Envisioning a LEED-like Ratings System for Infrastructure

Bob Graves discusses the concept behind Envision, "a holistic framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of all types and sizes of infrastructure projects."

1 minute read

May 22, 2013, 9:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


"At a recent sustainability conference, I learned about an intriguing effort to bring to infrastructure what LEED brings to buildings," says Graves. "It's called the Envision Rating System, and it's a joint project of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and Harvard University's Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure."

"Envision is just getting out of the starting blocks. Essentially, it's a guide for sustainability decision-making by government. 'We now have a way to help government prioritize needs and allocate resources for the physical infrastructure upon which everything else depends,' explains William Bertera, ISI's executive director. Ann Radil, an Envision user who is senior scientist for Parametrix, a Portland, Ore., environmental-engineering consulting firm, says that 'for infrastructure Envision has done the heavy lifting on sustainability. These tools help you ask the right questions.'"

Monday, May 20, 2013 in Governing

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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