Establishing a carbon emissions baseline for Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Buildings

Climate change concerns, pending regulations, and potential legislation have made federal agencies begin to consider their carbon footprints in planning and policies. In the future, the state of Kansas may have to report and account for its carbon footprint and propose solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by conserving energy and water. As a large state agency, the carbon footprint of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) is a major contributor to the Kansas state government carbon footprint. A research project was begun in 2010 to establish a baseline carbon use footprint for KDOT. Establishing a Carbon baseline for KDOT assets involves three essential steps that include data collection, data assumptions and conversion to carbon equivalents for many facets of DOT operations, including the electrical, natural gas, and potable water use. Utility data was collected for the DOT engineering, maintenance, and operations facilities. This paper documents the methods used and challenges for collecting and establishing the utility energy and carbon footprint for a large organization with hundreds of facilities, along with the carbon footprint calculation methods used.