March Board Meeting Highlights

APEX investor-members in breakout groups discussing how sustainable infrastructure can apply to their respective organizations.

The APEX Board of Directors met on March 3, 2016 at the Inn on Lake Superior in Duluth. Our speaker offered APEX investor-members the opportunity to weigh in on sustainable infrastructure planning and development. Dr. Heather Wright Wendel, an Environmental Engineer and Specialist with Barr Engineering, provided investor-members an overview of sustainable infrastructure and the value it can bring to business and the environment alike.

Dr. Wright Wendel spoke about how to factor sustainable development into business development at various levels, across all industries. She cited several examples where this proactive approach not only improved the accessibility and usability of the lifecycle of a landscape, but also likely defrays long-term maintenance and operations expenses. Dr. Wright Wendel shared a few types of tools used to measure sustainability, highlighting Envision™, an engineering process that can be compared to the LEED® building process. Learn more about Envision™ through the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

At the conclusion of Dr. Wright Wendel’s presentation, APEX investor-members were placed in four breakout groups and used the stages of Envision™ to understand how sustainable infrastructure can apply to their respective organizations. Each group was facilitated by an APEX staff member or an investor-member in the engineering field. Feedback from each group was presented back to full membership. After the meeting, APEX investor-members were surveyed to receive their comments on the format used and to receive suggestions of engaging activities and topics for future Board meetings. Plan to attend the May 5, 2016 Board of Directors meeting at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Duluth to learn the results of the survey.