Charting a path forward: Key factors in applying sustainability to infrastructure

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Abstract: With the ratification of the Paris Agreement at last year’s COP 21 and a growing awareness that climate change poses a significant threat to business and society, regenerative communities and the methods and practices used to develop them are starting to take centre stage. Cities all over the world are facing an important crossroads; the challenges our cities and communities face, particularly when it comes to sustainable infrastructure, have never been more serious. On the other hand, the performance improvement opportunities available to cities and communities that invest in the right technologies have never been more promising. Improving aging infrastructure systems can reap dramatic efficiency, resiliency and reliability results and have an impact on millions around the world. Smart community and city leadership are aware of the sustainability opportunities that transforming the built environment can generate. All over the world, cities and communities are turning towards regenerative communities that deliver innovative solutions and demonstrate the use of consistent standards and practices. These regenerative communities are helping to drive true market transformation for the built environment on a global scale.

Keywords: sustainability, green building, energy efficiency, infrastructure

Mahesh Ramanujam is the president and CEO of the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). Before assuming the role in 2016, he served as chief operating officer. Prior to joining GBCI and USGBC in 2009, he was chief operating officer of Emergys Corp., a business technology-consulting firm that leverages emerging technologies to deliver business transformation to its clients. Over a period of 11 years, he successfully led various business transformation programmes at IBM and Lenovo.