Citation: Aniegbunem, G.; Kraj, A. Economic Analysis of Sustainable Transportation Transitions: Case Study of the University of Saskatchewan Ground Services Fleet. Sustainability 2023, 15, 5926. https:// doi.org/10.3390/su15075926 Academic Editor: Armando Cartenì Received: 31 December 2022 Revised: 16 March 2023 Accepted: 24 March 2023 Published: 29 March 2023 Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). sustainability Article Economic Analysis of Sustainable Transportation Transitions: Case Study of the University of Saskatchewan Ground Services Fleet George Aniegbunem and Andrea Kraj * School of Environment & Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A9, Canada * Correspondence: dr.kraj@andreakraj.com Abstract: The global transport sector of the world economy contributes about 15% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in the world today, and this must be drastically curbed. To reduce GHG emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, the University of Saskatchewan’s Office of Sustainability has directed a green energy transition for the institution in recent years, leading diverse sustainability projects and agendas due to the importance of curbing climate change and advancing sustainability. However, there is a strong need to pursue deep decarbonization within the campus, and the university transport system is a critical operational area that the Sustainability Office has considered for decarbonization to achieve the net-zero agenda of the university. The motivation for this work stems from the directive of the Sustainability Office to transform the campus vehicle fleet as an identified area for curbing GHG emissions and meet the University agenda. This study was organized in partnership with the Sustainability Office and involved an economic benefit analysis of the campus fleet (consisting of 91 ICE vehicles) to determine if it was economically or financially feasible to transition from Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) or PVs (Petrol Vehicles) to Electric Vehicles (EVs). The analysis used RETScreen Expert (a software for analyzing renewable energy technology projects) to model diverse transition scenarios. The variables of Payback Period (PBP), cash flow projections, savings made from transitioning (fuel cost savings and energy cost savings), benefit–cost ratio, and GHG emission reduction potential were analyzed. The findings revealed that the GHG emissions from the campus fleet could be reduced by 100%, resulting in the removal of 298.1 tCO 2 from the environment. The fleet manager could save $CAD 129,049 (88.9%) in fuel costs, and the return on investment could be achieved in year 5 but could be reduced to year 2 if the vehicles were put into constant and active use, eliminating idle times. Lastly, the Sustainability Office would achieve a GHG reduction revenue of CAD 14,906. These findings show that pursuing sustainable transport transitions in the transportation transition for a university campus is financially and economically viable and should be pursued vigorously. The contribution of this work provides examples and evidence to advance policy recommendations to aid the effective and efficient transitioning of the transportation sector, specifically for communities at the scale of university campuses. Keywords: sustainability; transportation; fleet management; campus; university; renewable energy; energy transition 1. Introduction The transport sector of the economy remains one of the critical sectors that has received attention over the years as it concerns decarbonization. In 2010 for example, 14% of the global GHG emissions came from the transport sector of the global economy [1]. As of 2017, 23% of the global GHG emissions came from transport [2]. This is understandable, knowing that 95% of the world’s energy for transport comes from fossil fuels (mainly gasoline and diesel) [1]. In 2019, Canada contributed 1.5% of global emissions, of which 30% of Canada’s total emissions came from the transport sector [3]. Seeing how critical the Sustainability 2023, 15, 5926. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075926 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability