State Highway Administration Research Report Innovative Contracting Strategies for Combating Climate Change Qingbin Cui Xinyuan
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MD-11-SP009B4G STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH REPORT INNOVATIVE CONTRACTING STRATEGIES FOR COMBATING CLIMATE CHANGE QINGBIN CUI XINYUAN ZHU LISA WHITTEN ROSEMARY DASON-DEANE UNIVERITY OF MARYLAND SP009B4G FINAL REPORT NOVEMBER 2011 The contents of this report reflect the views of the author who is responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Maryland State Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient Catalog No. MD-11-SP009B4G 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date Innovative Contracting Strategies for Combating Climate November 2011 Change 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors Qingbin Cui, Xinyuan Zhu, Lisa Whitten, Rosemary Dason- 8. Performing Organization Report No. Deane 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. University of Maryland Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 11. Contract or Grant No. College Park, MD 20742 SP009B4G 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Maryland State Highway Administration Final Report Office of Policy & Research 707 North Calvert Street 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Baltimore, Maryland 21202 (7120) STMD - MDOT/SHA 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract The state of Maryland has made a strong commitment to combating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This research investigated the state of practice of innovative contracting solutions to reduce emissions from highway construction activities. Implementation methods and challenges were identified and reported. Specifically, the report presents a framework of green performance contracting (GPC) that includes four levels of strategies, namely material related strategies, equipment and energy efficiency related strategies, green life-cycle strategies, and clean energy development strategies. A total of 19 GPC strategies and their application procedures and cases were identified and documented. An optimization model based on the Data Envelopment Analysis was developed to assist state highway agencies in selecting appropriate green performance contracting strategies in accordance with environmental performance, organizational readiness, cost effectiveness, and other criteria. Implementation recommendations were provided to tackle climate change at the project level. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Highway Construction, Climate Change, Green This document is available from the Performance Contracting Research Division upon request. 19. Security Classification 20. Security Classification 21. No of Pages 22. Price (of this report) (of this page) 122 Unclassified Unclassified Form DOT F 1700.7 (872) Reproduction of completed page authorized i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals from the Maryland State Highway Administration who provided overall guidance for this project: Kirk McClelland, Lisa Choplin, Allison Hardt, and Hua Xiang. The authors would also like to extend special acknowledgement and appreciation to all the state transportation officials who responded to the survey and participated in the follow-up interviews. Several students of the University of Maryland assisted in the research project, including Brooke Homar and Deepak Sharma. Their hard work is greatly appreciated. ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With the growing public awareness of climate change and the need to take action against it, an increasing number of state highway agencies have started to integrate climate change considerations into their transportation system development and operation activities. While many studies over the past decade have been done regarding emission reduction and adaptation strategies for operations, very few have dealt with these challenges in the highway project development and delivery process. This report describes the state of the practice of green performance contracting strategies on highway development and construction projects. Green performance contracting is defined in this report as contract specifications, contracting methods, and delivery strategies that help reduce emissions and improve adaptation to climate change. A broader definition covers sustainability’s economic, environmental, and social aspects. This report documents 19 green performance contracting strategies used in highway development and construction projects. Major research findings include: State highway agencies have various levels of experience in applying green performance contracting strategies to highway projects, ranging from material related strategies, to equipment and energy efficiency, to life-cycle green strategies. Contract specification is the primary method for integrating green performance contracting strategies into highway development and construction projects, although other methods have been successfully implemented in a few states. Green performance contracting strategies can be incorporated into variously-sized projects and different project delivery systems. Numerous challenges exist for implementing green performance contracting strategies on highway projects, including the lack of common terminology and established guidelines for green highway evaluation and climate impact analysis. The study of existing green strategies can be used to develop a framework for green performance contracting that combines green concepts with performance specifications. The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) has been successful in developing and incorporating design-build and other innovative contracting methods into highway construction. SHA can be a national leader in promoting sustainability in transportation project development. This research recommends that the agency: Establish project-level green initiatives with quantifiable goals for achievement. The initiatives need to be integrated into an SHA climate action plan. Define common terminology and develop a set of green specifications for highway development and construction projects. iii Introduce guidelines for implementing green performance contracting, evaluating the sustainability of design and construction plans, and analyzing climate impacts at the project level. Establish guidelines for quantifying the emission reductions from innovative techniques and contracting strategies. Create a rating system by which the agency can recognize and evaluate a project’s use of sustainable practices. Explore renewable energy options and innovations in sustainability. Lead by example through integrating sustainability and green performance contracting concepts into SHA’s operations, policies, and functions. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................... iii 1 Green House Gas Emissions From Highway Construction..................................................... 1 1.1. Climate Change ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Greenhouse Gas Emissions ................................................................................................. 1 1.3. GHG Emissions Reduction in the Transportation Sector ................................................... 3 1.4. GHG Emissions Reduction in the Construction Sector ...................................................... 4 1.5. Innovative Contracting to Reduce Emissions ..................................................................... 5 2 Green Performance Contracting .............................................................................................. 7 2.1. Definition of Green Performance Contracting .................................................................... 7 2.2. Green Performance Contracting Strategy List .................................................................... 9 2.3. Green Performance Contracting Card ............................................................................... 14 3 Green Performance Contracting: State of Practice ................................................................ 17 3.1. State of Practice Survey .................................................................................................... 17 3.2. Practices in Leading States ............................................................................................... 27 4 Green Performance Contracting: Case Studies ..................................................................... 37 4.1. Level I Case: Material Recycle and Reuse ....................................................................... 37 4.2. level II Case: Equipment Retrofit Technology ................................................................. 39 4.3. Level III Case: Green Road Rating System ...................................................................... 43 4.4. Level IV Case: Highway-Related Solar Energy ............................................................... 46 4.5. Level IV case: Highway-Related Wind Turbine .............................................................. 47 5 Evaluation of Green Performance Contracting Strategies ..................................................... 49 5.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 49 5.2. Evaluation Criteria ...........................................................................................................