Environment and Transportation

Cambridge Systematics is deeply committed to sustaining our environment and conserving natural resources – ensuring that a healthy environment and top quality transportation services go hand in hand. Our environmental initiative assists communities and transportation agencies in planning and implementing sustainable transportation systems that will meet the needs of our growing economy while contributing to a better environment. Our environmental practice focuses on two primary areas:

• Supporting transportation climate change policy, mobile source greenhouse gas emissions analysis and reduction strategies, and climate impact and adaptation assessments; and
• Supporting state and local agencies in integrating environmental and climate change considerations into planning, policy, and project-level decisions.

Our Services

• Transportation Climate Change Policy and Planning – Cambridge Systematics’ extensive policy work with Federal and state agencies integrates climate change considerations into agencies’ strategic policy development: addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation as well as preparing for the effect of climate change. Cambridge Systematics was directly involved in the creation of the U.S. DOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting (in 1999) and has provided direct support to the Center since that time. Cambridge Systematics coordinated the planning process and drafted the Center’s first strategic plan, identifying research priorities in both GHG emissions reduction, and impacts and adaptation. Further, Cambridge Systematics designed and coordinated groundbreaking DOT-U.S. Geological Survey research that investigated the potential impacts of climate change on transportation in the central Gulf Coast region. 

  This interdisciplinary study, conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, analyzed the potential impacts of climate change on each modal network and overall transportation services in the study area. A recent article in the Times-Picayune (New Orleans) featured the Gulf Coast Study work. 

• Mobile Source Greenhouse Gas Emissions Analysis and Reduction Strategies – Cambridge Systematics has extensive expertise with the full-range of transportation analysis techniques, such as demand forecasting/travel behavior, transportation demand management, operations, and air quality analysis.  This expertise provides a strong foundation for our GHG emission analyses and evaluation of GHG reduction strategies – focused on helping agencies identify feasible and effective approaches at both the national and state levels.  Cambridge Systematics is supporting an analysis led by the U.S. Department of Energy to determine the effectiveness of market mechanisms to reduce fuel consumption.  Cambridge Systematics has conducted GHG emissions reduction analyses for the government of Prince Edward Island, Canada; the Massachusetts Dept of Environmental Protection; and the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management.  Cambridge Systematics currently is supporting several states in their development of Climate Action Plans, providing technical and policy analysis regarding strategies to reduce mobile source GHGs.
• Climate Impact and Adaptation Assessments – Cambridge Systematics is a leader in assessing the potential impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure, operations, and long-range planning and investment.  Our approach integrates region-specific environmental trend information, climate model scenarios, and key transportation data to assess risks from climate factors and consider adaptation strategies.  Cambridge Systematics supports agencies in addressing potential climate change in their planning and investment decisions – helping to ensure that the investments we make today will result in reliable and robust transportation networks for decades to come.  View our Hot Issue for more information on this topic.
• Linking Planning and NEPA for Transportation Project Development – Cambridge Systematics has exceptional capabilities in transportation planning, coupled with strong technical credentials in NEPA and other specialized environmental studies.  This expertise allows Cambridge Systematics to support clients working to incorporate environmental factors into scenario and long-range planning work and address new SAFETEA-LU requirements.  Cambridge Systematics currently is developing guidance on linking planning and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for Florida DOT and Montana DOT, and is facilitating FHWA-sponsored workshops across the country that bring together transportation and environmental resource agencies to explore how to better coordinate conservation and transportation planning.

  This strength in integrated planning is complemented by Cambridge Systematics’ capability to develop decision support tools and processes (information, management, GIS, visualization tools) to help improve the overall project development, delivery, and management process.  Cambridge Systematics developed a prototype Environmental Information Management System that was recently endorsed for next phase development through the AASHTOWare program.

• Specialized studies for NEPA analyses – Cambridge Systematics has considerable experience in facilitating complex cross-disciplinary work, and has technical prowess in the areas of freight planning, project development, and related environmental studies, air quality, energy, land use, environmental justice and community impact analysis, and agency/public consensus building.  Cambridge Systematics worked with the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to assess the potential benefits associated with a suite of actions and facilities designed to reduce truck trips in and around the ports.  Specifically, CS assisted with transportation, air quality, safety, and noise benefits.

Why Cambridge Systematics

In today’s world, transportation leadership and environmental stewardship are integrally connected.  Transportation leaders are working to fully integrate environmental strategies into transportation decisions in creative ways that effectively contribute to a healthy environment for generations to come.  Cambridge Systematics has a proven track record in successfully taking on new challenges – CS is well recognized as a leader in transportation policy and strategy development in all areas of transportation practice, and is on the cutting edge in climate change and other emerging environmental issues.  Grounded in transportation excellence, Cambridge Systematics has the technical capabilities and tools needed to synthesize environmental data, assess performance needs, and build strong, integrated environmental and transportation programs that will carry us into a sustainable future.