Education Aids for Analyzing Supply Chain Energy Usage and Emissions

Energy usage by the US transportation sector is substantial, and the resultant greenhouse gas emissions have become a topical concern. Knowing that we as a society need to reduce our "Carbon footprint" is not sufficient, as we need to know how to do this in a way that still supports growth and economic prosperity. At present there is little evidence that universities are currently training students to recognize and evaluate emissions reductions opportunities and to make sound decisions that will lead to sustainable improvement. While such training would be appropriate to include within the standard operations management class, enthusiastic professors are faced with a dearth of existing course material. The project we propose would be to develop and disseminate a tutorial and supplemental material around an existing web-based energy and emissions calculator, CargoScope. This tool has been successfully used by students and researchers, but current documentation is geared towards specialists. With the help of interactive, easier-to-understand online tutorial students would be able to use this tool a typical operations management class, allowing them to engage in hands-on exercises to build a supply chain and measure the energy and carbon intensity of each stage. The additional modules would expose students to problems of varying complexity from different industries. Students will learn that supply chain design has a significant impact on a firm's energy usage and associated emissions and will be better positioned to make sound, informed decisions that meet both business and environmental needs.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $4807.00
• Contract Numbers:

  2009-SGP-1052

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Research and Innovative Technology Administration

  Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avneue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  California Department of Transportation

  1227 O Street
  Sacramento, CA  United States  95843
• Project Managers:

  Cavello, Casey

• Performing Organizations:

  San Francisco State University

  1600 Holloway Avenue
  San Francisco, CA  United States  94132
• Principal Investigators:

  Cholette, Susan

• Start Date: 20090701
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20100630
• Source Data: RiP Project 26709

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality management; Economic growth; Education and training methods; Energy consumption; Environmental impacts; Exhaust gases; Greenhouse gases; Pollutants; Supply chain management
• Subject Areas: Education and Training; Energy; Transportation (General); I15: Environment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01461331
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Leonard Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 2009-SGP-1052
• Files: UTC, RIP, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 1:44PM