Federal Green Challenge - Transportation
Green Challenge Target Areas
Fast Facts
- If a worker avoided using their car to commute to work just two days a week, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by an average of 1,600 pounds per year per worker.
- Walking, biking, carpooling, and taking mass transit can help reduce gas consumption and about one pound of carbon dioxide for each vehicle mile avoided.
- Properly inflated tires mean good gas mileage. For each gallon of gas saved, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide are also not produced.
- Upgrading a fleet vehicle to one that gets only 3 miles per gallon more than the current vehicle can save 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide every year. Hybrid vehicles can get up to 60 miles per gallon!
Set Your Goals - Transportation
Executive Order 13423 (Applicable to agencies operating a fleet of at least 20 motor vehicles)
Relative to baselines for FY 2005, the agency must:
- Reduce the fleet’s total consumption of petroleum products by 2% annually through the end of FY 2015;
- Increase the total fuel consumption that is non-petroleum based by 10% annually; and
- Use plug-in hybrid (PIH) vehicles when PIH vehicles are commercially available at a cost reasonably comparable, on the basis of life-cycle cost, to non-PIH vehicles.
By July 2009, relative to your 2006 or 2007 baseline, reduce your overall transportation carbon footprint by 5% or more by reducing:
- Fleet vehicle miles;
- Employee work-related privately owned vehicle travel miles;
- Employee work-related airplane miles; and
- Employee vehicle commuting miles.
Partnership Opportunities - Transportation
Apply to be designated a Best Workplace for Commuters. Best Workplaces for Commuters is a public-private partnership that offers employers technical assistance implementing commuter benefits, forums for exchanging ideas, and access to information about emerging trends and opportunities in commuter benefits. Participating employers also earn the "Best Workplaces for Commuters" designation – a mark of excellence for commuter and environmental friendliness. Apply for Best Workplace for Commuters designation
Get Green Seal Certified. Green Seal is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the environment by promoting the use of environmentally responsible products and services. Green Seal offers a certification for Fleet Vehicle Maintenance (GC-10). Certification Requirements
How to get Green Seal certified
National Parks: Join the Climate Friendly Parks (CFP) Program, a collaboration of the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program has a three-pronged approach: (1) measure park-based greenhouse gas emissions (inventory); (2) develop sustainable strategies to mitigate these emissions and adapt to climate change impacts (action planning); and (3) educate the public about these efforts (education and outreach). Required CFP action plans include Energy, Transportation, and Waste. As a CFP, you’ll get inventory, action planning, and education and outreach support. More Information about the CFP Program.
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Set Baseline - Transportation
Gather and track data. Below are some major pieces of information that will be helpful in setting the baseline:
- Fuel use and cost, categorized by fuel type.
- Number of vehicles, categorized by class.
- Number of alternative fuel vehicles, categorized by class.
- Miles driven per year, categorized by vehicle class, if possible.
- Miles per gallon, either by individual vehicle or an average for each vehicle class.
- Vehicle acquisition, operation, and maintenance costs.
- Fleet turnover rates and plans for the near future.
- Employees’ use of privately owned vehicles (POVs) for work related travel, including fuel efficiency of POV and number of miles traveled;
- Employees’ plane miles for work-related travel; and
- Employees’ commuting patterns including distance, number of trips per week, and method of travel. There are many examples of employee commute services available online. See, for example, the 1-page employee commute survey
Set baseline. Use the collected data to set the baseline. Progress of employee travel reduction and fleet greening efforts will be compared against your established baselines.
For the Federal Green Challenge, determine (at a minimum) the number of fleet vehicle miles traveled, employee privately owned vehicle (POV) and plane miles traveled, and employee vehicle commuting miles traveled in 2006 or 2007.
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Actions to Achieve Goals - Transporation
Reduce Impacts of Employee Commuting
Easy
- Make sure the office has bike racks for employees to use.
- Reward carpoolers with close parking.
- Encourage ridesharing by matching employees for carpools and vanpools.
- Offer flexible work schedules that allow employees to alter their start and quit times in order to take advantage of alternative commute options.
Medium
- Install showers and lockers for bikers and walkers.
- Create a fee for parking spaces.
- Offer public transportation costs for employees taking public transportation.
- Allow employees to work from home to reduce employee commute trips.
- Allow employees to work a compressed work schedule to reduce employee commute trips. Examples are four ten-hour days in one week or nine days over a two-week period.
Reduce Impacts of Employee Travel
- Evaluate the need for travel and if other, less environmentally intensive forms of meeting are possible.
- Reduce the number of attendees to non-critical events.
- Use cost savings from reduced travel to provide effective technology to meet and/or collaborate with others.
- Carpool or share the ride with others attending the same event or going to a similar location.
- Track miles traveled in addition to costs incurred for all required travel. Require consideration of alternate forms of meeting before approving travel requests.
- Use video or teleconferencing during meetings to reduce the need for transport
- Use web-based meetings and conference calls for training and collaboration.
- Assign higher gas mileage cars for longer trips and use lower efficiency cars for shorter trips or only when necessary.
- Seek out eco-friendly lodging using resources like Green Seal, who is working to certify the lodging industry using their environmental standards.
- Seek out eco-friendly car rentals. For example, EV Rental Cars
offers hybrid vehicles as rental cars, Ask other car rental agencies for a hybrid rental vehicle.
- Purchase airline tickets through companies that offset the greenhouse gases produced by jet planes.
- Offset employee travel by purchasing carbon credits.
Vehicle Fleet Management
Purchase and Utilize Alternative Fuels Vehicles
Alternative Fuels
Biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, natural gas, and propane are alternatives to traditional petroleum-based fuels. These alternative fuels have advantages and disadvantages, some of which are briefly described. More Information
Biodiesel
Biodiesel can be made from a variety of vegetable oils as well as waste oil from cooking operations and animal fat. Any level of biodiesel, from 1 to 100%, can be used in diesel engines, although care must be taken with high-level blends in cold weather and in some older engines. The most common biodiesel blends in use today are B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel) and B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petroleum diesel). Check for biodiesel fueling stations near you |Biodiesel Technical Reference Guide
Electricity
Electricity can be used to power electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles directly from the power grid. Vehicles that run on electricity produce no tailpipe emissions. The only emissions that can be attributed to electricity are those generated in the production process at the power plant. Electricity is easily accessible for short-range driving. Check for electric charging station locations near you
Ethanol
Ethanol is almost exclusively made from domestically produced corn. Ethanol can be used at any level, although high level blends require specially designed vehicles to tolerate the high alcohol content. The most common ethanol blends in use today are E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline), which can be used in any vehicle, or E85 (85% denatured ethanol and 15% gasoline), which can only be used in flex-fueled vehicles (FFVs). It is important to note that ethanol has a lower energy content than gasoline, so a user will get less miles per gallon. Estimates range from 5 to 25% difference in miles per gallon using E85. However, even with reduced miles per gallon, there are substantial petroleum reductions that result from E85 use. Check for E85 fueling stations near you
Natural gas
Natural gas, a fossil fuel comprised mostly of methane, is one of the cleanest burning alternative fuels. It can be used in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Natural gas may come from renewable sources, such as wastewater treatment plants or anaerobic digesters, but ask your provider because the source may be nonrenewable. Check for natural gas fueling stations near you
Propane
Propane or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a clean-burning fossil fuel that can be used to power internal combustion engines. LPG-fueled vehicles produce fewer toxic and smog-forming air pollutants. Check for LPG fueling stations near you
Alternative Vehicles
Commercially available green vehicle options include conventional vehicles with high miles per gallon ratings, hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), diesel vehicles that run on a significant portion of biodiesel, flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) that run on ethanol (E85), natural gas vehicles (NGVs), propane fueled vehicles, or neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs).
High miles per gallon ratings
One of the simplest ways to green your fleet is to select high mileage vehicles. High mileage conventional vehicles are readily available, technologically sound, and don’t require any new infrastructure. Compare vehicle fuel economy You can compare vehicles side-by-side or search by class, make, or miles per gallon.
Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
HEVs rely on gasoline and electricity from batteries for power. Beware that some vehicles being marketed today as hybrids do not have better fuel economy than conventional vehicles. Be sure to check the miles per gallon ratings of HEVs to comparable conventional vehicles when making purchasing decisions. Compare HEVs
Diesel vehicles that run on a significant portion of biodiesel
Any level of biodiesel, from 1 to 100%, can be used in diesel engines, although care must be taken with high-level blends in cold weather and in some older engines. The most common biodiesel blends in use today are B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% petroleum diesel) and B5 (5% biodiesel, 95% petroleum diesel). Check for biodiesel fueling stations near you | Compare diesel vehicles
Flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) that run on ethanol (E85)
FFVs are designed to run on straight gasoline, a gasoline-ethanol mix known as E85, or any combination of the two. A disadvantage of using ethanol is reduced fuel economy. Estimates range from 5 to 25% difference in miles per gallon using E85. Even with the reduced fuel economy, there are petroleum reductions resulting from E85 use. Check for E85 fueling stations near you | More information on FFVs
Natural gas vehicles (NGVs)
Dedicated natural gas vehicles are designed to run on natural gas only, while dual-fuel or bi-fuel vehicles can also run on gasoline or diesel. Since natural gas is stored in high-pressure fuel tanks, dual-fuel vehicles require two separate fueling systems. Natural gas vehicles are not produced commercially in large numbers—the Honda GX CNG is the only new vehicle available in the U.S. However, conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles can be retrofitted for natural gas. Check for natural gas fueling stations near you | More information on NGVs
Propane fueled vehicles
LPG-fueled vehicles produce fewer toxic and smog-forming air pollutants. While no LPG-fueled light-duty passenger cars or trucks have been produced commercially in the U.S. since the 2004 model year, gasoline and diesel vehicles can be retrofitted to run on LPG in addition to conventional fuel. The LPG is stored in high-pressure fuel tanks, so separate fuel systems are needed in vehicles powered by both LPG and a conventional fuel such as gasoline. Check for LPG fueling stations | More information on LPG-fueled vehicles
Neighborhood electric vehicles (NEVs)
NEVs run solely on electricity and are designed to carry two to four passengers on short trips on low-speed roads. The vehicles have maximum speeds of 25 mph. NEVs are recharged in standard wall outlets. Searchable database of NEVs
Purchase and Utilize Plug-In Hybrids
- Plug-in hybrid (PIH) electric vehicles combine the benefits of pure electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. Like electric vehicles, they plug into the electric grid and can be powered by the stored electricity alone. Like hybrid electric vehicles, they have engines that enable greater driving range and battery recharging.
- Factory-made PIHs are not yet commercially available, but several automakers have PIH models in development. Check periodically to track developments in PIH technology and commercial availability
Maintenance Practices
The following are examples of maintenance practices that may help your facility improve its vehicle fleet management.
Motor and Mechanical Fluids and Filters
- Use re-refined engine oil for all oil changes.
- Return used oil to an appropriate re-refiner or, if unacceptable for re-use, to a waste energy recovery facility.
- Drain used oil filters of residual oil to the maximum extent practicable. Recycle metal parts.
- Use recycled propylene glycol for all additions to or replacements of the engine coolant/antifreeze. Recycle used coolant for re-use.
- Service air conditioned vehicles regularly to inspect for refrigerant leaks. Immediately repair any leaks. Recycle any removed refrigerants.
Tire Replacement
- Use re-treaded tires to replace at least 70% of tires.
- Send worn or defective tires to retreading facilities, waste to energy facilities, or for other rubber products. Do not send to landfills or dispose of improperly.
Parts Cleaning
- Use only aqueous detergents or non-chlorinated solvents in a liquid-based cleaning system.
- Use a cleaning system, such as recirculating, filtered systems or ultrasonic washers, instead of a static tank containing solvent.
Vehicle Cleaning
- Use non-toxic, biodegradable, no phosphorus (except trace) detergents, cleaning products, waxes, and polishes.
- Collect wastewater. Treat to separate out pollutants such as oil, solvents, and heavy metals.
Painting
- Use only equipment with low overspray and high transfer efficiency, such as HVLP (high-volume, low-pressure) or LVLP (low-volume, low-pressure) applicators.
- Apply paint in sealed booths with filters.
- Clean paint applicators in an enclosure or other system designed to minimize air releases.
- Use paint containing no carcinogens or reproductively toxic compounds.
- Recycle or properly dispose waste paint.
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Measuring & Tracking - Transportation
At 6 and 12 months, check progress on achieving your goals. For the Federal Green Challenge, check the number of fleet vehicle miles traveled, employee privately owned vehicle (POV) and plane miles traveled, employee vehicle commuting miles traveled, and progress towards your reduction goals.
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Awards - Transportation
Federal Green Challenge Partner Recognition
Apply for recognition for your accomplishments under the Federal Green Challenge through the Champions of Green Government recognition program. More Information
White House Closing the Circle Awards
Each year The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive (OFEE) recognizes outstanding achievements of Federal employees and their facilities for efforts which have significantly promoted environmental stewardship. One of the award focus areas is Alternative Fuel and Fuel Conservation in Transportation. More Information
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Case Studies - Transportation
U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy, Kentucky
At the U.S. Penitentiary Big Sandy in Kentucky, biodiesel, which is produced onsite from used cooking oil, powers the fleet buses, trucks, tractors, backhoes, mowers, emergency generators, forklifts, dozers, and ATVs. The facility is able to produce biodiesel at the cost of 52 cents per gallon plus the saved disposal costs for the used oil. Biodiesel is biodegradable, nontoxic, has lower emissions than petroleum diesel, and is essentially free of sulfur. It maintains the same payload capacity and range as conventional diesel, and provides similar horsepower, torque, and fuel economy. It is currently used by more than 40 federal and state vehicle fleets.
Federal Facilities Using Biodiesel Case Studies
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Additional Resources - Transportation
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