A company founded on stewardship, sustainability is a foundational element of VHB’s practice and an integral part of our approach. Ryan Prime joined VHB five years ago as Sustainability Practice Leader, with a focus on expanding and enhancing the integration of sustainability throughout our business practices and client deliverables. Through his work with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Ryan has played a key role advancing sustainable infrastructure throughout the industry, including as a contributor to the ASCE 73 Standard—thoroughly vetted guidance to drive more sustainable outcomes for infrastructure projects. We spoke with Ryan to learn more about the Standard and his commitment to decarbonization.
VHB: You have 20 years’ experience in the industry, including managing sustainability at a strategic level for multiple companies. How did you first get involved with ASCE and development of Standard 73?
Ryan: I’ve been a member of ASCE for more than 20 years and joined the Committee on Sustainability in 2018. Along with my fellow Committee members—made up of global industry leaders—we began development of the ASCE 73 Standard nearly seven years ago. Our goal was to provide guidance on how to develop a plan and drive sustainable outcomes through the entire life cycle of infrastructure projects. The Standard is a non-mandatory, performance-based reference intended to assist policymakers, infrastructure owners, and practitioners with implementing innovative sustainability strategies; facilitating the use of rating systems or measurement tools; and addressing environmental, social, and economic impacts.
VHB: What topic areas are covered in the Standard, and which are most important to you?
Ryan: The entire Standard is important to advancing sustainability across our industry and includes sustainable design standards for civil infrastructure ranging from water systems, transportation projects, and energy grid. I’m especially proud of my work on Chapter 6 focused on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Infrastructure projects, from beginning to end, contribute GHG emissions to the atmosphere. These emissions result from the manufacture of materials such as concrete and steel (referred to as “embodied carbon”) and the long-term operational emissions associated with energy consumption. Therefore, we set out to educate practitioners on what were the most important sources of GHG emissions when planning, designing, and engineering an infrastructure project. This includes everything from types of materials selected, to transporting those materials to a site, the means-and-methods of construction, as well as operation and maintenance of the built asset. I strongly advocated for this chapter to be included and am pleased that the Standard provides guidance on how to reduce embodied carbon through implementation of GHG reduction plans.
VHB: Carbon reduction strategies are important to VHB and the work we do to make our projects and, in turn, our communities more sustainable. What insights can you share on embodied carbon and the work VHB is doing in this space?
Ryan: Embodied carbon is the total emissions produced during the construction of a project. Representing 25 to 50 percent of a building’s total emissions over its lifespan, embodied carbon encompasses the carbon emissions linked to the extraction of raw materials, manufacture of materials such as concrete and steel, and the construction process, including transportation to the site. VHB actively integrates sustainable thinking into all our projects, and we are piloting methods to calculate embodied carbon in our projects to help our clients make informed decisions. We are currently working with transportation agencies, municipalities, and planning commissions on embodied carbon analyses for proposed design alternatives to help identify options to lower the overall embodied carbon footprint of a project.
VHB: Your goal of advancing sustainability across the industry goes beyond just ASCE. Tell us about the other organizations you’ve been working with.
Ryan: Through VHB’s involvement with the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), we’ve had the opportunity to work alongside industry leaders to initiate a global effort to advance decarbonization across the engineering and design sectors. An outcome of this work was the formation of the Carbon Collaboration Initiative Working Group, comprised of 25 leading engineering firms across the globe. I serve as VHB’s representative, and the Working Group’s mission is to help integrate sustainability principles from the earliest stages of project design. By defining an approach for how to quantify GHG emissions and implement measures that reduce carbon emissions through the design process, the Working Group is leading the way in accelerating decarbonization of infrastructure. The Working Group recently released the Carbon Management Framework (CMF), a set of guidelines that aims to help the construction, engineering, financial, and government sectors to build affordable low carbon infrastructure by providing practical, implementable guidance and knowledge.
In addition to my work with ASCE and FIDIC, I’ve also served as a panelist or speaker at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the Environmental Financial Consulting Group’s Sustainability & ESG Forum, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) Clean Construction Convening event.
VHB: What’s next for ASCE and embodied carbon?
Ryan: Recently, the ASCE Committee on Sustainability kicked off revisions to Standard 73. At VHB, we are focused on using the latest tools and approaches to increase the emphasis on carbon reduction strategies, helping our clients navigate policy and regulation, and delivering technology-informed, sustainable infrastructure solutions with quantifiable benefits.
Visit the ASCE Library to order the e-book or connect with Ryan Prime to learn more.
