Day 1: Wednesday, November 6
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET
OPENING PANEL
A Closer Look at the Cost of Integrating Envision
Gain a better understanding of the cost considerations for integrating Envision at the design, procurement, construction, and verification stages of infrastructure projects. The session will explore how to develop an Envision strategy while balancing the cost considerations of pursuing a credit, including suggestions on how to improve the design and construction procurement process. The level of effort needed to support the design and construction teams will be considered, as will the level of effort needed to complete verification. The panel includes presenters with significant experience in guiding billions of dollars of civil infrastructure projects through the Envision process. These projects include transit facilities, ports, parks, wastewater facilities, water distribution, stormwater management, and major roadways.
Featuring:
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
OPENING KEYNOTE
Ethan Kent, CEO of PlacemakingX
Ethan Kent works to support public space organizations, projects, and leadership around the world to build a global placemaking movement. Ethan has traveled to more than 1000 cities and 65 countries to advance the cause of leading urban development with inclusive public spaces and placemaking. In 2019 he co-founded PlacemakingX to network, amplify, and accelerate placemaking leadership and impact globally. He builds on more than 20 years of working on placemaking projects and campaigns with Project for Public Spaces. Ethan has been integral to the development of placemaking as a transformative approach to economic development, environmentalism, transportation planning, governance, resilience, social equity, design, digital space, tourism, and innovation.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET
BREAK / NETWORKING
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm ET
DAY 1 POSTER SESSION
We invited students and professionals to share their knowledge of sustainability and the application of Envision by submitting a poster abstract. The call was open to all AEC industry professionals, undergraduate students, and graduate students in engineering, environmental science, planning, architecture, construction, and related disciplines. All student poster presenters will be eligible to win a prize, provided by this year’s poster presentation sponsor, Beyond21 Academy. Join us for an opportunity to hear about projects and research that incorporate the Envision framework to address sustainability within a diverse range of projects.
Featuring:
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION A | Stronger Together: Collaboration
Forward-thinking collaborations help identify and overcome systemic challenges across the sector. This session discusses use of Envision to systematically evaluate and enhance the sustainability of infrastructure projects. A research initiative will be highlighted, focused on identifying best practices and innovative solutions that can minimize environmental impact, promote inclusive community engagement, and support long-term economic viability. The session will also hear from an organization focused on catalysing systemic change in the engineering profession. Finally, the session will discuss the growth of Envision and sustainability in the water sector through industry collaborations.
Featuring:
SESSION B | Resilient by Design: Mitigating Risk in the Built Environment
Turn risk into resilience on your next project by incorporating global lessons. We will get a Canadian perspective on how the climate resilience framework in Envision compares to local / client codes including City of Vancouver, City of Calgary, and Metrolinx. We will hear a case study focusing on infrastructure resiliency in the context of climate change impacts in the UAE, where communities in April 2024 experienced a year’s worth of precipitation in a single day. Finally, checking in with Miami-Dade County, this session includes a presentation on new LEED- and Envision-aligned policies mandating design and construction sustainability practices, with a case study of the South Dade Transit Operations Center.
Featuring:
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET
PROJECT SHOWCASE: Applying Sustainability During Construction
We take a deep dive into three Envision-awarded projects that unlock key insights for sustainability and Envision use. Each project team will discuss the opportunities and challenges with a focus on construction phase implementation. In New York City, the Envision process was applied to an 85-year-old wastewater resource recovery facility in need of sustainable upgrades, the Tallman Island Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). In Omaha, Nebraska, the project team behind the city’s riverfront revitalization created a unified, amenity-rich open space bridging downtown and the Missouri River. Finally, a transformative project at San Diego International Airport (SAN) replaces a 30-gate terminal and improves roadways, bridges, utilities, landscaping, and stormwater components.
Featuring:
Day 2: Thursday, November 7
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET
PRESCRIBED COURSE
Building Together: Sustainability, Equity, and Engagement
This session will offer a practical approach to integrating principles of sustainability, collaboration and social equity into infrastructure projects. We will explore how teamwork, stakeholder engagement, and sustainability management can be used to create projects that enhance community wellbeing, promote environmental responsibility, and ensure fairness in the distribution of project benefits. Attendees will leave with strategies that can be applied to their own projects, helping them achieve long-term success while addressing both social and environmental goals. *Participation will satisfy one PRESCRIBED hour toward ENV SP credential maintenance.
Featuring:
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm ET
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
SESSION C | Cutting Carbon Before Operation: Addressing Embodied Emissions
ISI has collaborated for over a year within the Embodied Carbon Harmonization and Optimization (ECHO) collective to better define requirements for embodied carbon accounting in the AEC industry, including infrastructure. This session will start with a focus on the key materials of cement and concrete and the manufacturing industry’s roadmap for reaching carbon neutrality. Executing that roadmap will involve the entire value chain, starting at the cement plant and extending through the entire life cycle of the built environment to incorporate the circular economy. The session will also look at the complexities of pursuing Envision Credit CR1.1 Reduce Net Embodied Carbon through the lens of the ASCE Infrastructure 2050 commitment and offer a real-world case study demonstrating the embodied carbon analysis process.
Featuring:
SESSION D | Innovating: Nature-Inspired Solutions
A “design with nature” approach can address sustainability and resiliency in ways which enhance and provide benefits for the project area. In this session, a coastal and environmental engineer will share insights, lessons and a case study focusing on nature-inclusive design of shoreline stabilization and flood protection measures. A botanist with extensive experience in infrastructure will lay out the concepts, definitions, and tools needed for the effective control of invasive species in a project area in a manner that could also award them points for Envision credit NW3.4 Control Invasive Species. And a transportation sector ENV SP will explore how engagement with research institutions, local regulators, private companies, and communities builds support among owners for solutions such as microgrid technology, advanced stormwater controls, and security enhancements.
Featuring:
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm ET
BREAK / NETWORKING
2:00 pm – 2:30 pm ET
DAY 2 POSTER SESSION
We welcome a second group of poster presenters for Day 2 of the conference. For our poster sessions, we invited students and professionals to share their knowledge of sustainability and the application of Envision by submitting a poster abstract. The call was open to all AEC industry professionals, undergraduate students, and graduate students in engineering, environmental science, planning, architecture, construction, and related disciplines. All student poster presenters will be eligible to win a prize, provided by this year’s poster presentation sponsor, Beyond21 Academy.
Featuring:
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm ET
SESSION E | Embedding and Scaling Up Envision
Pursuing your project’s Envision credit opportunities might become the first step to a broader application. This session explores initiatives to understand and apply Envision, with the aim of developing organizational approaches. Topics include circularity as a key consideration in sustainable infrastructure, development of an Envision programmatic approach, and the use of the framework to promote goals like integrating sustainability into business models and using data-driven decision-making. There will also be a focus on two transformative transportation projects where Envision was integrated into the planning and design phases.
Featuring:
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm ET
CLOSING KEYNOTE
TJ Moon, Sustainability Officer of Los Angeles County Public Works
We’re excited to wrap up the 2024 ISI Annual Conference with the Sustainability Offier for LACPW, one of the largest municipal public works agencies in the U.S. With an annual budget of $4.1 billion, a capital project program exceeding $5 billion, and a workforce of 4,000 employees, the agency provides vital public infrastructure and civic services to more than 10 million people across a vast 4,000-square-mile service area. LACPW has spearheaded numerous initiatives to enhance the region’s infrastructure and foster collaboration with a focus on sustainability and equitable service delivery. The department has also been an incredible advocate of Envision, actively training their employees and supporting their credential maintenance.
