A valuable role in integrating ESG principles into engineering education.

Integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) into organizational practice creates value for a wide range of stakeholders and impacted groups — and requires academic programs to prepare graduates with the relevant skills, knowledge, and abilities.

While there is no one-size-fits-all formula for strengthening ties between educators and professionals to ensure graduates are prepared technically, socially, and ethically, a forthcoming article shines a light on those strategic partnerships and opportunities to embed ESG principles into engineering education.

Using policies and practices from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and accreditation requirements from the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, the article in the Journal of Engineering Management provides an illustrative case study illuminating some opportunities related to advancing ESG in the AEC industry through collaborative engineering education and practice.

To provide a specific illustration of how their study can be applied, the authors created an inland navigation example connecting ABET requirements to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. The authors build on prior work by introducing the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework as a tool and using credits associated with the Climate and Resilience (CR) category.

Professor Yvette Pearson of the University of Texas Dallas and her colleagues write that educators can apply tools such as the Envision framework to teach sustainable and inclusive design practices. These collaborations can be integrated into both curricular and cocurricular activities, enhancing students’ awareness and ability to tackle complex ESG-related issues.

To access this article, published in the Journal of Engineering Management, Vol 41, Issue 4 (July 2025), visit: https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/JMENEA.MEENG-6566

Please note that we have recently published updates to our ISI Policies. This document contains all policies related to the use of the Envision sustainable infrastructure framework, including policies related to Envision verification, the Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) credential, and the credential maintenance program.

Notable updates to the policies include:

• Reference to the Credential Maintenance Guidance Document and six-month grace period for ENV SPs
• Removal of sunset dates for Envision versions
• Clarification on registration cancellation due to inactivity
• Expanded description of Project Team and Verification Team roles, including the file owner and reviewer
• Clarification of specific verification timelines for reviews
• Updates to minimum program requirements and quality expectations
• Removal of the limit of two new credits for a second review
• Confirmation that the Pathway A Post Construction Review may address pending credits, new or revised credits from decisions made during construction, and any changes to the scope or key design elements
• Required attestation and upload of final as-built documents, or similar

Click here or visit our resources page to review the full updated policy document. You can also find it in your ISI user account dashboard (along with a version showing the tracked new changes) under Resources > Policies.