NCDOT Sustainability Blueprint

CTE is preparing a Sustainability Blueprint for the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) that will institutionalize sustainable principles and practices throughout all phases and functions of NCDOT, including planning, project/program development, project delivery, and internal operations.

This project began with an extensive review of state DOT policies and plans across the nation. The purpose of this review was to identify and synthesize "best practices" in promoting sustainability and creating a framework for sustainable decision-making. Following this review, CTE released an NCDOT-wide survey to identify existing sustainable practices and worked with the project Advisory and Working Groups to define four "focus areas" of sustainability. These focus areas will guide the identification of goals and strategies for the Sustainability Blueprint.

CTE is currently collaborating with Planning Communities, LLC, to conduct internal (within NCDOT) and external outreach in support of the Sustainability Blueprint. Through interactive focus group sessions with NCDOT employees, the project team has worked to introduce the concept of sustainability, identify existing NCDOT practices and programs that align with the four focus areas, and determine new strategies that could be promoted in the Sustainability Blueprint. Meetings and interviews with external partners-including MPOs/RPOs, councils of government, other state agencies, transit service providers, and private industry partners-are also being conducted to identify sustainable strategies and collaborative partnerships for implementation.

Following completion of the outreach process in September 2011, the project team will prepare the final NCDOT Sustainability Blueprint, which will provide a framework of goals, objectives, and strategies for the promotion of sustainable outcomes, as well as a set of performance measures to monitor implementation progress and effectiveness over time.