote GHG reductions from the transportation sector. The study covers all transportation sectors and modes, including on-road passenger and freight, rail, marine, and aviation.
Planning and Environment Linkages Program: A Guide to
Measuring Progress in Linking Transportation Planning and Environmental
Analysis (December 2009)
Transportation Adaption to Global Climate Change (December 2009)
Environmental Mitigation in Transportation Planning: Case Studies in Meeting SAFETEA-LU Section 6001 Requirements (October 2009)
Assessment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Medium and Heavy Duty Vehicles: Commissioned Paper on Indirect Costs and Alternative Approaches (September 2009)
Moving Cooler: Transportation Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (July 2009)
To order the full report, please click here.
To read the Executive Summary, please click here.
Breathing Free in Illinois: Reducing Air Pollution and Improving Health through Cleaner Cars (April 2008)
The Impacts of Climate Change and Variability on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure: Gulf Coast Study, Phase I (March 2008)
AMPO Metros Quarterly)
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