How to Use the Toolkit

It is fundamental to how PB delivers work that designers consider the best solution at every stage of a project. The best solution should achieve a balance of social, environmental, and financial considerations according to the objectives and direction of the client. Sustainability.

These guidelines are intended to be a quick reference, a collection of directions, tools and information that designers and planners can reach for, no matter what phase of the project they are in.

Perhaps you have just had lunch with a client, and they mentioned a growing interest in biomimicry. You thought, "I've never heard of Biomimicry!" However, delivering advice and service and adding value to our project delivery is the heart of how PB works. So come to the Sustainability Toolkit, and take a look at the references for biomimicry.

Perhaps you have been asked to produce a sustainability implementation plan for a construction process, what should be in that plan? In addition to consulting with the Sustainability PAN, take a look in the toolkit at the references here.

When you need to provide sustainability assessments, advice on the relative merits of various approaches to work, means for reducing client carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and assurance that the funds clients are putting forward for projects will deliver according to the triple bottom line, this toolkit can help you find answers.

Matrices

The matrices and graphics should provide the designer, at a glance, a way to consider sustainability at whatever stage of the project they are in, whatever type of project it is. Many of these are tasks and actions that you already perform. These guidelines place them in a sustainability framework.

The guidelines are synchronized with the various checklists - highway, buildings, ports, transit, and construction services - that have been developed for the various service lines over the past few years as we have grown PB's sustainability approach to work.

Simply click on the matrix links provided to navigate to the information you are looking for, or discover a new topic you are interested in.

• Buildings Matrix
• Highways Matrix
• Ports Matrix
• Transit Matrix

Checklists

• Buildings Checklist
• Highways Checklist
  The Highways Sustainability Checklist was developed by PB in response to our clients' interest in accessing an objective, non-prescriptive, broad-based tool that could enable them to more systematically integrate environmental stewardship practices and context sensitive design considerations into their day-to-day highway-related practices. The result is a flexible tool that planners, environmental staff, design and construction engineers, and operations and maintenance personnel can apply to analyze opportunities and tradeoffs and determine actions to take.
  
• Transit Checklist
  The transit checklist invites designers to employ a process or framework for delivering sustainable transit and lists different phases and decision making points to consider sustainability in a transit project.
• Ports & Marine Checklist
  This checklist invites designers to employ a process or framework for delivering sustainability and lists different phases and decision-making points to consider sustainability in ports and marine projects.

Toolkit

The bulk of the toolkit items are short descriptions of a technique or action for a given designer, planner, engineer or project manager to take. Each action will have links to any outside design manuals or codes that can or should be applied.

• Sustainable Engineering Process: General

• Institutional & Buildings-Specific

• Highways-Specific

• Transit-Specific

• Ports-Specific

Tools to be developed:

• Co-generation
• Wind Power
• Membrane Bio Reactors
• Digesters
• Pirolysis
• Identify sustainable design requirements in RFQ RFP
• Discuss potential for sustainable design integration into client's agency
• Emphasize PB's sustainable design capabilities in qualifications / proposal / review
• Consider sustainable design requirements when staffing project
• Compile lessons learned
• Accessibility considerations
• Maintenance of non-vehicular traffic
• Structure aesthetics
• Temporary lighting and utility connections
• Minimize impacts to existing utilities
• Cost impacts of sustainable design elements
• Minimize construction activities impacts
• Transit access and other non-motorized travel options
• Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination
• Sustainability plan or Sustainability Management Plan
• Coordinated design
• Controllability of systems
• Commissioning complete LEED submittals
• Verify design & criteria
• Sustainable design principles for location selection (ports)