Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure

Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure
Name	Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure
Abbreviation	ISI
Formation	2010
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	United States
Location	Chicago, Illinois
Leader title	President
Leader name	Benjamin S. Grumbles

Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure is an American nonprofit organization that develops a performance rating system for civil infrastructure projects. It was established through a collaboration of professional societies and municipal agencies to create standards for sustainable planning, design, construction, and operation of public works. The organization draws on expertise from engineering, architecture, planning, environmental science, and public policy communities.

History

The organization emerged from discussions among American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Works Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Institute of Architects, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society of American Military Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, Association of State Floodplain Managers, Water Environment Federation, and American Water Works Association after initiatives linked to Sustainable Development, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, United States Green Building Council, Envision Rating System predecessors, and regional programs such as LEED for Neighborhood Development and Greenroads. Key milestones included formal incorporation in 2010, launch of the Envision framework informed by Triple Bottom Line (economics), standards development processes akin to those of the American National Standards Institute, and pilot projects in municipalities including Seattle, Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. The organization's evolution intersected with policy dialogues involving the National Academy of Engineering, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Transportation (United States), Department of Housing and Urban Development, and state-level agencies in California, Texas, and Florida.

Mission and objectives

The stated mission emphasizes advancing sustainable infrastructure through standardized metrics resonant with stakeholders such as American Public Works Association, American Society of Landscape Architects, Urban Land Institute, National League of Cities, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, and National Association of Counties. Objectives mirror frameworks used by World Bank, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, World Resources Institute, and International Council on Monuments and Sites by promoting resilience criteria referenced in documents from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Climate Assessment, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The organization aims to harmonize practice across sectors represented by Institute of Transportation Engineers, Railway Age, American Public Transportation Association, and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

Envision Rating System

The Envision Rating System is a third-party certification protocol developed in collaboration with partners including Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Penn State University, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and consulting firms that advise projects like Hoover Dam rehabilitation studies and Big Dig assessments. Envision criteria address life-cycle impacts akin to concepts used by ISO 14001, ISO 9001, and ISO 21930 and include indicators similar to those in Greenroads and ASTM International standards. The rating structure incorporates credits, verification processes, and professional credentialing comparable to LEED Accredited Professional, Certified Energy Manager, and Professional Engineer licensure. Envision has been applied to projects including port upgrades at Port of Los Angeles, transit expansions like New York City Subway Second Avenue Subway, stormwater projects in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, and water infrastructure modernization in San Francisco.

Governance and partnerships

Governance comprises a board drawn from members of American Society of Civil Engineers, American Public Works Association, and representatives from academia such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University. Strategic partnerships extend to international organizations including World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and multilateral initiatives like C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, and Global Infrastructure Facility. Collaborations with professional credentialing bodies include National Society of Professional Engineers, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, and Society for Human Resource Management for workforce development. Funding and support have come from philanthropic entities such as Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, and industry stakeholders including AECOM, Jacobs Engineering Group, Bechtel, HDR, Inc., and Stantec.

Programs and projects

Programs include practitioner training, Envision verifier accreditation, case study dissemination, research partnerships, and pilot certification of projects spanning transportation, water, energy, and recreational infrastructure. Notable project types comprise bridge retrofits similar to work on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, highway upgrades with parallels to Interstate 405 (California), resilience projects responding to events like Hurricane Sandy, green infrastructure installations inspired by High Line (New York City), and wastewater facilities comparable to Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. Research collaborations have linked to initiatives at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and urban labs such as NYC Mayor's Office of Sustainability programs.

Impact and reception

Reception among professional societies such as American Society of Civil Engineers and advocacy groups including Natural Resources Defense Council has been mixed to positive, with endorsements for helping integrate sustainability into procurement and lifecycle analysis while critiques reference comparability challenges with LEED and harmonization issues similar to debates around Green Globes. Independent evaluations by entities like RAND Corporation and analyses in journals such as Journal of Infrastructure Systems and Environmental Science & Technology discuss Envision's influence on project outcomes, procurement practices in municipalities like Boston, Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, and its role in resilience planning seen in New York City post-Hurricane Sandy recovery. International adoption has been noted in projects supported by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, with ongoing discourse among standards organizations including ASTM International and International Organization for Standardization.

Category:Sustainability organizations