The 2022 FHWA Climate Challenge included a call for state departments of transportation and other public sector stakeholders to explore the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) as a standard practice to inform more sustainable pavement material and design selection and to quantify the emissions and impacts of those practices. EPDs are transparent, objective reports that communicate what a product is made of and the life cycle environmental impacts of that product. LCA and EPDs are needed to credibly inventory carbon and determine greenhouse gas emissions. In response to the Climate Challenge, and in collaboration with the Minnesota DOT and Michigan Technological University, this study is working to meet three research objectives: 1) train WSDOT and industry personnel about carbon emissions measurement and reduction, 2) collect life cycle assessment data on WSDOT paving projects, and 3) enable WSDOT to include EPDs in project procurement processes and specifications. Integrating these into WSDOT standard practices will be a critical step in decreasing the carbon footprint of its transportation infrastructure.
Principal Investigators:
Steve Muench, Civil and Environmental Engineering, UW
Kim Schofield, WSDOT
Curt Turgeon, Minnesota DOT
Zhanping You, Michigan Technological University
Subcontractors:
Headlight Inc.
WAP Sustainability Consulting
Sponsors:
FHWA
WSDOT
WSDOT Technical Monitor: Karen Strauss
WSDOT Project Manager: Jon Peterson
Scheduled completion: December 2024