• Green Infrastructure
  • Learn
  • Plan
  • Act
    • Types
    • Policy Levers
      • Capacity Building
      • Financial Solutions
      • Regulatory Levers
  • Leading Actions
Policy Levers
Sustainable infrastructure can occur only if the needs of the public and stakeholders are met.
Bioswale at the John Vellum Natural Capital Centre in Portland, OR, captures stormwater runoff for natural treatment and filtration, which also reduces pressure on overburdened public infrastructure. Photo courtesy of: City of Portland.

Policy levers are the key actions that engage the public and stakeholders, including private industry. Policy levers also build capacity for local government to sponsor or oversee sustainable infrastructure projects. Government leaders and staff gain the knowledge and skills they need to plan and implement these new types of solutions.

Overview

Advancing sustainable infrastructure requires attention to three types of policy levers:

Typically, strategies that enable change to occur are used early in a long-term plan.  As financial solutions are found, and the community and stakeholder support is built, regulations can be used to cement forward progress.

Experience and documentation about on policy levers that support sustainable infrastructure changes is in a building phase. However this section will provide an overview and a few examples.

Capacity Building and Education

More is known about green building than green infrastructure. Because the field is still in its infancy, a lot of work is going into building knowledge and expertise and building the capacity to plan and implement sustainable infrastructure programs and projects.
 
Financial Solutions

Several key issues commonly need to be resolved before sustainable infrastructure systems can proceed:

  • How to maximize leverage from grants and other funding programs.
  • How to evaluate business cases for financing alternatives, compared to conventional approaches. 
  • How and when do Public Private Partnerships (P3s) make sense?
  • Which contract arrangements are most appropriate for infrastructure projects that involve utilities (e.g., design-build, design-build-operate)? 
  • And how to decide when to use creative financing mechanisms, including incentives for private-sector leadership?

Regulations and Municipal Plans or Programs

Current engineering standards, building codes, and land use regulations often require updating to reflect new technologies and processes. Sometimes, you may find that some great ideas are not legal in your municipality.  Regulations and plans or programs that should directly and indirectly support sustainable infrastructure include both statutory and non-statutory documents – and include planning and engineering documents.