DENVER, CO, Mar. 20, 2012 -- The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) are teaming up to develop a new sustainability framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of water infrastructure projects.
The Envision™ Rating System, developed in collaboration between ISI in Washington, D.C. and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., evaluates, grades, and gives recognition to infrastructure projects that use transformational, collaborative approaches to assess the sustainability indicators over the course of the project's life cycle.
AWWA is partnering with ISI to help represent the water sector and assist in developing a rating system to accurately evaluate underground water infrastructure projects across the United States through cost assessment, environmental evaluations, outcome-based objectives, and achievement of higher levels of sustainability.
"We are a society dependent upon our infrastructure and there is no more important element of that infrastructure than water," said Bill Bertera, executive director of ISI. "The intimate link between that infrastructure and our need to make it sustainable is embodied in our partnership with AWWA., an organization with a long and distinguished history of serving the public interest."
"We are very excited to partner with ISI," said AWWA Executive Director David LaFrance. "Sustainability is critical to the water sector's future and to the customers we serve. AWWA members are among the leading experts in the world and we look forward to helping bringing their collective knowledge and that of experts from other parts of the water sector, to the collaborative, important and exciting work of ISI."
The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) is a 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization, structured to develop and maintain a sustainability rating system for civil infrastructure in the United States. That system, called Envision™, is a collaboration between ISI in Washington. D.C., and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. Comprised of both private and public sector members, ISI was founded by the world's leading public works, engineering and infrastructure organizations: the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), the American Public Works Association (APWA), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).AWWA is the authoritative resource for knowledge, information, and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of water in North America and beyond. AWWA is the largest organization of water professionals in the world. AWWA advances public health, safety and welfare by uniting the efforts of the full spectrum of the entire water community. Through our collective strength we become better stewards of water for the greatest good of the people and the environment.###
