ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces and discusses the sustainability and environmental issues associated with diesel-powered off-road construction equipment. Off-road equipment refers to machinery that is found on a typical equipment-intensive construction site. It will discuss the concept of sustainability as well as equipment manufacturing and management initiatives meant to enhance it. The chapter also includes material on fuel combustion emissions, their potential health and environmental impacts, and relevant regulatory efforts aimed toward mitigating those impacts. It then presents a straightforward process to quantify different types of exhaust emissions for a given piece of equipment or fleet. Finally, it identifies current low bid procurements as a significant barrier to enhancing sustainability and proposes a possible solution to incentivize sustainability through the bidding process.
