In the article “Advancing Sustainable Infrastructure with Envision”, Nelson (June 2015) shares about the Envision rating system. It is the new reference model adopted worldwide for the best practices for all types of infrastructure, ascertaining their sustainable achievement. She explains that the rating system consists of 60 credits and awards will be presented in 4 ranks based on the credits achieved. The author reveals that currently there are six projects that have received the award after completing third-party verification. She also emphasises on the usefulness of Envision where it can be used in any point in the project life cycle such as providing guidance in the decision-making process. I am inclined to agree with the author on the usefulness of Envision because it is the only system that is designed for infrastructure projects. It expands the concept of sustainability from buildings to infrastructure.

Envision is introduced in 2012, created by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). The idea behind Envision is related to LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design), a green building certification program that certifies building with outstanding sustainable achievements. As quoted by Nelson from an interim city engineer, Deborah Weintraub, “Envision expands our over a decade long use of green rating systems for buildings to civil engineering projects.” Non-habitable structures, such as bridges, treatment plants and other types of civil infrastructure are not what LEED was designed for. Therefore, with the need to be designed with sustainability in mind, Envision was launched.

Clark (June 2014) interviewed the president and CEO of the ISI, Bertera, for her article where she mentions Envision should be thought as another LEED system. Envision is an assessment tool designed and structured just for infrastructure projects, basically covering what LEED is unable to rate for. Mikel Wilkins, a Dallas-based civil engineer who was mentioned in the article, used Envision on a pipeline project in 2009. He commented that through the rating system, they managed to produce a better plan and measured the cost throughout the project lifecycle. He then ended off by praising Envision as a system that works regardless of the scale of the projects. The incorporation of triple bottom line in the rating system is well reflected in Wilkins’s example. Sustainable projects often come in high costs, thus the triple bottom line concept evaluates the benefits over the full life cycle, allowing limited budget projects to become cost-effective as well as creating the most public value. This verifies Envision as a well-rounded system that is similar to LEED however, catering only for infrastructure projects.

In addition, Envision is highly flexible and it covers a wide range of infrastructure project types. The project types include Energy, Water, Waste, Transport, Landscape, and Information. Taking the previous example, Wilkins also talked about how after they opted for Envision, the credits in the system helped them marked out more targets. And from there, they managed to come out with more plans to implement green infrastructure. Likewise to what Nelson emphasises in the article, Envision guides the decision makers. It allows them to see best practices in civil engineering from another perspective. As a result, it will allow them to spot opportunities to make a project more sustainable.

However, we cannot assume that this is the perfect system for infrastructure projects yet. Envision is the newest and only system for rating infrastructure, as a result this would be the best so far. The short term effects are satisfying, then again, there have not been a chance to evaluate the long term effects. There may be underlying long term harm that is not shown at the moment. Nelson mentioned in her article that there are only 6 projects that are evaluated up to date. Based on these six projects, it is very hard to come to a conclusion for Envision. As the sample size is still small, I do not consider it to be reliable, more data will be needed in order to prove its reliability. Even so, there is no doubt that this is a promising system. Even though the sample size is small, it is still a good start. The six projects managed to complete third-party verifications and received awards, hence I think that it has potential to go a lot further in the future.

In conclusion, Envision is undeniably a helpful tool as it targets sustainable infrastructure and by including the triple bottom line into their rating system, it helps to overlook at the three aspects where other rating systems do not. The concept of Envision is akin to LEED however, both rating systems are on different tracks even though they are leading towards the same goal. By the end of this essay, I have to agree with the author about Envision, and I believe with Envision and the other rating systems, more improvements can be done for infrastructure and buildings and together, working towards a sustainable future.

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References

Beach, S. (2014). ISI Envision: Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.permatrak.com/news-events/bid/100073/ISI-Envision-Sustainable-Infrastructure-Rating-System

Clark, A. (2014). LEED for roads: greener infrastructure gains momentum. Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2014/06/26/envision-greener-infrastructure-momentum

Landoll, C. (2013). Green Certifications for Your Non-Building Projects. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://www.watershedco.com/blog/green-certifications-for-your-non-building-projects/

Nelson, D. (2015). Advancing sustainable infrastructure with Envision | civil + structural ENGINEER. Retrieved September 19, 2015, from http://cenews.com/article/10098/advancing-sustainable-infrastructure-with-envision

Rowe, J. (2015). How to Envision Green Infrastructure’s Triple Bottom Line. Retrieved September 21, 2015, from http://sustainability.autodesk.com/blog/triple-bottom-line-for-green-infrastructure/

Sustainableinfrastructure.org,. Institute For Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI): Rating System. Retrieved September 21, 2015, from https://www.sustainableinfrastructure.org/rating/index.cfm

Xlgroup.com,. (2014). Envisioning Sustainable Infrastructure: An Interview with Tim Psomas | XL. Retrieved September 23, 2015, from http://xlgroup.com/fast-fast-forward/articles/envisioning-sustainable-infrastructure-an-interview-with-tim-psomas

Edited on 01/10, 4.15pm

Edited on 02/10, 12.55am