Approved by the Infrastructure and Research Policy Committee on April 9, 2025
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on May 7, 2025
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 10, 2025

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) encourages the owners of all public and private civil infrastructure, to utilize performance-based methodology through: 

  • Use of performance-based standards, such as the ASCE/COS 73 Standard Practice for Sustainable Infrastructure, for the planning, acquisition, design, procurement, construction, operation, maintenance, reuse, and decommissioning of infrastructure. 
  • Use of infrastructure rating tools, such as the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision, that encourage sustainable engineering practices and life-cycle performance of infrastructure projects. 
  • Inclusion of a comprehensive life-cycle cost analysis in project decision-making processes.
  • Encouraging the use of innovative technologies and the consideration of infrastructure resilience. 

ASCE believes that broad adoption of the principles of performance-based methodology for infrastructure owners will lead to reductions in life-cycle cost for all infrastructure, increased public safety, and improved sustainability. 

Issue

Performance-based methodology for infrastructure is focused on achieving desired outcomes rather than the processes and other inputs. Performance emphasizes the characteristics of the desired outcome. The benefits include fostering innovation, encouraging new technology development, transparency, efficiency, and a focus on life cycle performance.

Performance-based life-cycle analysis performance is a methodology for assessing the total cost-to-benefit of ownership of an infrastructure asset. It takes into account all costs for acquiring, planning, permitting, engineering, procuring, constructing, owning, operating, maintaining, rehabilitation, and any decommissioning of the asset. This methodology highlights that capital costs are only one facet of life-cycle cost. 

Rationale 

As the profession most responsible for the built environment, civil engineers have a responsibility to make the most efficient use of public and private infrastructure investments. This is accomplished by performance-based methodology for infrastructure owners of civil infrastructure assets. 

This policy has worldwide applications
ASCE Policy Statement 543
First Approved in 2014