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Three Outstanding Projects Recognized With Envision Awards

25-May-2023

Canadian Envision award recipients were recognized with verification awards presented by ISI’s managing director Melissa Peneycad at CSCE 2023 in Moncton. The recipients were the Centerm Terminal and South Shore Access Project (Envision Platinum 2022), the Vendôme Metro Station Entrance Project (Envision Gold 2022), and the 2nd Concession Improvements Project (Envision Bronze 2022). Each delivers substantial, measurable benefits for sustainability, as measured by achievements across key Envision credit areas.

Peneycad highlighted that these projects were from three different regions of the country and represent only a sample of some of the most outstanding applications of Envision in the country today. There are now 14 projects that have earned Envision awards for sustainability, and these projects represent a wide range of different infrastructure types and sizes.

Accepting the awards: Melissa Peneycad, on behalf of the Société de transport de Montréal (Vendôme Entrance), Jen Johnston, on behalf of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (Centerm), and Clément Boisselier, on behalf of Aecon Group Inc. (2nd Concession). CSCE was represented by Wade Zwicker, President in the presentation of these awards.


Read a short description of these projects below, and click on the links for more information.

Centerm Terminal Expansion Project and South Shore Access Project in Vancouver, B.C.

The Port of Vancouver is Canada’s gateway to over 170 trading economies worldwide, handling $1 of every $3 of Canada’s trade goods outside North America. This design-build project centers on terminal expansion and improvements which will increase container and vessel handling capacity, but includes off-terminal improvements to the adjacent road and rail network. The combined project helps meet the increasing export and import demand for containers shipped through the Port of Vancouver.

Credits: DP World, AECOM, WSP, Dragados, Jacob Bros. Construction, FRPD.

https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/project-awards/centerm-expansion-project-and-south-shore-access-project/

Vendôme Metro Station Entrance in Montreal, Quebec

The project consists of developing a new entrance to the Vendôme metro station and a pedestrian link between Maisonneuve Boulevard, the Vendôme intermodal hub, and the MUHC. The new station infrastructure, including the entrance, train station platforms, a pedestrian tunnel leading to the hospital complex, and walkways, are equipped with elevators and universal accessibility devices, such as enlarged motorized butterfly doors and swing gates.

Credits: Société de transport de Montréal (STM), exo, and the McGill University Heath Centre (MUHC); Bisson Fortin and Provencher Roy Architectes (consortium) SNC-Lavalin (resource contributions).

https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/stms-vendome-metro-station/

2nd Concession Improvements Project in East Gwillimbury, Ontario

This project, the largest project ever undertaken by York Region Transportation Services, was designed to accommodate the tremendous growth experienced in the Region and the Town of East Gwillimbury in particular. The six-kilometer corridor, extending from Bristol Road to Queensville Sideroad, crosses the Rogers Reservoir, a popular conservation area and recreational trail in the East Holland River watershed, which the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority manages. This project widened the 2nd Concession from two lanes to four and included trails, three bridges, retaining walls, active transportation facilities, and stormwater management.

Credits: Town of East Gwillimbury, Town of Newmarket, Lake Simcoe Regional Conservation Authority, WSP Canada, Aecon Construction and Materials Limited, EXP Services Inc., Metrolinx, Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks.

https://sustainableinfrastructure.org/project-awards/the-2nd-concession-project/

Envision Canada Panel Highlights Growing Adoption of Envision

25-May-2023

Jen Johnston, Clément Boisselier, and Greg Zilberbrant appeared on stage for the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering Conference Envision Panel in Moncton, N.B. last month, in a wide-ranging discussion about the growing use of the framework to achieve sustainability goals. Speaking to an audience of some 600 civil engineering professionals, the panel offered owner-, supplier- and academic partner- perspectives on Envision application and provided examples from illustrative projects from across the country. The May 25 event was moderated by Lourette Swanepoel, Envision Canada Program Manager and Principal, Calibrate Collaborative Inc.

Jen Johnston, P.E., manager at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, spoke from the infrastructure owner’s perspective, and discussed Envision application in the context of the Envision Platinum Award-winning Centerm Terminal Expansion and South Shore Access Project. Use of Envision facilitated the development of sustainability goals right from the beginning of this project, and went on to inform design-build requirements, permitting requirements, teamwork and collaboration, and many other essential aspects. Envision kept sustainability “at the forefront at every stage of the project.”

Clément Boisselier, Specialist, Sustainability and Environment at Aecon Group Inc. contributed a private contractor perspective and highlighted different projects that have used Envision, such as York Region’s 2nd Concession Improvements Project. Envision use brings so many outstanding benefits when applied early on project teams, not least in ensuring that teams works collaboratively with stakeholders, in providing clarity around sustainability goals, and in “showing commitment to a certain level of sustainability that is measurable,” Boisselier noted.

Adding an academic partner perspective to the discussion was Greg Zilberbrant, Ph.D., an Adjunct Professor and the Program Lead for the Circular Economy and Climate Change Program at McMaster University. He said that by developing their understanding of the Envision system, his students in the dual-certificate program at McMaster gain a tremendous asset they can apply professionally in their sustainability careers. With Envision, there’s an opportunity to tie together many of the program’s key sustainability topics and themes, including about the role of infrastructure decisions on climate mitigation and adaptation; lifecycle assessment and circularity principles; and the climate resilience of infrastructure, Zilberbrant explained.

The speakers together brought valuable lessons and insights on how the Envision framework has been used to achieve better project outcomes for sustainability. The result has been a shift in the way teams can plan, design and deliver infrastructure, setting projects on a path towards higher sustainability performance.

Envision Webinar delivered to CSCE Western and Eastern New Brunswick Sections

8-May-2023

With the 2023 CSCE Conference in Moncton just three weeks ago, Dimitri Pasquion delivered an Envision 101 presentation to the CSCE New Brunswick sections, May 5th, 2023. Dimitri is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience on major and small infrastructure projects in Quebec, France and other locations internationally. He is an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) and a qualified ENV SP trainer. He has facilitated numerous workshops around Envision credits with multidisciplinary teams and given about a dozen Envision presentations. He is convinced that Envision is the most effective way to minimize the impact of infrastructure and that it perfectly aligns with his personal values.

Envision Webinar delivered to Niagara Region

8-May-2023

On May 8th, 2023, Gustavo Arvizu delivered an Envision 101 presentation to the Niagara Region. Gustavo is a Senior Project Manager at CIMA+ with experience in the management, planning, design and construction of water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Canada and abroad. Gustavo’s experience spans the whole project life cycle: from the completion of Environmental Assessments and Master Plans, risk and reliability assessments, servicing studies, infrastructure condition assessments and asset management strategies, to the design, tender and contract administration of water and wastewater infrastructure.