Harris County

At a Glance

Industry

Government/Public Administration

Project Types

Data Analysis, Zero Emission Vehicles, Freight and Logistics

Year

2023

Location

Houston, TX

Summary

Chidi Ochem conducted a sustainability audit to determine Harris County Precinct One Fleet Division Carbon Footprint and proposed a policy framework for electric vehicle adoption.

Goals

Harris County Precinct One's Fleet Division proposed to reduce its carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030, develop metrics to determine when to retire old heavy-duty/high-occupancy vehicles to replace them with zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), and develop electric vehicle (EV) policy.

Chidi Ochem was enlisted to conduct a sustainability audit to determine the carbon footprint of the Fleet Division, define metrics to retire the old fleet and replace them with ZEV, and develop a policy for EV adoption.

Solutions

Chidi used a four-part technique to conduct the sustainability audit and metrics to retire and replace the old fleet with ZEV.

  • Fleet categorization: After site visits and fleet identification, fleets were categorized into Light, Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles.
  • Data collection: Data was collected from site visits, stakeholder interviews, fleet annual fuel consumption, cost of maintenance, and distance traveled.
  • Data analysis: Using the EPA simplified GHG calculator and AFLEET tools, the carbon footprint was calculated to be 1,441 MTCO2e (Total CO2 Equivalent Emissions).
    • The LDVs carbon footprint was very low when compared to the average emissions of the same class of vehicles.
    • The MDVs carbon footprint was moderately okay, while the HDVs were high.
  •  Total cost of ownership: TCO analysis was employed to determine metrics for retiring old fleets and replacing them with ZEVs.

Potential Impact

The result of the audit provided a guide towards achieving the set targets.

  • Monthly carbon footprint tracking: Using the emissions factors for both gallons of gasoline/diesel consumption and distance traveled, Chidi developed a model to track the fleet division's monthly carbon footprint.
  • Metrics for retiring old fleet and replacing them with zero emission vehicles: The total cost of ownership (TCO) model was employed using the AFLEET and DRVE tools to determine metrics for retiring the old fleet and replacing them with zero emission vehicles.
  • Electric vehicles and infrastructure deployment: Various models of available electric vehicles in the market and charging infrastructures were recommended for replacement and adoption.
  • Electric vehicle (EV) policy: Based on the result of the sustainability audit, Chidi developed EV policy for Precinct One and made recommendations for its implementation. 

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