It has been just over one year since the release of Envision v3, the latest iteration of this leading sustainable infrastructure framework. This one-year anniversary is an opportune time to reflect not only on the past 12 months since the release of the Envision v3 Guidance Manual, but also on the history of how we got to where we are today.
Envision was developed as a resource to support the planning, design, and delivery of sustainable and resilient infrastructure. Publicly released seven years ago in April 2012, Envision was initially born out of a collaboration between the Harvard University’s Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure and ISI which was founded by the American Public Works Association, the American Council of Engineering Companies, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. The first framework of its kind in North America, Envision has been used to credential more than 8,000 professionals in the infrastructure industry. ISI counts among its members more than 400 companies, government agencies, and universities committed to using Envision to develop more sustainable infrastructure. And to-date, 75 projects constituting more than US$20 billion in infrastructure development has been verified against the Envision credits.
Following the release of Envision and its establishment in the market, it was recognized that the custodianship and ongoing development of this resource belonged in the hands of the industry itself. This led to the establishment of the Envision Review Board (ERB) on May 1, 2015. As part of its first acts in 2015, the ERB began working on the development of the next iteration of Envision—known as Envision v3. After six years of applying Envision on billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure assets, the industry had progressed significantly, and ISI had learned a great deal about the Envision assessment process and how Envision was applied to real-world projects so it was time to capture those lessons learned and incorporate them into Envision v3. (Learn more about some of the main differences between Envision v2 and Envision v3 here.)
In addition to the technical work and oversight provided by the ERB, 65 professionals from across the United States and Canada -who were divided into 13 technical committees based on their expertise – contributed their knowledge to develop Envision v3. These experts spent a year reviewing the Envision credits and laying the foundation for Envision v3. The work of the technical committees was then carried forward by ISI staff and the Envision Review Board. A public comment period in 2017 provided a robust set of feedback which was the basis for the final round of improvements and modifications. The end result, with sponsorship support from the Envision Leadership Circle, Envision v3 Guidance Manual (Manual) was released one year ago in April 2018.
The release of the Manual was followed by the launch of a new Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) training course, a credential maintenance program for ENV SPs, an Envision verification program based on Envision v3, and the newly released Envision v3 Pre-Assessment Checklist.
On this important milestone in the history of ISI – the one-year anniversary since the launch of Envision v3 – we would like to thank the ERB and the dozens of industry experts who contributed their time and expertise to the development of Envision, and the members of the Envision Leadership Circle whose contributions helped make the development and launch of Envision v3 possible.
