Climate and Biodiversity in Infrastructure

Developed through the Zofnass Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Climate and Biodiversity in Infrastructure proposes a high-level conceptual framework to holistically capture how integrated climate and biodiversity action is defined at the infrastructure project level. At its core, it proposes a set of criteria to jointly address two of the most significant, concurrent, and interconnected crises of our time: climate change and biodiversity loss. These criteria aim to mainstream biodiversity into climate, and vice versa, as a way to achieve multiple goals.

The criteria represent a framing and scoping approach for infrastructure project teams to identify and prioritize key issues and risks associated with climate change and biodiversity loss, outline the required level of ambition, identify options and opportunities, and inform decision-making.

Fields covered include landscape design, energy, water and wastewater, food, solid waste, transportation, and information. This book will be especially useful to decision-makers in countries with mandates for net zero carbon, such as Europe and the US, that are called to prioritize the right projects for funding to reach their goals. Moreover, the book will be particularly useful to students of the design professions and especially planning and engineering.

Spiro N. Pollalis is Professor of Design, Technology, and Management, Emeritus at the Harvard Design School, USA. He was the founder and Director of the Zofnass Program for the Sustainability of Infrastructure at Harvard (2007-2022), which led to the development of the Envision® Rating System and the establishment of the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure. Envision is used worldwide for rating the sustainability of infrastructure and training professionals. Prof. Pollalis’s research has focused on sustainability, and in his private practice, he has planned sustainable cities and consulted with governments and multilateral organizations.

Evgenia Hagistavrou is an architect and landscape architect. She has been a core member of the Zofnass Program research team from 2011 to 2022. Her research work has focused on infrastructure sustainability assessment at both system and project levels, the analysis of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) systems, and the integration of triple-bottom-line sustainability into lifecycle assessments.