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Benefits of INVEST

Why Should Agencies Use INVEST on their Projects and Programs?

Why Use INVEST?

Assess the Sustainability of Your Transportation Plans, Projects or Programs. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) developed INVEST to help make the nation’s transportation systems more sustainable – economically, socially and environmentally. INVEST was created specifically for transportation agencies to evaluate the sustainability of the full lifecycle of their highway and transportation projects and programs.

It's a Free, Web-based Self-Evaluation Tool. INVEST provides a collection of criteria and practices that allow transportation agencies to gauge their level of sustainability and systematically integrate sustainable practices into their actions. Using the INVEST tool is completely voluntary and free. The name INVEST came from Infrastructure Voluntary Evaluation Sustainability Tool.

Quantify, Balance, and Communicate Sustainability Benefits and Trade-offs. INVEST helps State Departments of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), local transportation agencies and others to identify, prioritize and communicate balanced choices between the different and sometimes competing goals of highway infrastructure programs. With INVEST, users can balance the economic, social and environmental factors that define sustainability; identify and share sustainability best practices; and provide decision-makers with the information they need by systematically monitoring criteria that affect a project’s sustainability performance over time. INVEST provides a numeric means for measuring sustainability, assessing improvement options, and tracking continuous progress. INVEST’s approach unites internal groups and stakeholders around shared goals and needs and provides a collaborative platform to communicate performance.

Sustainability in Transportation: Evaluate – Score – Improve.

  • Evaluate – The collaborative process of evaluation is typically one of the most important outcomes (many claim even more than the score).
  • Score – The score provides recognition for implementing sustainability best practices and helps identify gaps and opportunities.
  • Improve – The process can lead to improvements in practice and identification of cost effective measures.