In Stage 2 assessment, projects are awarded points based on the width of riparian, wetland, or shoreline buffers, if applicable. Photo: istockphoto.com.

The infrastructure of 2050 is being designed and built today. Highways are being designed to last 20 to 50 years and bridges are being designed to last 30 to 80 years before major maintenance or replacement. Therefore, today's infrastructure planning and design decisions will impact us far into the future. These decisions must be made with the application of sound sustainability practices as a part of the process. However, for infrastructure projects outside of buildings there has not been a way to influence and measure sustainability – until now.

The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) is in the process of receiving public comments on a new infrastructure sustainability rating system known as envision, Version 1.0. Infrastructure includes a broad range of public and private investments at the local, state, and national levels in roads, bridges, water treatment/distribution, wastewater treatment/collection, industrial plants (such as refineries), power plants and distribution systems, ports, airports, military installations, telecommunications, park and recreational facilities, railroads, mass transit, and facility-related structures.

ISI was founded in early 2011 through the combined efforts of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and the American Public Works Association (APWA). Each of the three founding members contributed capital, expertise, and board members to start up the organization as a 501(c)(3) non-profit. ISI has the mission of promoting and supporting the understanding and practical application of evolving principles for sustainability as they apply to engineering infrastructure. Through education, training, and developing resources – including a rating system – ISI will serve as a resource to policymakers, regulators, owners, agencies, engineers, constructors, and communities who are supportive of providing effective, efficient, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

A core offering from ISI is envsion, an infrastructure rating system that is designed to rate infrastructure projects beyond the building envelope so as to not compete with the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED process. Bill Bertera, executive director of ISI, likens envsion to "the LEED process for infrastructure projects with an added twist. This new rating tool takes into account the more comprehensive triple bottom line considerations of social, economic, and environmental impacts." According to ISI's Board Chairman Tim Psomas, P.E., FACEC, "envsion was developed by taking the best of over 900-plus infrastructure rating systems from the U.S. and around the world."

Stage 1
Currently, two of four planned stages of the copyrighted envsion system are available on the ISI website at www.sustainableinfrastructure.org for review and public comment through the end of the 2011 calendar year. Stage 1 is a self-assessment checklist that provides overall guidance and requires a simple "yes" or "no" answer to a series of questions that guide the user through criteria that contribute to sustainable performance of smaller or single-purpose projects. This stage or project review provides a basic understanding of sustainability as it relates to the following 10 primary criteria:

1) Project pathway – includes questions about improving a community's quality of life, developing local skills and capabilities, and propagating community growth and development. It asks fundamental questions related to the purpose and need for a project and whether the project fulfills a long-term community requirement.

2) Project strategy and management – has questions about project leader ship, integrated project delivery, regulatory issues, stakeholder identification and involvement, health, and safety.

3) Community: long & short term effects – asks about historic/cultural/recreational resources, noise, air quality, light pollution, and public/community involvement.

4) Land use & restoration – asks about prime farmland, wetlands, high-value forest lands, brownfields, and erosion/sediment control.

5) Landscapes – has questions on preservation of natural features, local character, and impacts on scenic views.

6) Ecology & biodiversity – asks about habitat, species and biodiversity protection, and ecological management.

7) Water resources & environment – has questions about water supply, pollution prevention for surface and groundwater, floodplain impacts, stormwater management, and stream and wetland restoration.

Erosion control is included within the land use & restoration criterion. Photo: ScourStop.

8) Energy & carbon – asks about life cycle energy assessment, efficiency, renewables, and greenhouse gas emissions management.

9) Resource management including waste – has questions about use of locally sourced material, waste minimization and/or reuse, and use of reclaimed and recycled content materials.

10) Transportation – asks about community access, safety signage, use of alternative transportation modes, and improved traffic flow.

Within the 10 primary criteria, there are 74 secondary criteria with narrative guidance on how to apply the criteria. As a brief example, the water resources & environment criterion asks the question: "Does the project preserve and enhance riparian, wetland, and shoreline buffers to improve flood control and water quality, stabilize soils, control erosion, and provide wildlife corridors and habitat?" An answer of "yes" earns one point; A "no" answer results in zero points. If respondents are unsure, an online information query offers more details to help in decision making. In some cases, users will get zero points because the secondary criterion may not be applicable to their projects.

The maximum score for the Stage 1 assessment system is 104 points.

The envision rating system is intended to influence and measure sustainability of infrastructure projects outside of buildings, such as use of permeable pavers for stormwater management. Photo: Timmons Group

Stage 2
The Stage 2 rating system is a comprehensive assessment and recognition framework that allows an owner or engineer (or other user) to perform an assessment and to look for areas to improve or acknowledge the sustainable performance of a project. This stage uses the same 10 primary criteria and 74 secondary criteria as Stage 1 but awards points based on a weighted scale with a wider scoring range that recognizes higher levels of achievement. From lowest to highest point value, the Stage 2 levels of achievement include improved, enhanced, superior, conserving, and restorative.

For example, within the same water resources & environment criterion highlighted above, under the secondary criterion of protect, restore riparian, wetland, and shoreline buffers, an improved rating worth one point would be awarded for a buffer of 25 to 50 feet, an enhanced rating worth 4 points for a buffer of 50 to 100 feet, a superior rating worth 6 points for a buffer of 101 to 200 feet, and a conserving rating worth 8 points for a buffer of 201 to 300 feet. A restorative rating, with the highest value of 10 points, would be awarded for a buffer of greater than 300 feet. These quantitative criteria will be reviewed during the public comment period because it is recognized that performance will often be site dependent and that customization will be necessary.

The rating system guidance documents contain comprehensive descriptions to help determine the most applicable level of achievement for the project. This brief example describes how an owner or engineer who wants to demonstrate greater sustainable performance can plan their projects accordingly. The maximum score in Stage 2 is 1,000 points. Initial weighting percentages for the primary criteria – subject to change after the public comment phase – are listed in Table 1. Stages 1 and 2 are expected to be available for use on projects as early as the spring of 2012. Currently under preliminary development, Stage 3 will evaluate existing specific projects with a singular or narrow focus (for example, transportation corridor realignment), and Stage 4 will focus on complex projects requiring rigorous balancing of project feature tradeoffs to establish optimum solutions, return on investment, and project delivery. In Stage 4, the focus shifts from asking, "Did you do the project right?" to "Did you do the right project?" This evaluation might consider if a large centralized wastewater treatment plant is the most sustainable solution versus a series of smaller plants. ISI does not expect Stages 3 and 4 to become available before 2013.

Professional assessors
While Stage 1 is a self-guided evaluation process, assessment of Stage 2 projects will be performed by professional assessors who are trained by ISI in the approaches, performance, and outcomes using the envision system and who pass an exam. In addition, professional verifiers will work with ISI as an independent third party in reviewing and confirming representations from owners and engineers. Qualifications to become a professional assessor or verifier are still being developed, but both will involve education and/or professional registration or other accreditation requirements and some level of training by ISI or a third party including the possibility of virtual training. The cost to have projects verified is still under development as well and will vary according to project size and complexity. A potential range of costs being considered is $2,500 to $25,000.

The goal of the envsion rating system is to become recognized as the North American "system of choice" when it comes to rating the sustainability of infrastructure. It will serve as a guide for practitioners, owners, communities, and other stakeholders when planning and implementing sustainable infrastructure solutions. Future plans for envsion include a formal awards system, including a gala-type event honoring those projects with the highest level of sustainability as rated by the tool.

To get involved in ISI, there are four classes of membership: Charter, Sustaining, Government/Agency/Public Utility, and University Faculty/Students. Charter members are the early investors who commit to three years with the ISI program and will be closed to new entrants in 2013. Benefits include a seat on the pre-eminent ISI Board Advisory Council; membership in the ISI Executive Infrastructure Forum; input into ISI products, programs, and services; name recognition on ISI's website and programs; and reduced pricing on ISI training/seminars/verifications, as well as all benefits of Sustaining members. After three years, Charter memberships will be converted to the annual commitment cycle of Sustaining members. Investment as a Charter member is based on firm size and ranges from $5,000 to $100,000.

Sustaining members commit to one year with the ISI program, get reduced pricing on ISI training/seminars/verifications, have access to the envision rating tool, and have membership on ISI technical and educational committees among other ISI benefits. Investments as Sustaining members also are based on firm size and range from $300 for an individual to $7,500 for firms with more than 20,000 employees. ISI offers non-profits discounted investment amounts and gives them the same benefits as Sustaining members.

The Government/Agency/Public Utility membership is complimentary, has special pricing on products and services, and offers access to the envision rating tool along with several other ISI benefits. The University Faculty/Students membership is also complimentary. Membership applications are available on ISI's website: www.sustainableinfrastructure.org

Terry F. Neimeyer, P.E., FACEC, BCEE, is CEO and chairman of the board of KCI Technologies Inc. He also serves as a board member of ISI and is the chairman of the American Council of Engineering Companies for 2011-2012.