This document summarizes a study that estimated greenhouse gas emissions from daily commutes to Radford University. The study: 1) Mapped addresses for 1,945 faculty, staff, and students to determine commute distances using GIS software. 2) Calculated total annual miles driven and average daily commutes for each group. 3) Estimated total annual gasoline usage and resulting carbon dioxide emissions based on vehicle types and fuel efficiencies. The study found a total of 12.5 million miles and 353,000 gallons of gasoline were used for commuting each year, emitting over 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Student commuters contributed the most emissions.

1. 12/9/2016 Greenhouse Gas
Assessment of
Daily Commutes at
Radford University
Fall 2016 Independent Study
Shane Carper
RADFORD UNIVERSITY

2. Introduction
As part of RadfordUniversity’s commitmenttofurtheritseffortsinthe reductionof
environmentallyharmfulemissions,the Presidentof the universitysignedacommitmenttotake the
necessarystepstopursue carbonneutrality. Asa resultof thisagreementa Climate ActionPlan was
createdinOctoberof 2009, the universityhaspledgedtobecome carbonneutral bythe year2040. Asa
part of thiscommitment,the universityisaskedtoperformanannual greenhousegasassessmentin
orderto track howthe campusis makingprogressinitsefforttoreduce itscarbon footprint. The first
greenhouse gasassessmentwasperformedin2010 andcoversthe time periodof July1,2009 through
June 30, 2010 andwas intendedtoserve asa baseline forfuture assessments. A greenhouse gas
assessmentisintendedtoexamine the annual greenhouse gasemissions forthe university. This
includesitemslike purchasedelectricity,directlyfinancedtravel,andfaculty/staff commuting. Inan
efforttodetermine anaccurate numberforthe amount of pollutionemittedeachof the possible forms
of pollutionare brokenintothree separate scopes. Scope Iexaminesemissionsthatare contributed
fromactivitiesthatoccur directlyoncampus. Thisincludesstationaryandmobilefuel usage,
refrigerants,andfertilizer.Scope IIexaminesemissionsthatdonot directlycome fromcampus butare
linkedtocampusoperationssuchaspurchasedelectricity,steam, andchilledwater. Scope IIIexamines
whatis referredtoas “upstream”emissions. Thatis,directlyfinancedtravel,commuting, andsolid
wastessuchas paperor plastic. Thisreportexaminesthe scope IIIemissionsthatare attributedto
faculty,staff,andstudentcommuting. Inthe past,scope IIIemissionswerecalculated byDr.Charles
Manyara usinga GIS software calledArcMap. Usingthe numberof commuters,fuel efficiency(MPG),
and,weeklycommuters,Dr.Manyarawas able to determinethe total numberof milesdriveneachyear
and the associatedcarbonemissions. Asa studentenrolledinthe GeospatialScienceDepartmentwho
isfamiliarwiththe same program,I utilizedthe manytoolsthatArcMaphas to offerinorderto
determine emissionsinasimilarmethod.
Methods
In orderto determine anaccurate numberforthe amountof emissionsthatare attributedto
faculty,staff,andstudentcommutinganexcel spreadsheetof addresseswasobtainedfrom Radford
University’sDirectorof Institutional Research,Reporting,andAssessmentDr. Eric Lovik and membersof
the Parkingand Transportationfacilitieswiththe helpof the departmentheadof the geospatial science
departmentDr.RichardRoth and Sustainability Manager,JoshuaNease.Withinthe spreadsheetwere a
listof addressesconsistingof house number,streetname,city,andzipcode. The listof addressesthat
was includedconsistedof full-timefacultyandfull-time staff,part-timefaculty,andstudentcommuters.
All namesandformsof identification were excludedinordertohonorthe privacyof those who were
included inthe list. The spreadsheetwasthenfurtherbrokenintofourseparate categoriessimilarto
howDr. Manyara separatedthe valuesinhisreportin2009: full-time faculty,part-time faculty,staff,
and studentcommuters.

3. Mapping Commuters
Of the original listof 2205, commuters,1945 addresseswere usedandmappedusingthe esri
software ArcMap. The sample of addressesusedconsistedof 403 full-timefaculties,132 part-time
faculties,738 full-time staff,and672 studentcommuters. Whenthe original 2,205 addresseswere
mapped,some of the pointswere foundin
separate statesincludingWestVirginia,
Tennessee,NorthCarolina,andMaryland.
These addresseswere excludedduringthe
analysisbecause itwasassumedthatthese
individualswere nottravelingover200 miles
roundtrip everydayforwork.3 full-time
faculties,2staff,2 part-time faculties,and 253
studentcommuterswere omittedfromthe
analysisdue tothe fact that individualswould
be travelinginexcessof 90 milesone-way.
In ArcMap the spreadsheetof commuteraddresseswasmappedthroughthe methodof
geocodingusingthe VGIN CompositeAddressLocator. Geocodingisthe processof transforminga

4. descriptionof alocationsuchas an addressto a locationonthe earth’ssurface. Byaddingmultiple
addressesatonce in a table the resultinglocationsare outputasgeographicfeatureswithattributes
that can be usedto make furtheranalysis. WhengeocodinginArcMap,the userinputsa spreadsheetof
addressesmuchlike the one thatwasprovided. Whenyouenterthese addressesthe geocodingengine
convertsthe inputaddressesintopiecessuchasstreetname,city,state,andzipcode. Each addressis
searchedinthe addresslocatorand iscomparedto each addresselement.A score is generatedbased
on howwell the addressedmatched,andtheneachpointisaddedto the map to the locationwiththe
bestscore.
FindingRoutes
UsingArcMap’s Network
Analysttoolsetanyindividualcan
determine the distance fromone
pointto another. A networkina GIS
isa systemof interconnected
elements,suchasedges(lines) and
connectingjunctions(points)that
representone possible route to
another.Bymodelingpotential
routeswitha road networkit’sis
possible tofindthe shortestdistance
betweentwoobjects oralistof
multiple addresses. Usingadetailed
streetmapobtainedfroman open
source GIS data center,(United
StatesCensusBureau,2016) a
networkdatasetwascreatedin
orderto determine routes. Since
simplyaddingstreetcenterlinesto
the map, the usercannot beginto
solve routesbecause the linesdon’t
necessarily know whattheyare
connectedtoand that the streets
are actuallya networkof connected
turns andjunctions. If one wanted
to findthe nearestlocationfrom
one pointto anothertheymust first
create a networkdataset. Usingthe
networkdatasetwizard,one can
accomplishthisafterdefiningafew
parametersfirst. Usingthe network
datasetwizardand the geometryof
the road centerlines,the tool
establishes connectivitybetweenthe lines. Inthe interestof findingtotal distancesforall commuters,

5. each addresswasaddedto the Virginiaroadnetwork createdusingthe “addlocations”tool. The add
locationstool inthe networkanalysttoolsetaddsnetwork analysisobjectstothe networkanalysislayer.
In thiscase the commuteraddresseswere usedasthe networkanalysisobjects. Usingthe “closest
facility”tool inthe networkanalysislayer,all addresseswereaddedaswell asa single pointthat
representedRadfordUniversity usingthe addlocationstool. The closestfacilityanalysismeasuresthe
distance andcost of travelingbetweentwopointsora setof multiple points. Aftercreatingaclosest
facilitylayersix networkanalysisclassesare added:Facilities Incidents,Routes,PointBarriers,Line
Barriers,and PolygonBarriers.The facilitiesclassstoresthe networklocationandservesasthe end
pointinthisreport. The incidentsclassalsostoresthe networklocationsandservesasthe startingpoint
inthisanalysis. RadfordUniversitywas addedasafacilityandthe commuteraddresspointswere added
as incidents.
The routesclass storesthe resultingroute thatwasfoundbythe network. Withinthe output
fieldof the routesclassisa fieldnamed“Total_(Impedance)”.There are anumberof optionsthe user
may choose fromsuch as minutesbut, since we were interestedinfindingthe distance of the routes,
the impedance wasconfiguredtooutput the route inmilesandwas storedinthe attribute table. Once
the closestfacilitylayerwasconfiguredthe networkwassolvedandthe routesfromeachaddressto
RadfordUniversity were created. Withinthe routeslayerattribute table, isafieldthatcontainsthe
distance of the route in miles. These distanceswere usedtocalculate the total numberof miles
traveledbyRadfordUniversityemployeesandstudents.

6. CalculatingDistances
Once the networkanalyst foundthe shortestroutesforeachintendedaddress,the distances
fromthe route layerattribute table were exportedintoanexcel spreadsheet.UsingMicrosoftExcel,the
total numberof milesattributedtofaculty,staff,andstudentcommuterswere totaledintheir
respective categoriesusingthe SUMfunction. Inorderto determine the average dailycommute for
each individual (roundtrip),the one-waytripdistanceswere determinedbyaveragingthe driving
distance of eachindividual addresstoRadford University’scampusandthenmultiplyingthe resultsby
two. The calculatedaverage (mean) roundtripforfull-timefacultywas30.38 miles,43.96 milesfor
part-time faculty,27.36 milesforfull-timestaff,and53.25 milesforstudentcommuters.
Due to the lackof detailed
knowledge of howfaculty,staff,and
studentscommute tocampuseach year,
the followingassumptionswere made
whenderivingthe total commuter
mileage:
1. Full-timefacultymembers
commutedtocampus an
average of 5 timesperweek
for a total of 150 days out of
the year. Basedoff of the
notionthatthere are 30
instructional weeksperyear
(15 persemester).
2. Non-teachingfull-time staff memberscommutedtocampusfive daysaweekfor48 weeks
for a total of 240 days peryear.
3. Part-time facultymemberscommutedtocampusthree timesaweekfor30 weeksof the
yeartotalingto 90 daysout of the year.
4. Studentcommuterswere assumedtotravel tocampusfive daysperweekforeach15-week
semester(30weeks) foratotal of 150 daysper year.
5. Lastly, itwas assumedthateach commuterdrove individuallywithoutcarpoolingandonly
made one single roundtripeachday.

7. Total round-tripmileage perday
was calculatedbymultiplyingthe average
dailycommute andthe total numberof
individualsineachcorresponding
category. 403 full-time facultymembers
traveled30.38 milesonaverage eachday
theycommutedtowork. 132 part-time
facultymemberstravelledanaverage of
43.96 milesperday,738 full-time staff
memberscommutedanaverage of 27.36
milesperday,and672 students
commutedanaverage of 53.25 mileseach
day. Once the total dailyround-trip
mileage wascalculatedforeach
category,the numberof miles
was multipliedbythe total
numberof days eachemployee
commutedtoRadford
University’scampus. A total of
12,546,759 mileswas
calculated.
Carbon Footprint Calculations
In orderto determine anaccurate amountof carbon dioxide thatisbeingemittedbyRadford
Universitycommuters,the total numberof milesdriveneachyearwas multipliedbythe average fuel
consumptionof cars andlighttrucks. Accordingtothe Departmentof Transportation,the average fuel
consumptionof lighttrucksin2014 was26.3 MPG and the average fuel consumptionof passenger
vehicleswas36.4 MPG. Withthisknowledge,asample of RadfordUniversityvehicle typeswas
performedinordertodetermine the
ratioof lighttrucksand passenger
vehiclesthatare drivenbyRadford
commuters. ParkinglotsDD located
on Fairfax StreetandlotsN,HH, and
M found onJeffersonStreetwere
surveyedonNovember30,2016 at
11:30 am. A total of 315 vehicles
were sampledfromthe Radford
population. 136 vehicleswere
recordedas lighttrucksand 179
vehicleswererecordedaspassenger
vehicles. Outof the 315 vehicles
sampled,lighttrucksaccountedfor
43.17% of the total and passengervehiclesaccountedforthe other56.83%. These percentageswere
12,243.14
5,802.72
20,191.68
33,387.75
Total Daily Round Trip Mileage
Full-time Faculty Part Time Faculty Staff Student Commuter
Number of
Commuters
Average Round Trip Total Round Trip Mileage Total Miles x Number of Days
Full-time Faculty 403 30.38 12,243.14 1,836,471.00
Part Time Faculty 132 43.96 5,802.72 522,244.80
Staff 738 27.36 20,191.68 4,846,003.20
Student Commuter 672 53.25 33,387.75 5,342,040
Total 1945 12,546,759.00

8. thenappliedtothe total numberof
milesforeachsectionof commuters.
Of the 1,836,471 total milesdrivenby
full-time faculty, 1,043,666.47 miles
were drivenusingapassengervehicle
and 792,804.53 mileswere driven
usinga lighttruck. Of the 522,244.80
total milesdrivenby part-time
faculties, 296,791.72 were driven
usinga passengervehiclesuchasa
fourdoor sedanand the other
225,453.08 mileswere drivenusing a
lighttruck. Of the 4,846,003.20 miles
drivenby full- time staff members,
2,753,983.62 mileswere drivenin passengervehiclesand2,092,019.58 mileswere driveninlighttrucks
such as a sport utilityvehicle. Lastly,of the 5,342,040.00 milesdrivenbystudentcommuters,
3,035,881.33 mileswere driveninasmall passengervehicle and 2,306,158.67 mileswere driveninlight
trucks. The numberof milestraveledbyeach correspondingvehicle typewere then dividedbytheir
matchingfuel efficiencystandards of 36.4 MPG for passengervehiclesand26.3 MPG for lighttrucks
providedbythe Departmentof Transportation. Thiscalculationwasperformed inordertoachieve the
total numberof gallonsof gasoline usedeachyear. Afterperformingthistask, itwasdeterminedthat
full-time facultymembersusedapproximately 58,816.81 gallonsof gas each year,part-time faculty
membersused 14,347.38 gallonsof gasoline eachyear,full-timestaff membersusedabout 133,131.96
gallonsof gas eachyear,and studentsthatcommutedtocampus usedapproximately 146,759.3407
gallonsof gasoline eachyearfora total of 353,055.50 gallonsof gas usedeachyear.
Full-time
Faculty
Part-time
Faculty
Full-timeStaff Student
Commuters
Numberof Gallons
(Passenger)
28,672.16 8,153.62 75,658.89 83,403.33
Numberof Gallons(Light
Truck)
30,144.66 8,572.36 79,544.47 87,686.64
Total Numberof Gallons 58,816.81 14,347.38 133,131.96 146,759.34

9. The nextstepinthe processto findouthow much carbon dioxideisbeingemittedbyRadford
Universitycommuterswastosee how
much CO2 a single gallonof gasoline
releasesintothe atmosphere. According
to the Environmental ProtectionAgency,
“to obtainthe numberof grams of CO2
emittedpergallonof gasolinecombusted,
the heat contentof the fuel pergallonis
multipliedbythe kgCO2 perheat content
of the fuel.Inthe preamble tothe joint
EPA/Departmentof Transportation
rulemakingonMay 7, 2010 that
establishedthe initial National Program
fuel economystandardsformodel years
2012-2016, the agenciesstatedthattheyhad agreedtouse a commonconversionfactorof 8,887 grams
of CO2 emissionspergallonof gasolineconsumed”(Federal Register2010). Usingthe numberof gallons
of gasoline consumedthroughRadfordcommuterseachyearandthe EPA’sfigure forcarbondioxide at
8,887 grams pergallonconsumed,the total carbondioxideemissionswere calculatedbymultiplying
gallonsof gasoline by8,887 gramsfor each commutercategory. Aftercalculatingeachindividual
commutertype,usingthismethod,itwasdeterminedthatRadfordUniversityemitsthe equivalentof
3,137.60 metrictons of carbon dioxide
each yearas a resultof full-timefaculty
and staff,part-time faculty,andstudents
that commute toRadford regularly.
1,304.25 metrictons can be attributed
to studentcommuters,522.71 metric
tonscan be attributedtofull-time
faculty,127.51 metrictonsof carbon
dioxide canbe attributedtopart-time
faculty,and1,183.14 metrictons are
generatedfromthe dailycommutesof
full-time staff members.
Conclusion/Discussion
Withthe increasingandrecent activismforRadfordUniversity’ssustainabilitypractices,and
pressuresfromvariousothercollegiate organizations toout-perform, the universitywill continue tolead
the way forsustainabilityamongstitscompetitors. Everysinglebitof information iscrucial toknow
whenanyorganizationisattemptingtoreduce itsimpactonthe environment.Withthisreport,the
purpose isto give insightintohowmuchof an impactcommutingindividualshave onthe environment
and inspire waystoreduce thatimpact. With thisknowledge,we canemployvariousstrategiesthatwill
facilitate the universityinreachingits ultimategoal of carbonneutrality inthe upcomingyearsand
possiblymotivateotherorganizationstofollow inourfootsteps.

10. Acknowledgements
I would like toexpressmysincere gratitude to RadfordUniversityforallowingme tobe a part of
thisveryimportantproject. Iwouldalsolike tothankmy facultyadvisorDr.Richard Roth andRadford
University’snew Sustainability ManagerJoshuaNease forall assistance andhelpthatwasreceived
throughoutthe semester. Iamextremelygrateful forall the assistance andsuggestionsyoumade
throughoutthe processof my project andI couldnot have completeditwithoutyou. ToDr. Charles
Manyara, I wouldlike toexpressmyappreciationforthe wordsof encouragementandinsightintohow
to performthe taskat hand. Lastly,I wouldlike tothankDr. StocktonMaxwell for initiatingthisproject
and introducingme toMr. Nease whichallowedme togetmyfootin the door andcontribute valuable
informationtothe wonderfulinstitutionthatRadfordUniversityis.
Bibliography
What isthe NetworkAnalystExtension?(2016).ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/what-is-network-
analyst-.htm
Network AnalysisWorkflow.(2016). ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/network-analysis-
workflow.htm
AddLocations.(2016). ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/10.3/tools/network-analyst-toolbox/add-locations.htm
What isa NetworkDataset?(2016). ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/what-is-a-network-
dataset.htm
A QuickTour of the NetworkAnalystExtension.(2016). ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/a-quick-tour-of-
network-analyst.htm
ClosestFacilityAnalysis.(2016). ArcGIS Desktop. Retrievedfrom:
http://desktop.arcgis.com/en/arcmap/latest/extensions/network-analyst/closest-
facility.htm#GUID-EF26707F-5627-46AA-96EB-4F305175CEB0
Federal Register.(2010) Light-DutyVehicle GreenhouseGasEmission Standardsand CorporateAverage
Fuel Economy Standards:FinalRule.Retrievedfrom: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-
05-07/pdf/2010-8159.pdf
UnitedStatesCensusBureau(2016) 2016 TIGER Geodatabases.[geodatabase file].RetreivedOctober
10, 2016 from:https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-geodatabases.html
UnitedStatesDepartmentof Transportation.(2014) Average Fuel Efficiencyof U.S.LightDutyVehicles.
Retrievedfrom:

11. http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/national_transportation_st
atistics/html/table_04_23.html
UnitedStatesDepartmentof Energy(2016). ModelYear 2016: Fuel Economy Guide. Retrievedfrom:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/pdfs/guides/FEG2016.pdf
Stephens,J.(January15,2011) Radford University GreenhouseGasInventory.Retrievedfrom:
https://www.radford.edu/content/dam/departments/administrative/Sustainability/Documents/
greenhouse-gas-narrative.pdf
Eagan, D., Calhoun,T.,Schott,J. Dayananda,P.(2008). Guide to ClimateAction Planning:Pathwaysto a
Low-Carbon Campus. Retrievedfrom:
https://www.radford.edu/content/dam/departments/administrative/Sustainability/Documents/
climate-action-planning.pdf
Barrow,M., Buckley,B.(2013). Technical Guidance forCalculatingScope Three Emissions: Supplement
to the CorporateValueChain (Scope3) Accounting &Reporting Standard.Retrievedfrom:
http://pdf.wri.org/Scope_3_Calculation_Guidance.pdf
VGIN GeocodingService Tutorial.Retrievedfrom:
https://ftp.vgingis.com/Download/Documentation/VGIN_Geocoding_Service_Overview_and_Ac
cess_Instructions.pdf