Sustainability Strategies & Integration for City of Indianapolis Public Works Project

Overview:

RebuildIndy was former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's initiative to restore deteriorating thoroughfares, residential streets, sidewalks and bridges, as well as address neighborhood drainage and flooding issues and neighborhood development. Launched in 2010, $500 million in infrastructure improvements were made through the RebuildIndy program. KERAMIDA was a member of the A&E Team of contractors responsible for managing the RebuildIndy investment.

Project Details:

KERAMIDA played a significant role as the Sustainability Program Lead for the RebuildIndy infrastructure improvement initiative. KERAMIDA’s role was to place the sustainability umbrella over all public works projects, including the development and implementation of sustainability principles and sustainable design elements for all public works capital projects.

KERAMIDA’s work included: 

  • A key sustainability program element created by KERAMIDA was a Capital Improvement Green Checklist provided to contractors at the beginning of each project and completed at each stage of a project’s development. The Green Checklist requires project managers to evaluate the feasibility of sustainable design elements and captures standardized information on the green infrastructure and sustainable design features included in RebuildIndy projects. The information gathered is used to track and score projects and record the number of sustainable features included in projects throughout Indianapolis. 

  • KERAMIDA created Operations & Maintenance, Performance Monitoring, and Life Cycle Assessment processes for effective implementation of green infrastructure, such as porous concrete, porous asphalt, pervious pavers, infiltration trenches, hybrid ditches, and wetlands. 

  • KERAMIDA worked with RebuildIndy and Parks Department project managers to maximize the carbon credits and sustainability value of tree planting programs and subsequent maintenance needs, as well as the overall environmental benefits of tree planting activities. 

  • KERAMIDA coordinated a public-private partnership, which was created for the purpose of successfully managing green infrastructure into the future, such as, mechanisms for long-term green infrastructure maintenance, leveraging green infrastructure investments, and tools to enhance and/or incentivize green infrastructure in private development. 

  • KERAMIDA was responsible for finding grants that could leverage RebuildIndy investment dollars and expand the program. Our sustainability professionals provided Indianapolis with monthly updates on grant identification, grant database management, grant referrals, and grant application writing as part of city-wide efforts to leverage RebuildIndy dollars with other sources of public and private funding in support of the City’s long-term vision of building vibrant, livable Indianapolis neighborhoods. KERAMIDA successfully secured over $14.3 million of funding for Indianapolis.

All photos: @RebuildIndy

Related Services: