How can infrastructure teams hit net-zero targets with a practical climate resilience plan?

What is the Future Ready framework for climate-smart cities, transport decarbonization, and nature-based solutions?

Future Ready shows planners and project leaders how to design resilient infrastructure: measure emissions, set net-zero targets, decarbonize transport, and use nature-based solutions. Continue for the step-by-step framework, a ready-to-use emissions measurement checklist, and decision prompts to prioritize resilience upgrades in the next project cycle.

Recommendation

With climate-related disasters becoming more frequent and severe, humanity must take strategic, broad-based action to mitigate risks and prepare for the future. In this practical text, sustainability consultant Tom Lewis and high-performance designer Alastair MacGregor provide essential guidance, illustrated by concrete examples, for integrating sustainability and resilience into infrastructure and building projects. They introduce readers to the basics of climate science and offer detailed recommendations for practitioners and decision-makers grappling with evolving environmental challenges.

Take-Aways

• Climate change has created an urgent need for infrastructure designers and urban planners to incorporate sustainability and resilience in their decision-making.
• The construction industry can support sustainability by adopting innovative technologies and sustainable materials.
• Decision-makers in transportation must prioritize decarbonization.
• Infrastructure designers are embracing innovations to meet climate and urbanization challenges.
• Leaders in urban areas can enhance resilience with technological innovations, community-based solutions, and sustainable development.
• Organizations must establish systems for measuring emissions, set targets, and implement strategies to reach those targets.
• Achieving net zero will involve integrating technologies and understanding carbon markets.
• To manage climate-related risks, organizations will need to create assessment systems and employ standardized reporting frameworks.
• Leaders can generate support for climate-related initiatives by achieving early successes, educating stakeholders, and fostering stakeholder engagement.
• Nature-based solutions provide a holistic and cost-effective approach to addressing the challenges of sustainability and resilience.

Summary

Climate change has created an urgent need for infrastructure designers and urban planners to incorporate sustainability and resilience in their decision-making.

Escalating climate threats underscore the urgency of developing resilient and sustainable infrastructure. The devastating fallout from Superstorm Sandy — the 2012 hurricane that caused extensive disruption and damage in New York City — was a wake-up call for many, exposing the vulnerabilities in current systems. Since then, awareness of the risks posed by inaction has grown. Policymakers, urban planners, industry professionals, and business leaders hoping to mitigate these risks must shift their approaches to incorporate risk management and sustainability into infrastructure design.

“The pace and advanced state of climate change means there is no either/or option — we need to reject false choices and build a resilient and sustainable future.”

There is no single answer to the problems climate change poses. Planners must take an integrated approach that balances public and private sector involvement, prioritizes genuine community needs, and accounts for future trends. The Future Ready framework developed by the professional services firm WSP consists of four lenses for considering decisions: climate, society, technology, and resources. The use of this framework can help ensure infrastructure projects are able to handle evolving uncertainties.

The construction industry can support sustainability by adopting innovative technologies and sustainable materials.

Urban growth in cities like Los Angeles and Shenzhen has led to significant environmental challenges, including severe pollution and ecological degradation. To address these issues, both cities have become pioneers in environmental reform. However, the construction industry at large remains a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is in need of an urgent overhaul to align with sustainability and climate goals. Buildings contribute nearly 50% of global GHG emissions over their lifecycle and consume huge amounts of natural resources.

“Engineers are ethically bound to look for solutions that will endure.”

To ensure environmentally responsible construction that can adapt to future challenges, decision-makers must comprehensively rethink building practices and shift their focus to sustainability, resilience, and long-term value. Reducing embodied carbon — the emissions associated with construction materials — is a critical aspect of this transformation since people cannot cut these emissions once a building is completed. Innovative projects integrating modern technologies and sustainable materials and systems such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) that evaluate buildings’ sustainability suggest possible paths forward.

Decision-makers in transportation must prioritize decarbonization.

Transportation innovations over the past two centuries have dramatically advanced global trade and enhanced daily life by reducing travel times and linking disparate populations. However, the modern transportation sector also contributes 27% of US GHG emissions, exacerbating climate change and increasing risks to infrastructure. To build a resilient, sustainable, and equitable future in the face of climate change and shifting global needs, decision-makers must rethink and decarbonize transportation. The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles will play an essential role in reducing emissions, though adoption rates and charging infrastructure currently fall short of what will be required to meet climate targets.

“The route to your decarbonized future is inherently complex. Embrace that complexity, for within it is the strategies that best align with your business needs.”

Planners have a responsibility to ensure infrastructure is equitable and resilient in the face of climate change. Systems like ENVISION, which rate efficiency, can support the integration of sustainability and resilience into transportation infrastructure projects from the beginning. Expanding public transportation can reduce dependency on personal vehicles and improve access for underserved communities. Covered highways allow cities to reclaim space for housing and recreational use. The aviation and maritime sectors, too, face significant decarbonization challenges and are pursuing fleet modernization and sustainable fuels to lower their carbon footprints.

Infrastructure designers are embracing innovations to meet climate and urbanization challenges.

Cities need resilient and sustainable infrastructure to meet the multifaceted challenges of both climate change and urbanization. One intersecting issue is clean water. Clean water infrastructure has doubled life expectancy in the United States since the mid-1800s — and had similar effects in Europe. However, waterborne diseases continue to kill nearly half a million people globally each year. Those numbers could rise as climate change and extreme weather contribute to urban flooding that overwhelms drainage systems, causing wastewater and sewage to back up. Innovative “sponge cities” employ permeable surfaces and natural water pathways to help manage urban flooding and water runoff.

“Climate change is already forcing us to reconsider specific strategies, processes, techniques, and materials. The only real question left is how urgently and intelligently we will respond.”

Green infrastructure can reduce urban heat island effects, increase biodiversity, and contribute to improving water quality. The shift toward electrification is playing a crucial role in decarbonizing various sectors, helping reduce fossil-fuel-generated pollution and enhancing public health. Green hydrogen and high-voltage direct current (HVDC) networks can address supply and demand issues, although challenges remain with renewable energy storage.

Leaders in urban areas can enhance resilience with technological innovations, community-based solutions, and sustainable development.

Cities contribute significantly to global GHG emissions and face high climate risks due to their dense populations. Thus, urban areas must adopt comprehensive, integrated approaches to climate resilience that address both mitigation of and adaptation to climate risks. New York City has taken steps to enhance its resilience for many decades, starting with undergrounding utility wires and building its subway system after a severe blizzard occurred in 1888. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy spurred major resilience projects, including advanced flood defenses such as flexible barriers and automated shutters for subway stations.

“Resilience requires modern codes and economic incentives to be better aligned with proactively building, or rebuilding, for a different future.”

Community-based solutions are essential in resilience efforts. For example, Staten Island’s Living Breakwaters project uses natural barriers to protect shorelines, improve flood resilience, and provide habitats that help restore local ecologies. This solution arose from a partnership between the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Billion Oyster Project and drew on contributions made during community planning events. Adaptive reuse projects demonstrate how designers can repurpose historic buildings to integrate green building principles and support innovation. For example, the Moynihan Train Hall at New York’s Penn Station incorporates many innovative sustainability features, such as a “smart slab” floor in the main concourse that heats only the areas where visitors are circulating.

Organizations must establish systems for measuring emissions, set targets, and implement strategies to reach those targets.

Achieving net-zero emissions will require organizations to measure their GHG emissions accurately, establish science-based targets, and implement comprehensive strategies to achieve those targets. Net zero means balancing out all organizational GHG emissions by removing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere — that is, sharply cutting the production of greenhouse gases and ensuring remaining emissions are low enough that forests and oceans can easily absorb them. Scientists have established 2050 as the deadline to reach this goal if the world hopes to avoid catastrophic global warming, but sooner is better.

“The next decade or two will be a major inflection point for the Earth, driven by both risk and virtually endless opportunities.”

To manage pathways to net zero, companies use tools like wedge diagrams and gap analyses, which identify measures needed to transition from business-as-usual scenarios. Techniques such as backcasting — envisioning a desired future and working backward to identify the steps needed to achieve it — can help decision-makers address complex sustainability challenges. Life cycle assessment evaluates a project’s broader environmental effects beyond GHG emissions, including water and resource consumption, and can also help guide decarbonization and support sustainability claims.

Achieving net zero will involve integrating technologies and understanding carbon markets.

To achieve net-zero goals, organizations must leverage existing and emerging technologies. They might, for example, implement energy efficiency measures such as LED lighting, daylight sensors, and HVAC upgrades, which can significantly reduce GHG emissions. Incorporating industry-specific technologies like low embodied carbon materials and embracing energy-efficient manufacturing practices is also crucial. However, current solutions will only allow help to achieve 60% to 70% of global net-zero targets. Innovation must continue for the world to reach its climate goals.

“Embracing holistic thinking can often de-risk your business, even create new revenue sources, all while achieving your bold climate goals.”

Carbon markets employ both compliance-based and voluntary schemes. These markets encourage emissions reductions and investments in renewables by enabling organizations to trade in carbon credits. Those with higher emissions can purchase credits from those with lower emissions, harnessing the forces of supply and demand in the service of sustainability. Carbon removal offsets are another way organizations can reach net zero: A company guarantees that it will remove a specified amount of carbon from the atmosphere by, say, investing in reforestation, in combination with other emission-cutting measures. Decision-makers must carefully manage carbon removal offsets to avoid undermining efforts toward direct emission reductions.

To manage climate-related risks, organizations will need to create assessment systems and employ standardized reporting frameworks.

Organizations today are facing significant climate-related risks. Physical risks include rising global temperatures and acute events such as hurricanes and floods. Transition risks emerge from the shift to a low-carbon economy and involve regulatory, technological, and market challenges.

To manage both types of risk, leaders should implement ongoing assessments and employ standardized reporting frameworks — such as those proposed by the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure, and the Global Reporting Initiative — that can reveal climate risks and guide sustainability efforts. Scenario analysis tools such as the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Future World Vision can assist decision-makers in visualizing potential climate risks and developing adaptive strategies.

Leaders can generate support for climate-related initiatives by achieving early successes, educating stakeholders, and fostering stakeholder engagement.

Leaders must take a strategic approach to building both internal and external support for sustainability initiatives. Early successes can prove crucial in gaining momentum and stakeholder buy-in. These early wins can stem from easily achievable goals such as reducing waste, enhancing energy efficiency, or decreasing water usage. However, action must transcend surface-level efforts and incorporate substantial measurable and well-communicated strategies.

“Each organization needs to play to its individual strengths for early wins.”

Leaders can build internal engagement by educating employees about the significance and urgency of climate action. To make the business case for sustainability, leaders might address issues such as employee retention, brand image, and regulatory uncertainties, and illustrate long-term benefits such as cost savings and improved resilience. External engagement is particularly critical for public sector organizations. Developing external engagement involves communicating with a diverse array of stakeholders, including politicians, citizens, environmental groups, and historically underserved communities.

Nature-based solutions provide a holistic and cost-effective approach to addressing the challenges of sustainability and resilience.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) integrate natural processes into infrastructure design, offering cost-effective, adaptive, and sustainable approaches to environmental challenges. They can enhance infrastructure resilience and community well-being. The restoration of oyster reefs in Apalachicola, Florida, demonstrates the multifaceted benefits of NbS. Healthy oyster reefs serve as natural barriers against storm waves and coastal erosion, protect infrastructure such as Highway 98, and improve water quality while supporting marine biodiversity.

“Some of our most interesting, innovative solutions for our climate challenges come from the same natural world that we’ve been clearing, paving over, polluting, and taking for granted for far too long.”

In Los Angeles, the Ramona Gardens community tree planting and green spaces have helped address urban heat island effects, while also improving air quality and enhancing residents’ quality of life. These projects highlight the importance of community engagement to tailor solutions to local needs.

About the Authors

Tom Lewis is President and Chief Operating Officer of Tidal Basin Group and founder and principal at LE4 Advisors. He advises global organizations in sustainable and resilient infrastructure and technologies. Alastair (Aly) MacGregor is Senior Vice President at WSP USA. He has 25 years of experience in high-performance, sustainable design and strategy, including NASA’s Net Zero.