A generally applicable sustainability assessment framework for transportation agencies

The application of the concept of sustainability by transportation agencies is often limited by agencies’ understanding of what sustainability means and how it can be integrated into their regular functions. This paper presents a flexible approach and framework that will equip transportation agencies with the tools required to understand what sustainability means, incorporate sustainability into their organizational culture, as well as to lay the groundwork for the use of performance measures to progress toward sustainability goals and outcomes. The framework development process was an extension of findings from literature review, case studies and interviews conducted as part of an ongoing research project under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program titled “Sustainability Performance Measures for State Departments of Transportation and Other Transportation Agencies.” The proposed framework can be applied/adapted for use in a range of transportation agencies, including state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, and other agencies. A key feature of this framework is that it moves away from the traditional “sustainable transportation” perspective and instead promotes the consideration of transportation from a holistic “sustainable development” perspective. The framework defines broadly-applicable transportation goals that can be broken down into a menu of objectives and performance measures to cover various transportation contexts. The framework is also designed to direct an agency’s strategic planning toward the practical implementation of sustainability through performance measurement.