Christopher P. Hersey, Project Executive, Suffolk Construction
As we move our way through the wet part of spring into summer, my thoughts are drawn to the environment and sustainability, which is the focus of this month’s newsletter. We have a sponsor article from Menard on “How Menard USA is Prioritizing Sustainability,” highlighting how reducing their own carbon footprint is an important company goal. If you are interested in quantifying and reducing your company’s carbon footprint, this article will describe where to start.
This month we have included a technical group update article from the Committee on Sustainability provided by Liz Clark, BSCES Secretary, highlighting a panel discussion in collaboration with MIT Sustainability Hub focused on low carbon production of concrete and greener concrete options in New England.
Congratulations to Northeastern University ASCE Student Chapter on their selection by the ASCE Committee on Student Members for a 2025 Certificate of Commendation. Only 5% of student chapters earn this commendation, well done to them on all of their activities and student engagement throughout the year! Apropos to this award, Northeastern has provided an article on their endeavors with the concrete canoe contest. Additionally, WPI reported on their concrete canoe and steel bridge competition at the ASCE Northeast Symposium.
This month, we have an ASCE report card fly-in summary from Pat Tierney, which is timed with the release of the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card. According to ASCE, “The 2025 grades range from a B in ports to a D in stormwater and transit. For the first time since 1998, no Report Card categories were rated D−. Among the 18 categories assessed, eight saw grade increases.” Is this a cause for optimism due to positive momentum through incremental changes due to Federal Investment; or potential concern that Aviation D+, Dams D+, Levees D+, Roads D+, Schools D, Stormwater D, Transit D and Wastewater D+ are verging on a failing grade? As civil engineers, we can and should all be advocates for changes and infrastructure betterments. According to ASCE, “with the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, ASCE estimates investment needs total $9.1 trillion for all 18 report card categories to reach a state of good repair.” It is clear and apparent that we have a funding gap and that raising funding levels is one of the greatest levers we can pull to better state and federal infrastructure.
On the themes of concrete and sustainability, we have included an article titled Carbon Reduction in Infrastructure – The Next Step by Ken Donald at VHB. Civil engineering projects provide necessary services to the public, but the reality is, due to the current methods, materials, management, policies and programs, massive amounts of carbon, both embodied and from operations, are byproducts of the work we do. We have a unique opportunity in front of us to change how we approach and deliver our projects to mitigate our overall impact now and into the future by raising our awareness of the changes that must be made to transition to a net zero and sustainable economy.
I would like to close by highlighting a number of events upcoming and ongoing events:
- May 14: Engineers & Land Surveyors Day + Water’s Worth It Day
- May 14: the Younger Member Group is hosting their 2025 BSCES Technical Presentation Night
- May 22: UESI Boston Chapter is hosting a webinar titled Alignment and Equipment Recovery During Challenging Trenchless Construction
- May 28: COPRI Boston Chapter is hosting a webinar titled Changing Tides: Resiliency and Vulnerability Assessments
- May 29: CI Boston Chapter is hosting a webinar titled Bentley Infrastructure Cloud Technical Webinar: Digital Project Delivery and Functionality
- June 25: the BSCES Committee on Sustainability is hosting a webinar titled A Roundtable on Embodied Carbon in Design and Construction
I am also excited to announce that we have locked in the BSCES 176th Annual Awards Dinner for Tuesday, June 3! This is the culmination of the year where we celebrate our successes throughout the year. Sam Sleiman is currently the Executive Vice President of National Transportation at Suffolk and previously led executive operations, administration, and capital programming management at Massachusetts Port Authority. We look forward to Sam’s unique perspectives on the transportation industry from both a public and private perspective.
Please don’t hesitate to sign up for events at https://members.bsces.org/eventcalendar. I look forward to seeing a number of you at the Annual Awards Dinner.
