ASCE - Bridges to Prosperity

ENGINEERING
A SUSTAINABLE
FUTURE
2012 - 2013 SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
LEADERSHIP MESSAGE
As the American Society of Civil Engineers marked our 160th year, we continued to evolve
to meet the demands of a world marked by rapidly accelerating technological advancement
and societal change.
We made great strides by establishing a new framework to guide the development of
sustainable infrastructure through ASCE’s partnership in the Institute for Sustainable
Infrastructure - ISI. As a presenter and co-sponsor of the Triennial conference, we led the
dialogue on how to achieve global sustainability. We demonstrated our commitment by sharing
the ASCE Foundation’s journey to achieve LEED-EB Gold certification for our headquarters
building in Reston. We continued to develop new educational resources in sustainability to
help our members hone their skills and offered awards to help showcase their successes. We
recognized engineering leaders through the Innovation in Sustainable Civil Engineering Award.
Our achievements have positioned us well for even greater advances in our sustainability
initiative. Working together, we will make the world a better place for generations to come.
Gregory E. DiLoreto, P.E., P.L.S, D.WRE, F. ASCE, ASCE
2013 President
Andy Herrmann, P.E., SECB, F.SEI, F.ASCE,
2012 President
Patrick J. Natale P.E., F.ASCE,
Executive Director
MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
As stewards of the nation’s infrastructure, civil engineers need to be leading the charge
in sustainable design, programs and development. This will require civil engineers to
work collaboratively with a diverse group of stakeholders and foster strong relationships
in our communities. As we become experts ourselves, we can influence others and
create real change in society.
In 2012 and 2013, we made progress advancing the Society’s sustainability initiative.
With expanded educational resources, conferences, awards and a new international
protocol, we demonstrated our commitment to
building a stronger future here and abroad.
As members, partners and civil engineering
professionals, I thank you for helping us become
leaders in building a better global tomorrow.
Michael Mucha, P.E., M.ASCE, Chair,
ASCE Committee on Sustainability
ASCE-BACKED SUSTAINABLE
INFRASTRUCTURE RATING
SYSTEM DEBUTS
For the first time in 2012, civil engineers, contractors, building owners, officials and the public
had a way to gauge and rate the sustainability of infrastructure projects. In April, Envision™,
the nation’s first infrastructure sustainability rating program, was released by the Institute for
Sustainable Infrastructure. ISI began verification, ISI’s third party review process to confirm
that a project meets the Envision evaluation criteria and is eligible for project awards. Two
completed projects have been assessed using the Envision sustainable infrastructure rating
system. The William Jack Hernandez Sports Fishery in Anchorage, Alaska, received an
Envision Gold award, and the Snow Creek Stream environment zone restoration in California
earned the Envision Platinum award.
Envision provides a framework for assessing the sustainability of
civil infrastructure, covering all project types, scales, contexts and
phases. Owners, engineers, contractors and regulators can address all
major project stages: planning and design, construction, operations
and maintenance, and decommissioning. ISI was formed in 2011
by ASCE, the American Public Works Association, and the American
Council of Engineering Companies.
Envision Gold: The William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery
PROFESSIONALS,
STUDENTS BEGIN
RECEIVING
ENVISION
CREDENTIALS
ISI began offering training and testing in the application of
Envision, including a new Envision Sustainability credential,
ENV SP. Over 1,000 individuals have now received their
credential. College students and recent graduates can also
become credentialed. After going through the training, ISI
will confer an Envision Provisional, ENV PV, which signifies
that they are credentialed in all aspects and uses of the
Envision sustainable infrastructure rating system. Credentialed
individuals work with a design team to achieve the highest
level of sustainability for an infrastructure project, and guide a
project through the ISI verification process.
“I consider Envision a quantum step forward.
Successful users of Envision will use the rating
system to guide their plans, designs and
construction methods as a way to consider
alternative approaches and degrees of performance
as sustainable benefits beyond those required by
regulation or technical minimums.”
Peter D. Binney, P.E., M.ASCE
Vice President
Sustainable Infrastructure
Merrick & Company
“There is a shared
commitment among the
World Bank, the American
Society of Civil Engineers,
the Canadian Society for
Civil Engineering, and the
Institution of Civil Engineers
to sustainable infrastructure
and to promoting a better
quality of life” worldwide.
José Luis Irigoyen
Director of Transport, Water,
Information, and Communications
Technologies Department, World Bank
FIRST CARBON
MANAGEMENT
TECHNOLOGY
CONFERENCE CO-HOSTED BY ASCE
ASCE was one of eight engineering societies to sponsor the
inaugural Carbon Management Technology Conference in
2012. Engineers from across disciplines shared expertise
on technologies, strategies, policies and management
systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to
climate change.
Civil Engineering for a Sustainable Future protocol signing
TRIENNIAL CONFERENCE
RESULTS IN INTERNATIONAL
SUSTAINABILITY PROTOCOL
A new international protocol, Civil Engineering for a Sustainable Future, was approved
and signed by leaders of ASCE, the Institution of Civil Engineers (UK) and the Canadian
Society for Civil Engineering (CSEA) in 2012. Building upon agreements reached at the
Triennials of 2006 and 2009, the protocol calls for collaboration on national sustainable
infrastructure action plans, efforts to encourage engineers to help build sustainable
engineering capacity in developing countries, and coordination with the World Federation of
Engineering Organizations to give WFEO more clout in discussions with international bodies
such as the World Bank and the UN on sustainable infrastructure programs. Development
of sustainable practices that help eradicate global poverty and adapt to the potential
impacts of climate change are also priorities in the ASCE, ICE and CSEA document.
ASCE award honors projects’ sustainability innovations
ASCE AWARD HONORS
PROJECTS’ SUSTAINABILITY
INNOVATIONS
GreenLink Windsor, Ontario, Canada, a partially tunneled roadway with 90-degree retaining
walls its entire length to create 300 acres of green space, earned ASCE’s 2012 Innovation in
Sustainable Civil Engineering Award. The parkland design includes a nearly 12 ½ mile-long
bike and pedestrian path free of grade crossings.
The Chari Chari Cable Supported Footbridge in Bolivia, a 520-foot bridge spanning a large
river to provide students and adults safe passage to the school and clinic on the other side,
merited the 2013 Innovation in Sustainable Civil Engineering Award.
WORKSHOPS,
COURSES
EDUCATE
MEMBERS ON
INTEGRATED
ASCE members discuss applications of sustainability
APPROACHES
TO SUSTAINABILITY
ASCE members and students heard noted professionals give their perspectives on creating a
holistic approach to sustainability. The 2012 workshops had a regional focus, reflected in the
choice of experts.
Online courses covering the Fundamentals of Sustainable Engineering, Sustainable
Project Management and Ecological Systems provide members with in-depth knowledge
on critical issues associated with the triple bottom line approach to sustainable
infrastructure development.
“Being awarded LEED-EB Gold is consistent with
ASCE’s definition of sustainability, which is not only
looking at going green but also having a positive
impact on people and financial enhancement.”
Patrick J. Natale, P.E., F.ASCE
Executive Director, ASCE
ASCE HEADQUARTERS
FACILITY AWARDED
LEED-EB GOLD STATUS
Energy-saving enhancements to light bulbs, toilets, air conditioners and more were implemented
at ASCE’s three-decades-old northern Virginia headquarters in 2012 and 2013, all part of the
ASCE Foundation’s effort to achieve LEED-EB Gold certification for the Society’s Reston office from
the U.S. Green Building Council. As part of the initiative, the staffs of ASCE and the building’s
other occupant, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, improved recycling habits
and were surveyed about their energy usage and commuting routines.
The Foundation has been detailing these and other changes in a blog, LEEDing the Way,
which serves as an inside look at the process for anyone interested in pursuing LEED status
for their existing office building. The Foundation realized significant energy savings and
earned LEED-EB Gold status from USGBC in late 2013.
PROJECT PROFILES LIBRARY
HIGHLIGHTS BEST PRACTICES
Through infrastructure projects large and small, civil engineers are applying principles of
sustainability to deliver economic, environmental and societal, the “triple bottom line”
benefits to the public. This library of project profiles, available on the ASCE website, helps civil
engineers research solutions, share data and information with clients, and find sources for
further research. Users may rate, comment and submit their own profiles for consideration.
Stanford University student team
GONZAGA, STANFORD
STUDENT TEAMS WIN
ASCE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AWARD
A team of students from Gonzaga University were awarded ASCE’s Sustainable Development
Award for their design of a water purification system as part of the EPA’s annual People, Planet
and Prosperity (P3) celebration. ASCE also co-sponsored an awards opening reception for
students and other participants at the U.S. Botanical Gardens.
In 2013, the award was presented to a team of students from Stanford University for designing
a low-cost device to automatically disinfect water with chlorine before it flows into the homes of
people in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
1801 Alexander Bell Drive
Reston, VA 20191-4400
1-800-548-ASCE (2723)
703-295-6300
2013 SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
D. Michael Mucha, P.E., M.ASCE (Chair)
Madison Metropolitan Sewer District
Madison, WI
Nancy Kralik, P.E., LEED AP, ENV SP, M.ASCE
Fluor Corporation
Sugar Land, TX
Peter D. Binney P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE
Merrick and Company
Aurora, CO
Erika Moonin, P.E., D.WRE, M.ASCE
Southern Nevada Water Authority
Las Vegas, NV
Karyn Marie Erickson, P.E., M.E., D.CE, M.ASCE
Erickson Consulting Engineers Inc.
Sarasota, FL
Fernando Pons, P.E., LEED AP, M.ASCE
Pons & Associates, LLC
Herndon, VA
Karen C. Kabbes, P.E., D.WRE, ENV SP, M.ASCE
President, Kabbes Engineering, Inc.
Barrington, IL
William A. Wallace, ENV SP, M.ASCE
Wallace Futures Group, LLC
Steamboat Springs, CO
Jeffrey Keaton, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE, P.G.,
ENV SP, F.ASCE
AMEC
Los Angeles, CA
Richard N. Wright, Ph.D., P.E., Dist.M.ASCE
Director (Retired), Building and Fire Research
Laboratory and National Institute of Standards
and Technology
Gaithersburg, Maryland
William E. Kelly, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE, ENV SP
American Society for Engineering Education
Washington, D.C.
Robin A. Kemper, P.E., LEED AP, F.ASCE
Nelson Architectural Engineers, Inc.
White Plains, NY
STAFF CONTACT
Michael R. Sanio, M.ASCE, CAE, ENV SP
ASCE Director
Sustainability/International Alliances
Cover photo: 2013 ASCE Innovation in Sustainable Engineering award winner, Chari Chari Bridge, Bolivia
Visit ASCE’s sustainability initiative on the Web ASCE.ORG/SUSTAINABILITY
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