ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition
About the competition ISI is working with American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to support the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition. This competition challenges students to develop a stronger understanding of sustainability and learn to incorporate sustainable solutions into everyday problems that engineers may encounter. The competition is intended to simulate a request for proposal (RFP) that responds to a real-world challenge. This includes the application of Envision as part of the project. Teams must download and use the Envision Guidance Manual and Checklist to guide them in the development of the site design. As part of their submission, they are asked to document a subset of Envision credits. Full rules, including the problem statement and details on Envision use are available on the competition webpage. For Mentors ISI and ASCE are connecting experienced Envision users with interested student teams, to act as mentors by providing guidance and feedback about practical application of the Envision framework. This is a great opportunity for ENV SPs to engage with students and communicate the value of Envision to emerging professionals. What would this require of you as a mentor? Mentors should plan to attend two one-hour virtual meetings with the project team to answer questions and discuss Envision application to the competition project. Mentors are asked to read through the rules of the competition to understand the problem statement the teams are asked to address and the expectations and criteria on which they will be assessed. ASCE and ISI will facilitate connecting mentors to project teams. After the connection is made, communication will occur between the mentor and team captain, or another identified team member. If you are interested in being a mentor, fill out this form. There will be a mentor kick-off meeting on January 22nd at 2pm EST. For Students Student teams participating in the ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition can request a mentor to provide guidance and feedback about practical application of the Envision framework. What project teams can expect from their mentor: The project team MUST:
2026 Student Conferences, Symposia & Competitions
| 2026 Symposium Date | Region | Conference | 2026 Student Symposium Host |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 12-14 | 5 | Gulf Coast Student Conference | University of Alabama and University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| March 12-14 | 5 | Southeast Student Conference | Florida Atlantic University |
| March 25-28 | 10 | India Student Conference | University of Petroleum & Energy Studies and Punjab Engineering College |
| March 27-30 | 9 | Pacific Southwest Student Conference | California State University, Los Angeles |
| April 2-4 | 4 | Carolinas Student Conference | North Carolina A&T State University |
| April 2-5 | 6 | ASCE Region 6 Student Conference | Tarleton State University |
| April 9-11 | 1 | Upstate New York-Canada Student Conference | Rochester Institute of Technology |
| April 9-11 | 3 | Eastern Great Lakes Student Conference | Youngstown State University |
| April 9-11 | 4 | Indiana-Kentucky (IN-KY) Student Conference | University of Louisville and University of Kentucky |
| April 9-11 | 4 | Mid-South Student Conference | Tennessee Tech University |
| April 9-11 | 4 | Virginias Student Conference | Old Dominion University |
| April 9-11 | 7 | Mid-America Student Conference | Southern Illinois University Carbondale and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville |
| April 10-12 | 9 | Mid-Pacific Student Conference | San Jose State University |
| April 11-12 | 10 | Greater China Student Conference | Zhejiang University |
| April 16-18 | 3 | Western Great Lakes Student Conference | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and University of St. Thomas |
| April 16-18 | 8 | Intermountain Southwest Student Conference | University of Utah |
| April 16-18 | 8 | Pacific Northwest Student Conference | University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Anchorage, & University of Washington |
| April 17-19 | 1 | Metropolitan Student Conference | The College of New Jersey |
| April 17-19 | 1 | Northeast Student Conference | Roger Williams University |
| April 17-19 | 2 | Mid-Atlantic Student Conference | University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown |
| April 23-25 | 7 | Rocky Mountain Student Conference | South Dakota School of Mines |
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are we allowed to consult about specific elements of our project like materials and even architectural structures? Or is that outside the mentor’s jurisdiction?
A: You are welcome to ask questions about anything related to the project prompt. Note that each ENV SP has a unique background and different specialty, so each mentor will be able to provide different expertise, i.e., they may not be able to provide feedback for all elements.
Q: Do you have any examples of previous projects that we can look at?
A: Mentors may have examples of projects they have worked on. Also, depending on what you are looking for, you might consult the Envision Project Awards Directory on the ISI website: https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/project-awards/. Each verified project includes a project description. You can filter by sector and project type.
Q: Do we come to our first meeting prepared with our entire Envision justification plan?
A: No. You should prepare questions for the meetings, but the intent is for mentors to provide guidance and feedback on the practical application of the Envision framework. Two meetings are included, with the thought that one could be earlier in the process for more general questions, and the other later in the process for more specific questions and feedback, although mentors and teams should decide the best timing and use of meeting time.
Q: What Envision tools and resources are available for student teams?
A: The Envision Guidance Manual – Primary resource for the Envision framework and the official reference for project assessments.
- To access this resource, you need a free ISI account. The guide is located on the ISI account dashboard, under Resources > Envision.
- ISI website: https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/
- Envision Credit Navigator: https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/document/envision-credit-navigator/
