NYSDOT GreenLITES“Green

LeadershipIn

TransportationEnvironmental

Sustainability”

Modified from original by Mark Arner, PE, C&S Engr.

What is “GreenLITES?• The NYSDOT version of “LEED”• It is a transportation environmental

sustainability rating program.• “Sustainability” is commonly understood to

describe any human use of resources that does not exhaust those resources.

Goals for GreenLITES• Preserve or enhance the historic, scenic, and

aesthetic project setting and characteristics.

• Encourage public involvement in the transportation planning process.

• Integrate smart growth and other sound land-use practices.

Goals for GreenLITES• Encourage new and innovative approaches to

sustainable design, and how we operate and maintain our facilities.

• Protect and enhance the environment.

• Conserve energy and natural resources.

• It is a self-certification program.

NYSDOT began GreenLITES certification by evaluating

projects with Plans, Specifications & Estimates

(PS&E) submitted after September 25, 2008.

GreenLITES certification categories are: 1) Sustainable Sites

2) Water Quality 3) Materials and Resources 4) Energy and Atmosphere5) Innovation/Unlisted

1) Sustainable Sites (S)This category focuses on the “setting” of projects, specifically:

•Alignment Selection

•Context Sensitive Solutions

•Land Use/Community Planning

•Protect, Enhance or restore wildlife habitat

•Protect, Plant, or Mitigate for removal of trees and plant communities

2) Water Quality (W)This category seeks to protect the State’s water bodies by improving water quality and reducing stormwater runoff. Subcategories are:

•Stormwater management (volume and quality).

•Reduce runoff and associated pollutants by treating stormwater runoff through Best Management Practices (BMPs)

3) Materials and Resources (M)Encourage reducing waste by reusing and recycling materials in beneficial ways, such as:

•Reuse of Materials

•Recycled Content

•Locally Provided Material

•Bioengineering Techniques

•Hazardous Material Minimization

4) Energy and Atmosphere (E)For understanding climate change impacts, looking at:

•Improving Traffic Flow

•Reduce Electrical Consumption

•Reduce Petroleum Consumption

•Improve Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities

•Noise Abatement

•Stray Light Reduction

5) Innovation/Unlisted (I)

Gives credit to designs that significantly build upon GreenLITES categories and objectives or incorporate significant innovations.

Silver: Silver certification highlights a project design that has incorporated a higher number of sustainable choices.

Certified: This certification highlights a project design that has incorporated a number of sustainable choices.

Gold: Gold certification highlights a project design that has incorporated a substantial number of sustainable choices.

Evergreen: Evergreen certification highlights a project design that has incorporated the highest number of sustainable choices.

Proposed Initial Green LITES Award Distribution

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Percentile

Certified Silver Gold EvergreenNon-Certified

NamePoint

RangeApproximate

% of NYSDOT

Residencies/Bridge Crews

Non-certified 0-14 < 33% < -0.5σ 33%Certified 15-29 33 – 67% -0.5σ – 0.5σ 34%Silver 30-44 67 – 90% 0.5σ – 1.5σ 23%Gold 45-59 90 – 98% 1.5σ – 2.5σ 8%Evergreen 60 & Up > 98% > 2.5σ 2%

Implementation• Currently only an internal tool for the NYSDOT

• Initially, all projects with plan sheets will be GreenLITES rated

• NYSDOT has encouraged consultants to incorporate sustainability into design but this usually comes after scoping

Implementation• Initial meeting to determine project sustainable goals

• Formal rating completed in between ADP and PSE submission

• Scoring: Examples of points awarded -

• Final determination after construction “scorecard” is completed

Scorecard and Design Document• https://www.dot.ny.gov/programs/greenlites/project-design-cert

Questions?