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When talking about infrastructure, the first thing that comes to mind is the facilities necessary for the development of some activity, such as telecommunications systems, schools, financial institutions, to mention a few examples. But when mentioning sustainable infrastructure, the term is usually associated with ecological issues and does not take into account all that is involved.

Sustainable infrastructure is defined as all projects that are planned, designed, constructed, operated, and decommissioned in a manner that ensures economic, social, and environmental sustainability throughout their life cycle, and is also part of the 17th Sustainable Development Goals.

And there are several sustainable construction certifications, such as the ENVISION Certification, developed by ISI (Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure), a nonprofit research and education organization founded by the American Public Works Association.

What kind of infrastructures does ENVISION certify?

This certification offers a broad and global vision of infrastructure projects, assessing the value they contribute to sustainability. It focuses on the planning, design, and construction phase to the maintenance of the infrastructure with 60 credits addressing environmental, social, and economic elements.

There are 4 levels for ENVISION certification, which are:

1. Basic level with 20%.
2. Silver level with 30%.
3. Gold level with 40%.
4. Platinum level 40%.

This certification is organized into five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World, and Climate and Risk, each of which has certain credits, with compliance levels for each credit indicating the level and quality of project performance.

Quality of life

This category measures the compatibility of the projects, focusing on the objectives of the community, from its integration with existing community networks and long-term benefits. It also addresses the impact of the project on the health and welfare of the community’s inhabitants and surrounding areas that may be affected or that may provide them with welfare beyond that which would have been achieved in the absence of such infrastructure.

It answers questions such as what are the risks to employees and community residents just as this work is being done, how does the project contribute to the growth and development of the community, are local residents hired, are the community’s natural resources preserved or enhanced, does the project have a minimal negative impact on the surrounding community, and is the project close to public transportation, and is the project close to public transportation.

In addition, this category has subgroups within it, which are purpose, well-being, and community.

• Purpose: Seeks to improve the quality of life of the community, stimulate sustainable development and growth, and develop local capacities and skills. It also addresses the impact of the project on functional aspects of the community, such as employee development and improvements to the community’s quality of life.
• Welfare: Guarantees the physical safety of the workers and the inhabitants of the community, minimizes everything related to light pollution, some odors that may be caused by the work in any of its phases.
• Community: Aims to respect and conserve the surroundings through a context-sensitive design. The visual and functional impacts of the infrastructure are taken into account to preserve natural landscapes and the local environment, as well as to promote everything that has to do with the community where the project is being developed, in addition to preserving historical and cultural resources.

Leadership

It fosters collaborative leadership, so that project teams communicate and collaborate together from the initial stage, and the community is brought together to ask questions.

This category seeks to answer the following questions: are all stakeholders involved, has a system for sustainability management been implemented, what is the lifetime of the system, are synergies in products and systems being sought by promoting this collaboration, is the project designed with long-term monitoring and maintenance planning in mind, does it encourage a much more forward-looking approach, and does it encourage a much more future-oriented approach.

It is also subdivided into: collaboration, administration, and planning.

• Collaboration: Drives team leadership and commitment to the project, to collaborate during the process, and for teams to communicate to receive ideas and views from stakeholders.
• Management: Seeks an understanding that allows the team to see and look for synergies between systems. Offers a comprehensive understanding approach to reduce costs, increase the level of sustainability, extend the life of the project.
• Planning: It focuses on the long term and tries to understand the legislative environment in which the project is integrated, in order to understand how the area will grow in the future and thus avoid obstacles and plan the project effectively.

Distribution of resources

This category encompasses everything needed to build the infrastructure and maintain it in operation, including aspects related to the quantity, origin and characteristics of these resources and the impacts they have on the overall sustainability of the project.

The questions to be addressed are: are local materials being used to boost the economy so that these materials have a lower embodied energy, how is the waste generated managed, is the use of fossil fuel energy-reduced, was the project designed taking into account the life cycle of the materials, is the management of these materials foreseen after their useful life is over, are recycled materials used, is the availability of freshwater protected through the production of potable water use, is the use of recycled materials, and is the availability of freshwater protected through the production of potable water use.

The subcategories of resource distribution are:

• Materials: Encourage studies to reduce the total amount of materials used to balance material use reduction, safety, stability, and durability, taking into account the life cycle of the material from the source to the end of the project’s useful life. Credits include: reducing embodied energy, supporting green purchasing practices, using recycled materials, using materials from the region, diverting waste from landfills, and reducing the movement of excavated materials.
• Energy: Encourages the use of renewable energy and the monitoring of energy systems when operating throughout the development of the project. Credits in this subcategory are: reducing energy consumption, use of renewable energy, independent technical quality controls, and monitoring of energy systems.
• Water: Total water use is reduced by alternative water harvesting such as the use of river water, as well as monitoring and studying availability to determine whether or not there is a balance in the community’s water consumption. The credits are: protecting freshwater availability, reducing potable water consumption, and monitoring water supply systems.

Natural world

Every project impacts the natural world, such as the habitats, species, and natural systems where they are found and how the project could have undesirable impacts, and this category seeks to minimize negative impacts by looking at how infrastructure and natural systems can interact positively.

The subcategories are:

• Siting: Impacts on important ecological zones are avoided, vulnerable areas are avoided, but when this is not possible, mitigation measures must be taken into account to minimize damage to the systems, improve the value of the land and clean up abandoned or contaminated industrial areas.
• Soil and water: Avoid the introduction of pollutants from rainwater runoff or pesticides and fertilizers, and ensure that the vegetation does not use any type of pesticide or, if it is used, that it is as non-aggressive as possible.
• Biodiversity: The introduction of pollutants from rainwater runoff or pesticides and fertilizers is avoided, and the vegetation should not use any type of pesticide or, if it is used, it should be as non-aggressive as possible.

Climate and risk

It minimizes emissions that may contribute to increased pollution, in the short or long term, ensures that projects are resilient and can adapt to changes in future conditions.

The subcategories are:

• Emissions: Promotes understanding and reduction of emissions. The credits are: reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing emissions of air pollutants.
• Resilience: The capacity to tolerate short-term risks such as floods and fires and the capacity to adapt to long-term changes, which could be changed in climate or seawater levels or climate changes in general.

ENVISION is a certification that is just beginning in Mexico; there are registered projects. The highest percentage of certified projects is in the United States and Canada; however, in Mexico, an alliance was made between the College of Engineers and ISI to promote the development of this type of projects in the country.

And there are several sustainable construction certifications, such as the ENVISION Certification, developed by ISI (Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure), a nonprofit research and education organization founded by the American Public Works Association.