Triple Bottom Line Case Studies by Nancy Kralik,, P.E., LEED AP, M.ASCE Civil Engineering Leadership in Developing Sustainable Infrastructure October 30, 2009 ASCE International Program Sustainable Infrastructure and Economic Development Copyright 2008 Fluor Corporation
Triple Bottom Line / Sustainability Triple bottom line means integration of financial, environmental, and social objectives for a sustainable outcome during capital project delivery Sustainability is meeting needs of clients while conducting business in socially, economically, and environmentally responsible manner to benefit of current and future generations Core of how private sector company conducts its business and works with clients to find balance of solutions to capital project delivery, financing, and ongoing operations
Infrastructure with Capital I Broad view of Infrastructure Physical and organizational structures needed for operation of society or enterprise Services and facilities necessary for economy to function Public and private Projects case studies involving triple bottom line during design, procurement, and construction of: Roads (D- on ASCE s America s Infrastructure Report Card) Temporary housing Mining infrastructure Wind farm (D+) Hydrogen power plant (D+)
Case Study 1 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes 14 miles of highway improvements in Virginia Dynamic tolling system is next generation of highly sophisticated congestion pricing mechanism Public private partnership (PPP) project completes critical link in Virginia s high occupancy vehicle (HOV) network by connecting I-95 and I-66 N&S N&S Dulles Toll Dulles Toll Road Road N&S Westpark Westpark Connector N&S Connector Jones Branch Drive N&S Jones Branch Drive N&S S Route 7 S Route 7 I - 66 N&S I - 66 N&S S Route 29 S Route 29 Gallows Road N Gallows Road N Braddock Road Braddock Road N&S Phase VIII Phase VIII Springfield Springfield IC N&S IC N N
Case Study 1 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes (continued) Original plan Cost 2.7 billion USD that the State of Virginia didn t have Required over 300 properties to be taken Added highway capacity without a strong incentive to change travel patterns and reduce long term greenhouse gas emissions from congestion Economic, social and environmental outcomes satisfied in tandem with PPP Cost 1.7 billion USD, including 400 million USD from State of Virginia Requires less than 10 property takes Incentivizes changed commuting patterns & reduced long term congestion PPP has contractual commitments to State and financial covenants to banks
Case Study 1 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes (continued) In return for muchimproved service, single and dual occupant vehicles have choice of paying toll or staying in free lanes HOV 3 cars travel free in HOT lanes Main lanes less congested due to increase in capacity of Capital Beltway from 8 lanes to 12
Case Study 1 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes (continued) Congestion management accomplished by utilizing toll-setting algorithm Seek to maintain optimum operating flow of 1,600 vehicles per lane per hour Algorithm combines real-time observation and monitoring and historical data that provides statistical prediction of level of congestion at certain section of road Result forms basis of setting dynamically variable toll Ideally, CO 2 emissions can be reduced almost 45% if traffic flow is smoothed in steady-state condition
Case Study 1 Capital Beltway HOT Lanes (continued) Triple bottom line impacts Relieves congestion in large urban area Increases access to retail and office center at Tyson s Corner, twelfth largest downtown area in U.S. Distributes traffic more effectively and more efficient function due to addition of three new access ramps to Tyson s Corner Reduces number of property takes from over 300 to less than 10 Improves mobility Addresses environmental impact in Environmental Impact Statement
Case Study 2 - Hurricanes Katrina and Rita responses Conducted on behalf of U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Hurricanes Katrina and Rita came onshore Louisiana and eastern Texas within 1 month time period in 2005 Local resources severely compromised Businesses disappeared Scope was installation of temporary housing units
Case Study 2 - Hurricanes Katrina and Rita responses (continued) Hired large number of local Louisiana residents Sourced majority of materials in Louisiana Subcontracted majority of services from Louisiana businesses Awarded majority of work to small businesses Continued to apply environmental regulations, including those applying to wetlands
Case Study 3 Mongolian Mining Project Mining project in South Gobi Desert, Mongolia, near Chinese border Installation of facilities and infrastructure to mine copper and gold reserves Sustainability challenges including Diverse cultural backgrounds Severe physical environment Different emphasis on safety and environmental protection
Case Study 3 Mongolian Mining Project (continued) Development and institution of comprehensive HSES Intern and Leadership Development Program Objective to provide dual career paths for Mongolian nationals, while instilling basic leadership and management techniques so that local project management team can allocate efficient and economical use of resources to reach mining objectives without incident
Case Study 3 Mongolian Mining Project (continued) Development of Winter Safety Plan, Journey Management Plan, and Airport Safety / Security Procedure HSES craft training program that greatly reduced recordable incidence rates Development of Supervisor s and HSE Professional s Manual to enhance behavioral safety performance and consistent compliance
Case Study 4 - Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm Located in Outer Thames Estuary, 25 kilometers off the coast of United Kingdom 500-megawatt power generation project is world s largest offshore wind farm currently in construction When complete wind farm will produce enough green energy to power over 415,000 homes
Case Study 4 - Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm Preparation of Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Statements for both onshore and offshore works 185,000 hours completed in the development of the project with one recordable, including more than 90,000 hours offshore Incident-free construction of an offshore meteorological mast
Case Study 5 Carson Hydrogen Power Plant First-of-its-kind, petroleum coke-based, commercialscale power plant in the City of Carson, California Carson Hydrogen Power Project will gasify by-product petroleum coke from local refineries to produce hydrogen that will fuel gas turbine expected to generate up to 500 MW of electricity for state grid (enough for 325,000 homes)
Case Study 5 Carson Hydrogen Power Plant (continued) About 90 percent of the carbon in feedstock expected to be recovered in process as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and then pipelined to local oil fields for permanent storage with enhanced oil recovery benefits Additional production would be enabled from existing California oil fields CO 2 would be stored permanently by sequestering it underground Projected 4 million tons of CO 2 emissions per year will be prevented
Case Study 5 Carson Hydrogen Power Plant (continued) Estimated to have lowest CO 2 emission rate in the world for an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant Projected to preserve limited fresh water sources by using recycled and treated city waste water for plant needs Estimated to boost Southern California economy with 1,000 construction jobs and 150 permanent operational positions
Case Study 6 Highway 212 12-mile alignment of highway in Minnesota Improved traffic safety Improved capacity Decreased congestion Created vital link between Twin Cities and western Minnesota and South Dakota
Case Study 6 Highway 212 (continued) Earned combination of new wetland credits and public value credits for 156 acres to meet permit requirements for wetlands affected by the project Protected existing woodlands by conscientious design and construction efforts to preserve Big Woods ecosystem last remnants of original mixed hardwood forest that once covered Central Minnesota Construction of noise walls and other techniques to address social and environmental issues
Case Study 7 Construction Consumption (in U.S.) Estimated that 25% of construction materials is waste Estimated that 20% of landfill volume is due to construction waste Construction waste is high volume, but low toxicity Construction consumes estimated 30% of all energy Construction consumes estimated 40% of materials produced by economy
What More Is There To Do? Primary focus on sustainability: Design features of commercial facilities (green buildings) Operations of facilities Less focus on Design of industrial facilities Construction of all types Procurement during design / build Which offers opportunity on public and private industrial projects to achieve sustainable results, with civil engineers providing key input
More to Do - Development of Metrics and Certifications There is value to measuring That which is measured can be improved Easier to recognize and realize opportunities Demonstrates results and improvement Method for quantifying environmental impacts of construction operations Could be a LEED-like accounting system for industrial projects But converted to quantifiable units
More to Do - Development of Metrics & Certifications (continued) Life-cycle metric to consider all 3 pillars for industrial projects Global Reporting Initiative-type metrics Address all 3 pillars Gear more to non-manufacturing design / build ISO 14000-type (Environmental Management System) certification for construction of industrial projects Gear more to non-manufacturing design / build
Triple Bottom Line Case Studies Thank you for your attention and consideration!