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| 18 Sep 2026 | |
| Written by Gaby Vita | |
| Events News |
| Ivan Puig Damians | Dr. Ing. Daniele A. Cazzuffi | Anibal Moncada | Patricia Guerra Guerra-Escobar | R. Kerry Rowe | |||||
| Richard J. Bathurst | Chungsik Yoo | ||||||||
| IGS North America |
Sustainability took center stage at 13ICG on Wednesday, September 16, but the message of the day went far beyond simply describing geosynthetics as sustainable materials.
Across the plenaries, specialist sessions and newly published technical papers, delegates examined how sustainability can be measured, designed into projects and demonstrated through real-world performance. The discussions addressed some difficult questions: Are environmental claims being supported by credible evidence? How can successful solutions be adopted more widely? And does the industry need gradual evolution, or more fundamental change?
From geomembranes that have protected Alpine dams for more than four decades to landfill systems capable of delivering substantial environmental and financial savings, Day three provided practical evidence of what geosynthetics can achieve.
The day began with the special plenary: From Proven Solutions to Transformative Change – Evolution or Revolution?
Moderated by IGS Immediate Past President Sam Allen, the panel brought together:
The session asked the industry to consider how it moves from decades of successful individual applications toward change on a much larger scale.
Geosynthetics already have an established record of reducing the demand for natural resources, extending infrastructure service life, improving resilience and enabling construction in difficult conditions. However, achieving transformative change requires more than demonstrating that a solution works. It requires credible performance data, appropriate standards, life-cycle assessment, effective communication and greater confidence among designers, asset owners, regulators and clients.
Although the live panel discussion is not reproduced in the published proceedings, the technical work presented throughout the day illustrated both sides of its central question. Continued research, improved standards and better assessment methods represent evolution. Transforming former landfills into public spaces, redesigning transportation systems and replacing resource-intensive construction methods point toward revolution.
The emerging message was not that the industry must choose one or the other. Proven solutions must continue to evolve, but their adoption, assessment and integration into infrastructure decision-making may require a much more ambitious transformation.
Following the plenary, IGS President Daniele Cazzuffi chaired the special session on geosynthetics in dams.
The published research from this session provided compelling evidence of long-term performance, while also examining how geosynthetics can help engineers manage seepage and seismic risk.
Research presented by Daniele Cazzuffi and Domenico Gioffrè examined plasticized PVC geomembranes used to rehabilitate the upstream faces of approximately ten concrete and masonry dams in the Alps.
Some of these geomembranes have now been in service for as long as 45 years while remaining fully exposed to demanding high-altitude conditions.
Laboratory testing and site inspections showed that plasticizer migration was the principal degradation mechanism. Although this caused some variation in mechanical properties, the aged geomembranes retained sufficient integrity to continue providing hydraulic safety.
Importantly, the researchers also proposed a predictive model for estimating the remaining service life of exposed PVC-P geomembranes at different sites. This gives asset owners a more informed basis for inspection, maintenance and replacement planning rather than relying on age alone.
The findings provide valuable evidence that properly selected and monitored geomembranes can remain effective for decades, even in exceptionally demanding environments. Read the published paper.
Another study considered remediation options for an older earth dam experiencing excessive and uneven seepage, including seepage through its downstream face.
Researchers used finite element analysis to compare a slurry cutoff wall with a geosynthetic liner blanket. The analysis found that geosynthetic liners could be highly effective in reducing and controlling seepage, contributing to a safer and more sustainable structure.
This is particularly relevant for aging dam infrastructure, where complete replacement may be impractical or prohibitively expensive. Geosynthetic remediation can provide a less resource-intensive way to extend an asset’s safe service life. Read the published paper.
A study of the Lianghekou high central-core rockfill dam examined the behavior of the structure under strong earthquake loading.
The numerical analysis identified a height-dependent amplification of acceleration, with a two to three times “whip effect” at the dam crest. However, the geogrid and frame-beam reinforcement system demonstrated significant seismic resistance, with maximum tensile forces remaining well below the reinforcement’s ultimate tensile strength.
The study also found that reinforcement forces gradually reduced during long-term service while dam deformation remained essentially stable.
These findings help engineers better understand where seismic demand is concentrated and how reinforced systems can contribute to the long-term performance of major hydraulic infrastructure. Read the published paper.
Together, the presentations demonstrated that the contribution of geosynthetics to dams extends from waterproofing and seepage control to reinforcement, rehabilitation and seismic resilience.
Chair of the IGS Technical Committee on Soil Reinforecement, Ivan Puig Damians, participated in the morning’s Sustainability Assessment Special Session, which examined how sustainability can be incorporated into engineering standards, infrastructure planning and project evaluation.
A recurring issue was the need to move beyond assessing solutions solely through their initial carbon footprint.
Aníbal Moncada, Ivan P. Damians, Sebastià Olivella and Richard Bathurst presented the MIVES multicriteria sustainability evaluation methodology.
The research emphasized that a complete sustainability assessment must consider three connected dimensions:
MIVES allows indicators from these different categories to be weighted and combined into a single sustainability index. This can help decision-makers compare alternative engineering solutions without reducing sustainability to carbon emissions alone.
Two geosynthetic reinforcement scenarios were used to illustrate how the methodology can support a more transparent and balanced selection process. Read the published paper.
The practical outcome is important: a technically effective solution is not automatically the most sustainable in every situation. Performance must be evaluated within the specific environmental, economic and social context of the project.
This need for project-specific assessment was reinforced by a life-cycle study of geogrid use in unpaved roads.
Researchers compared reinforced and unreinforced designs for a one-kilometer road section across ten scenarios, with subgrade California Bearing Ratio values ranging from 1% to 4.99%.
The study found that geogrid reinforcement reduced impacts across almost every environmental category when used over very weak subgrades. The greatest benefit occurred at a CBR of 2%, where reductions ranged from 54% to 68%.
However, at a CBR of 4.99%, reinforcement provided no overall environmental advantage and instead increased impacts.
The finding offers a valuable reminder for the industry: geosynthetics can generate substantial environmental savings, but they must be applied where they provide a genuine engineering benefit. Sustainability assessment should therefore inform product selection and design rather than being used only to validate a decision that has already been made. Read the published paper.
Isabel Perez’s presentation considered how construction practices can be adapted and re-engineered to improve the sustainability and resilience of transportation infrastructure.
The paper highlighted how geosynthetics can reduce dependence on concrete, steel and thick aggregate layers while minimizing waste, lowering emissions and extending service life.
The wider outcome is a shift in thinking. Instead of adding geosynthetics to an otherwise unchanged conventional design, engineers can reconsider the complete construction system, using geosynthetics to reduce material volumes, improve water management, address weak ground and make infrastructure more adaptable to environmental change. Read the published paper.
Another presentation examined an innovative system for increasing the confinement of railway ballast.
Insufficient lateral confinement can allow ballast particles to rotate and degrade, contributing to settlement and track deformation. The proposed system combined prefabricated shoulder elements with a horizontal geosynthetic layer placed beneath the ballast, mechanically connecting the two sides of the track.
Model testing, numerical analysis and full-scale testing showed reduced lateral deformation, improved load distribution and a stabilized settlement response under repeated loading.
The system could also support near-track noise barriers and reduce the required volume of ballast. Significantly, improved confinement may make it more practical to use alternative or recycled ballast materials that have lower shear strength than conventional aggregates. Read the published paper.
IGS Council Member Jabulile Msiza and IGS South Africa Chapter President Johnny Oriokot were featured in the morning’s international case studies session.
Jabulile presented the Shongweni Valley 3 project in South Africa, which involved the investigation, design and construction of geosynthetic containment for a landfill in a steep valley.
The case highlighted the realities of moving from design intent to construction on a difficult site. Successful containment depends not only on specifying appropriate materials, but also on understanding the terrain, planning the installation sequence, coordinating different elements of the barrier system and maintaining construction quality under demanding conditions.
The session also examined projects involving landfill expansion, contaminated industrial sites, capping systems and the redevelopment of former waste facilities.
One published case study examined two tar pits in the United Kingdom stabilized using high-stiffness geotextile reinforcement and intermediate berms.
Tar behaves as a non-Newtonian fluid, meaning that conventional fill placed over it can gradually sink. The design therefore relied on the membrane effect of the geotextile and a carefully controlled construction sequence.
Analytical calculations and finite element modeling were completed for short- and long-term conditions, while vertical movements were monitored during construction. Comparing predicted and observed displacement helped the researchers evaluate how accurately the design methods captured actual behavior.
There is currently no fully codified design method for geotextile-stabilized tar pits. The findings could therefore contribute to the development of more standardized guidance for similar contaminated sites. Read the published paper.
Another study quantified the environmental and financial benefits of replacing conventional soil intermediate covers with geomembrane-based systems at a representative 4.05-hectare—or ten-acre—municipal solid waste landfill.
By reducing rainfall infiltration, the geomembrane system significantly reduced leachate generation. It also improved landfill gas collection and reduced fugitive emissions.
For the representative site, the combined annual value of lower leachate treatment costs and avoided greenhouse gas emissions was estimated to exceed $275,000.
Additional benefits included improved runoff quality, reduced construction-related emissions and less demand for natural soil resources.
This paper provided exactly the kind of evidence the sustainability discussions called for: measurable environmental performance accompanied by a clear financial case. Read the published paper.
The session also considered the vertical expansion of landfills using reinforced soil embankments.
Where surrounding development or environmental constraints prevent lateral expansion, mechanically stabilized earth walls and reinforced soil slopes can create additional disposal capacity within the existing site boundary.
However, the research stressed that this cannot be treated as an isolated retaining structure. Designers must consider overall embankment stability, settlement, bottom liner integrity, leachate pipes, final cover stability, gas collection, erosion control and stormwater management as an integrated system.
The principal lesson was that successful vertical expansion requires coordination between the reinforced structure and every component of the landfill’s environmental protection systems. Read the published paper.
One of the day’s most striking examples of transformative change came from Durrës, Albania.
The Durrës Eco Park was created on an open-air landfill where waste had accumulated without adequate protection for more than 50 years. Rather than transporting all of the material elsewhere, the project treated, confined, reshaped and compacted the existing waste to create an artificial landscape of hills and walking paths.
The park now contains recreational and sporting facilities, including a climbing wall reaching approximately 30 meters in height.
A geogrid-reinforced soil embankment was designed to resist the pressure of the waste behind the climbing structure. Because the site is in a highly seismic area, the system also had to provide stability without damaging or interfering with the landfill capping and waterproofing systems.
The project demonstrates how geosynthetic engineering can contribute not only to containment, but also to environmental regeneration—turning a source of pollution and public-health risk into a usable community space. Read the published paper.
The case studies also returned repeatedly to the importance of Construction Quality Assurance.
A paper based on two projects, an underground water reservoir and the reconstruction of a sedimentation basin, distinguished independent CQA from routine contractor Quality Control.
The authors grouped the benefits of CQA into four areas: technical performance, environmental protection, financial value and social acceptance.
The underlying point was clear. Even the most advanced design cannot provide its intended environmental benefits if materials are damaged, seams are poorly installed or construction does not follow the specification.
Quality assurance is therefore not an administrative addition to a sustainable project. It is one of the mechanisms that ensures the expected performance and service life are actually achieved. Read the published paper.
Knowledge-sharing continued over lunch as Professor Chungsik Yoo, Editor-in-Chief of Geotextiles & Geomembranes, led a meeting to discuss the journal’s progress and its continuing development.
The meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on the journal’s role in sharing high-quality research and practical knowledge with the international geosynthetics community, as well as the importance of authors, reviewers and editorial board members in maintaining its technical quality.
Geotextiles & Geomembranes publishes technical papers, technical notes, discussions and book reviews covering geosynthetic research, behavior, performance analysis, testing, design, construction methods, case histories and field experience. Its archive extends back to 1984, documenting more than four decades of developments within the discipline.
The lunchtime meeting also complemented the previous day’s session on Geosynthetics International, highlighting the important contribution made by both journals to the advancement and international exchange of geosynthetics knowledge.
IGS members can access Geotextiles & Geomembranes through the publisher’s website, although an additional publisher login is required. Members can find access and registration instructions through the IGS Digital Library Journals page.
The meeting was a timely reminder that the research presented at conferences such as 13ICG forms part of a much longer process. Through peer review and publication, new findings can be examined, refined and made available to engineers, researchers and practitioners around the world long after the conference has concluded.
The afternoon brought the whole conference together for a special plenary featuring Elizabeth Dove, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Network Canada, and Alex Eaton, CEO and co-founder of Sistema.bio. The session was chaired by Eric Blond and Jacques Côté.
Elizabeth brought experience in connecting business, government and civil society around social impact and sustainability. Alex offered the perspective of a social entrepreneur whose organization works with smallholder farmers to convert agricultural waste into renewable biogas and organic fertilizer.
Their presence expanded the conversation beyond products and individual construction projects. It invited delegates to think about how engineering decisions affect communities, businesses, resource use, climate resilience and broader development priorities.
For geosynthetics, the connection to the Sustainable Development Goals can be seen across multiple applications: protecting clean water, improving resilient infrastructure, reducing demand for natural resources, supporting responsible waste management and helping communities adapt to environmental change.
The important outcome is that technical benefits must be connected to outcomes that clients, policymakers and communities understand. Reduced aggregate use matters not simply as a design optimization, but because it means less quarrying and transportation. Improved durability matters because it reduces maintenance, disruption and future resource consumption. Effective containment matters because it protects ecosystems, water resources and public health.
The final technical block included six concurrent sessions covering roads and railroads, seismic walls and slopes, embankments and foundations, landfills and contaminated sites, recycling and circular construction, and the work of the IGS Sustainability Committee.
The Sustainability Committee session asked a deliberately challenging question: How Environmentally Sustainable Are Geosynthetics, Really?
Led by Yuse Lajiminmuhip and Preston Kendall, the interactive session focused on Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessments as tools for supporting sustainability claims with credible data.
The session compared different routes available to organizations, including developing assessments using IGS tools or working with a specialist consultant. Audience polling was used to understand existing knowledge, establish baseline views and explore questions from IGS Premium Corporate Members.
The discussions reinforced several practical priorities for the industry:
This was an important exercise in self-examination. If geosynthetics are to play a larger role in sustainable infrastructure, the industry must be willing to test its own claims and provide evidence that decision-makers can trust.
The breadth of Wednesday’s technical program demonstrated that sustainability is not a separate specialty within geosynthetics.
It is present in the durability of a geomembrane after 45 years of exposure, the amount of aggregate removed from a road design, the control of leakage and gas emissions at a landfill, the safe redevelopment of contaminated land and the ability of infrastructure to withstand earthquakes and changing environmental conditions.
Several conclusions emerged across the published work:
These are valuable lessons for everyone who could not attend the sessions in Montréal. The conference may provide the opportunity for discussion, but the open-access proceedings ensure that the knowledge shared here can continue to inform research, specifications and projects around the world.
The published 13ICG papers can be explored through the open-access conference proceedings.
After a day of technical discussion, delegates came together at Montréal’s Cirque Éloize for the 13ICG Gala.
Held under the theme Legacy, Evolution and Revolution, the evening honored more than 50 years of geosynthetic achievements and the people who have helped build the international community behind them.
Following the cocktail reception, guests enjoyed dinner alongside performances by Cirque Éloize. The evening also included the IGS Foundation Silent Auction, supporting future education, participation and knowledge-sharing activities.
At 9:00 p.m., members of the geosynthetics community revealed another side of their talents when the 13ICG GeoBand took to the stage.
It was a fitting end to a day that connected the industry’s legacy with its future: celebrating the relationships built over decades while challenging everyone in the room to consider what the next era of geosynthetics can achieve.
Day three began by asking whether the future requires evolution or revolution. By the end of the day, the answer appeared to be a combination of both: continuously improving the evidence, standards and tools that underpin established solutions, while thinking much more boldly about where and how those solutions can create change.
