Sustainability
Committee Initiatives

Contents

Completed Committee Project Fund Awards

EFFC/DFI Carbon Calculator

The EFFC and DFI have created a tool that will calculate the CO2 emissions of foundation and geotechnical works. It is designed to allow contractors and commissioning organisations alike to assess the carbon footprint of their projects.

$45,000

Preconference Sustainability Workshop | DFI-EFFC Conference on Deep Foundations & Ground Improvement

A preconference workshop presented on Sustainability. Patrick IJnsen, I.Eng. of Van’t Hek Groep and Chris Harnan of Ceecom Consult Limited focused on current sustainable best practices and initiatives in the foundation industry. They discussed environmental, social and economic sustainability best practices, based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

EFFC Webinar: Driving and Supporting Sustainable Change in Geotechnical Companies

Sustainability is an increasingly important topic. But why should we, as geotechnical companies and employees, care about sustainability? And even if we do care, how do we begin to improve our sustainability performance? What support is out there to help geotechnical companies on this transition?

Sustainability Webinars

Watch recordings of previous webinars organized by the Sustainability Committee on sustainability topics.

EFFC/DFI Carbon Calculator

graphic for eco2 foundations 10th anniversary

Get the Tool

EFFC/DFI Carbon Calculator – tool that will calculate the CO2 emissions of foundation and geotechnical works. It is designed to allow contractors and commissioning organizations alike to assess the carbon footprint of their projects.

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Enhance Your Proficiency

Publicize Sustainability Resources Internationally

Links to rating tools and sustainability guidance commonly used in infrastructure and building development.

Foundations for a Sustainable Future​

In 2022, the Sustainability Committee initiated a regular column “Foundations for a Sustainable Future” in Deep Foundation Institute’s (DFI’s) magazine, Deep Foundations. These columns present examples of how to design or construct foundations in a more sustainable manner.

September - October 2026 Deep Foundations magazine cover

Current Article

Last year, several of these columns used a commercial slogan as the basic thought behind the main message in a particular column. Recently, while presenting to students, I illustrated the concept of sustainability with another slogan, albeit one that I first had to clarify to the students. This slogan was well-known in the late…

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View Past Articles

Advance the Understanding and Use of Deep Foundations as Geothermal Heat Transfer Elements

DFI’s former Energy Foundations committee is now operating under the Sustainability committee and is continuing these ongoing initiatives:

DFI Journal 2014 Special Issue Vol. 8, No. 2

International Workshop on Thermoactive Geotechnical Systems for Near-Surface Geothermal Energy.

Learning Tools

Presentations on the background, resources, applications, construction workflow and management considerations required to design and construct effective energy foundations and results from relevant research.

Coming soon…

Corporate Resources for Implementing Sustainable Practices

Resources

CDP (previously Climate Disclosure Project) – A global disclosure and rating system for environmental impacts

TCFD (Task-force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) – A reporting tool to evaluate a company’s risks related to climate change and guide climate-related disclosures.

GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) – A reporting and standards tool for companies to understand and communicate their environmental, social, and governance impacts.

Envision – A rating and certification tool to evaluate the sustainability (including environmental, social, and economic aspects) of infrastructure projects.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) – A rating and certification tool to evaluate the sustainability (including environmental, social, and economic aspects) of building projects.

EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities – System to classify environmentally sustainable activities to aid in the qualification of companies for green financing.

Science-Based Targets – Guidance for companies on developing science-based net-zero targets

Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) – Greenhouse gas accounting standards and definition of Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions

INVEST – FHWA’s sustainable highways self-evaluation tool

SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) Standards guide the disclosure of financially material sustainability information by companies to their investors. Available for 77 industries, the Standards identify the subset of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues most relevant to financial performance in each industry

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