As civil engineering companies and organizations grapple with making their projects and their own workplaces sustainable, there is an opportunity to leverage different metrics for measuring sustainability improvements. The concept of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria for businesses has brought to light the need to accurately report progress to investors, employees, and the public. On the other hand, the Envision® Sustainable Infrastructure Framework is a way to apply sustainability criteria to infrastructure projects, which may receive verification and an award for their efforts. While ESG and Envision have different applications, engineers can use both systems to evaluate sustainability. Design firms that already use Envision can use that knowledge to apply ESG principles when assisting clients and evaluating their own workplace. Similarly, organizations already involved in ESG reporting can consider using Envision to rate the sustainability of their infrastructure projects. Common environmental metrics measured for both Envision and ESG reporting include assessments of resource efficiency, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, embodied carbon, water use, waste management, and the preservation of natural habitats. These metrics are some of the 64 credits used by Envision. Envision sets clear levels of achievement and required evaluation criteria and documentation. ESG reporting is not so standardized, as businesses can choose from many reporting frameworks, including standards (e.g., GRI Guidelines and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board), surveys (e.g., CPD and S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment), and third-party ratings (e.g., MSGI ESG Ratings and Sustainalytics ESG Risk Ratings). Envision and ESG both promote sustainability and offer valuable frameworks, whether in infrastructure development or corporate governance.
