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Sustainability and Resilience

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Presentation on theme: "Sustainability and Resilience"— Presentation transcript:

1 Sustainability and Resilience
D. Wayne Klotz, P.E., D.WRE, Pres.09 ASCE

2 Topics What is Sustainability? What is Green Infrastructure?
What is Resilient Infrastructure? Sustainable Infrastructure Is Not LEED ! What are Owners/ Agencies Looking for? Why Does it Matter? What Can I Do To Respond? Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure What Does This Mean for Designs? For Me? Standards and Best Management Practices Marketing, professional development, project delivery Professional certification

3 What is Sustainability?
Sustainability is a set of environmental, economic and social conditions in which all of society has the capacity and opportunity to maintain and improve its quality of life indefinitely without degrading the quantity, quality or the availability of natural, social and economic resources.

4 Sustainability – Reliability, resilience, affordable, supportable, balanced, efficient, effective, strategic focus…. COMMUNITY ECONOMICS ENVIRONMENT

5 What is Sustainable Civil Infrastructure?
Sustainable civil infrastructure provides environmental, economic and societal well-being, now and for the future (ASCE) Policies, approaches and investments that consistently provide effective systems over the long term with adequate operations,maintenance and replacement (USEPA) What is Green Infrastructure? An array of products, technologies and practices that use natural systems (or engineered systems that mimic natural processes) to enhance overall environmental quality and provide utility services (USEPA)

6 What is Resilient Infrastructure?
Before Prevent, Protect, Mitigate Resist Reduce Failure Probability During Respond Absorb After Recover, Mitigate Recover or Adapt Reduce Time to Recovery CAPABILITIES Preparedness OUTCOME Resilience PRIORITIZATION Risk Reduction Reduce Consequences from Failure Event Phases

7 Repairing, Rebuilding, Expanding
ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, 2009 High U.S. unemployment rate and focus on creating jobs, economic competitiveness Sustainability principles should increase: value proposition, effective project delivery, political and stakeholder acceptance, resilience and effectiveness

8 Infrastructure Condition
Leaking pipes lose an estimated 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water a day An estimated 10 billion gallons of untreated wastewater are discharged each year from aging systems

9 Importance of Our Nation’s Infrastructure Systems
All contribute directly and substantially to our nation’s productivity and quality of life How efficiently and effectively these systems function is directly related to… Design Maintenance improvements “Clean drinking water rated as #1 advancement in the last millennium.”

10 Infrastructure Challenges
“Either the country can risk further productivity decline, transportation congestion and potential catastrophes from dilapidated systems or it can develop new networks to accommodate the expected 100 million in population growth over the next generation.” - Ernst and Young, Infrastructure 2009: A Pivot Point

11 Sustainable Development
Problems – We’re using up natural resources and ecological carrying capacity faster than it can be replaced, replenished or restored We’re not replacing or fixing the infrastructure in a way that conserves or restores natural resources and systems We’re working with infrastructure that was built using old designs and approaches

12 “You cannot solve a problem with the same sort of thinking that created the problem”
- Albert Einstein

13 Which Future Will We Choose?
Repairing our infrastructure the same old way OR Building a sustainable infrastructure for the future

14 Sustainability in Buildings
LEED rating system has transformed the building industry Application across the U.S. Created a new value proposition for buildings

15 What About Infrastructure?
No overall sustainable infrastructure rating system Many rating systems at the sector-specific level Infrastructure presents a different challenge compared to buildings: Building design and construction controlled by a single organization Infrastructure – Public nature of civil and public works projects affect/ benefit macro ecosystems, communities and regions; Need to consider the description of public support and the more efficient use of materials, resources, interference or impact on public expectations – sustainability needs to pay for itself! Owner/ developer Can optimize at the organization level Infrastructure - Multiple departments, different goals, different budget cycles, different/ competing stakeholders, different technical and economic challenges The tragedy of the commons is a dilemma arising from the situation in which multiple individuals, acting independently, and solely and rationally consulting their own self-interest, will ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even when it is clear that it is not in anyone's long-term interest for this to happen. The tragedy of the commons can be applied to environmental issues such as sustainability. The commons dilemma stands as a model for a great variety of resource problems in society today, such as water, land, fish, and non-renewable energy sources such as oil and coal

16 Guidelines and Criteria for Assessing Sustainability
Prompts sustainable thinking Stimulates innovation at all project stages Identifies strengths and weaknesses Assists risk management Allows continual monitoring of performance Demonstrates contribution to sustainable development Encourages best management practice Provides transparency of approach Flexibility for selected application

17 Delivering Sustainability Infrastructure
The Traditional Triple Bottom Line – “Outcome Principles” – social, economic and environmental. Acknowledges that current state can be insufficient and that there are opportunities to improve performance of our activities; How Do We Achieve TBL - “Process Principles” – ethical, stakeholder and governance. Describes the approach to be adopted in behavior and decision making and sustainable outcomes are possible when issues are considered broadly and collaboratively. In these six Principles, there are 3 levels of performance. Preventing harm Preserving current value Creation of positive or restorative value

18 Triple Bottom Line Outcome Based Performance
Prevent Sustain Enhance Social Protect health and safety Respect values through collaboration and cooperation Enhance community capacity Economic Preserve capacity to provide services to meet current and future needs Find efficiencies that reduce internal and external costs Enhance economic value to customers, citizens while managing life cycle financial viability Environmental Prevent harm to the environment Conserve the value of the environment Enhance the resilience of the natural and human environment After Water Corporation Business Principles

19 Triple Bottom Line Process Based Performance
Prevent Sustain Enhance Ethics Meet legal and regulatory requirements Be accountable for business and responsible for actions Be trustworthy and transparent in communications and conduct Governance Maintain best practice business systems, policies and procedures Make decisions with broad information and risk management considerations Solicit and incorporate stakeholder views through planning and decision making Stakeholders Reliably deliver core services Responsibly educate community and others on needs, direction and alternatives Strategically plan and position for long term actions, investments and pathways After Water Corporation Business Principles

20 Sustainability and Rating Systems?
Sustainability is not achieved by a uniform model or single approach because of the varying contexts, environments, community/ stakeholder/ physical needs; Technology and performance efficiency are enablers to achieve desired outcomes but the public interest is met through behaviors and informed decisions; A rating system : Creates a framework of objective measures; Provides guidance that can influence performance goals and approaches; Promotes project resilience, balance and strategic focus.

21 Goals for the Rating System
Provide national standard for sustainable infrastructure Promote transformational approaches to sustainability Support transactional efficiencies and project delivery Demonstrate balancing of Triple Bottom Line Establish return on investment Scalable and broadly applicable Accommodate sector-specific rating systems Promote higher degrees of collaboration with third parties involved in infrastructure planning and delivery should be the nationally recognized as standard for higher sustainability performance for civil engineering infrastructure Rating system should promote transformational approaches with increased project performance for triple bottom line factors in addition to technical requirements; Rating system will be scalable and broadly applicable Accommodate sector-specific rating systems that may also be eligible for rating system awards According to Bill’s research, over 800 others out there, but mostly sector-specific

22 Sustainability - Rating System
ENVISION - the nationally recognized standard for sustainability performance Promotes transformational approaches with increased project performance for triple bottom line ENVISION scalable and broadly applicable Accommodate sector-specific rating systems Adaptable to varying levels of sustainability applications Filling a current gap in the US Not just environmental considerations/criteria, but social and economic equally important Doesn’t include occupied buildings – won’t compete with LEED According to Bill’s research, over 800 others out there, but mostly sector-specific

23 Rating System Implementation
Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) Formed Founding Partners - ASCE, APWA & ACEC ISI Board met February 8/ and will own and administer the rating system with support from Founding Partners ISI Core Products and Programs Rating System Communications Owner (A/E, agencies, practitioners …) interface Education and training for the rating system Support of assessors and verifiers Project recognition at various levels of performance Filling a current gap in the US Not just environmental considerations/criteria, but social and economic equally important Doesn’t include occupied buildings – won’t compete with LEED According to Bill’s research, over 800 others out there, but mostly sector-specific

24 The Development Cycle All three founding partners committed to sustainability and developed a number of tools and resource libraries APWA – Center for Sustainability ASCE – Committee on Sustainability ACEC – Green Scorecard ISI Formation Leveraging value of a consolidated approach Creating a framework that should become the National standard for Sustainable Infrastructure Create a civil infrastructure standard model - USGBC

25 Goals for a Rating System
Should become recognized as a National Standard for Sustainable Achievement based on user acceptance and application; accommodate sector-specific approaches Should guide practitioners, owners, stakeholders in the framing of infrastructure solutions and the performance goals Sustainability must be affordable Public nature of infrastructure projects requires support of policy makers, communities and stakeholders – guide behavioral improvements in project conceptualizing while confirming technical competence Keep it simple, practical, adaptable and usable

26 Constructing the Rating System
Should be relevant, supportive, usable and productive E-version, interactive, instructive, outcome-based, process-supportive, outputs Should be scalable according to complexity and size Stage 1 – checklist and self assessment Stage 2 – comprehensive consideration of multiple criteria and core system Stage 3 – focused project assessment (+ operations, existing facilities) Stage 4 – multi-attribute, complex, contested, TBL balancing Agencies, owners, consultants, communities (+/-) should be able to use approach to reach consensus through informed decision making

27 Project Rating for Stages of Application (ISI)
Description Benefits 1 Overall Guidance and Checklists Provides understanding of sustainability and triple bottom line accounting and application to infrastructure projects. Single Purpose, local projects 2 Assessment and Recognition Step by step process for owner or engineer to perform self-assessment and to indicate areas where improved benefits could be achieved. Basis for ISI verification 3 Single Purpose Projects and Existing Project Assessment (future) Larger or more complex projects in planning stages and where individual areas of excellence can be highlighted. 4 Decision Support (future) Allows balancing of various elements of a project to optimize performance and investment. Facilitates resolution of differing opinions or approaches with stakeholders or regulatory needs. Level 4: will allow prioritization, project optimization, and comparative analysis of alternative 27

28 Sustainability Vectors
Collaborative Delivery “Doing Things Right” Process/Tools Technological Improvements Performance Contributions Higher Performance Goals Sustainable Design Performance Improvements Integrated Solutions Pathway Contributions Transform Program Delivery “Doing the Right Things”

29 Example of Sustainability Assessment Criteria
CRITERIA CATEGORY PROPOSED CRITERIA ECONOMIC Life-cycle costs Willingness to pay Affordability Financial risk exposure ENVIRONMENTAL Resource utilization Service provision Environmental impact SOCIAL Human health risk impact Acceptability to stakeholders Participation and responsibility Public awareness Social inclusion Source: AwwaRF, 2008

30 Sustainability Metrics
ECONOMIC Funding source and financing Land value Life cycle cost Operational and maintenance cost ratios Return on assets (flood prevention) Indirect economic impacts Resource protection ENVIRONMENTAL Water quality Nutrients and other pollutants Pollutants’ effects Erosion prevention Water source importance Ecology Biodiversity-rich habitats managed Land use Environmental policy and expenditure Environmental impact of design SOCIAL Customer perception of benefit Aesthetics/recreation Health and safety Educational and cultural opportunities Public engagement Acceptable risk Source: AwwaRF, 2008

31 Rating System Primary Criteria
Section Weight (%) 1 Pathway 12.6 2 Project Strategy & Management 10.6 3 Community: Long & Short Term Effects 10.7 4 Land Use & Restoration 8.9 5 Landscapes 7.0 6 Ecology & Biodiversity 8.8 7 Water Resources & Environment 11.5 8 Energy & Carbon 11.7 9 Resource Management Including Waste 8.2 10 Transportation 10.0 TOTAL 100%

32 Project Use of ENVISION and Verification
Professionals should seek training and certification in broad sustainability principles Use ENVISION to enhance project performance; Owners may apply for recognition of ENVISION achievements and performance Professional standards requirements for assessors, verifiers and certified practitioners

33 Opportunity Space - Conventional
CWWA 2009 Window on Ottawa December 4, 2009 Opportunity Space - Conventional Range of sustainable performance Sustainable Conventional Improvement Restorative Project Life Cycle Decommission / Recycle / Disposal Design Construction Operation & Maintenance Reuse / Reconfigure Planning Affected stakeholders Regulatory institutions Partner organizations Stakeholder engagement during design, construction and operation Stakeholder Collaboration Reg Andres - R.V. Anderson Associates 33

34 Opportunity Space - ISI
CWWA 2009 Window on Ottawa December 4, 2009 Opportunity Space - ISI Range of sustainable performance Sustainable Conventional Improvement Restorative Decommission / Recycle / Disposal Design Construction Operation & Maintenance Reuse / Reconfigure Planning Affected stakeholders Regulatory institutions Partner organizations Project Life Cycle Stakeholder Collaboration Reg Andres - R.V. Anderson Associates 34

35 Examples of Objectives

36 Examples of Levels of Achievement

37 Status Stage 2 Rating System Version 1.0 has been developed by and is currently being pilot tested and peer reviewed. Beta-test launch date 7/2011 with 4-6 month public comment period Stage 1 Rating System concept has been developed with feedback and visioning underway. Same Beta-test period as Stage 2 Stage 3 and Stage 4 to be developed-2012/2013 Zofnass/Harvard and several A/E firms are offering support, tools and resources to develop Version 2.0 and other tools, resources (expect many more helping hands) Website under development-

38 Sustainability is happening. We can lead or we will be led.


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