Month: September 2018

What to Expect at the 2018 ISCA Annual Conference

The 2018 Infrastructure Sustainability Conference is about ‘accelerating positive change for people and planet’. The three-day conference in Sydney, from 16-18^th October, will be ISCA’s largest to date.

ISCA is synonymous with driving improvement in Australasian infrastructure, and as such the conference is based around current and forward-thinking industry themes, as identified by ISCA’s community of members. In breaking down the overarching conference theme, ‘Accelerating positive change for people and planet’, themes include an outside looking in approach to change management (change), social and the supply chain (people), the road to carbon neutrality, and also climate risk and resilience (planet).

A materials, resources and the circular economy panel has been established for key Australasian material producers, contractors and policy makers to share insights and the benefits of recycling, re-use and re-purposing when implemented in modern construction.

The aforementioned ‘outside looking in approach to change management’ features best case examples from other industries; including sustainability managers from Coles, Qantas and John West. This panel will explore lessons learned and challenges faced in driving sustainable outcomes, with transferable lessons for the infrastructure industry on implementing sustainability and change management.  This is the first time an ISCA conference has engaged other industries to speak and share knowledge relatable learnings with our network.

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals have been interwoven into ISv2.0, ISCA’s latest iteration of the IS Rating Scheme, and there will be a continuation of this alignment at the conference. Michael G Smith, President of the United Nations Association of Australia will introduce and delve into the SDGs, and suggest how the Australasian infrastructure industry can contribute.

Other notable keynotes include Stephen Troughton, Deputy Secretary of Infrastructure and Services at Transport for NSW, Jim Betts, the CEO of Infrastructure NSW, and Marc Barrington, Simic ZEN’s new CEO, responsible for building Australia’s largest battery storage facility. Shelley Reys AO will also be delivering a keynote, on behalf of Arrilla Indigenous Consulting, to share her story and experience in building cultural competency within Australian organisations.

From further afield, there will be international keynote speakers from exciting projects in London and Toronto. Rob Paris, the head of sustainability at London’s ambitious Crossrail project, will be sharing wins and challenges from the £15 billion ‘Elizabeth Line’, which links Berkshire and Essex to central London, via Heathrow Airport. Sebastien Gendron is the co-founder and CEO of TransPod, which is Canada’s hyperloop start-up. Sebastien will speak about his vision for the future of affordable and sustainable ultra-high-speed transportation, TransPod’s progress in the hyperloop race, and will answer questions from the audience.

As infrastructure sustainability evolves and develops we continue to focus on innovation and impact.  The first day of the conference features an ‘innovation and impacts’ workshop, which features seven projects and products each showcasing an innovation. From biofuels to electric cars, recycled plastic to biomimicry, this is the session to learn about the coolest new technology and latest inventions in the industry. Delegates will have the opportunity to learn about these innovations in an up close and personal in small groups with the subject matter experts.

Networking is paramount to any ISCA event, and there is plenty of opportunities to catch up with old colleagues, meet new people and to talk with the event’s speakers. On Day 1 there will be networking drinks to welcome delegates, and the awards in the evening of Day 2 is the industry’s premiere black-tie celebration. Logie-award winning comedian and star of ABC’s Utopia Dilruk Jayasinha will be the host of the award evening, which sees six awards presented to the industry’s leaders.

Day 3 is the ISAP practitioner’s day to learn more about the IS rating scheme, projects and technicalities. The day starts with a Transport for NSW site tour of Sydney’s CBD. There will be an insight into under construction, completed and future projects.

The afternoon sessions will feature interactive workshops and panels on; award winning projects, IS Operations, the Materials Calculator and Program Ratings. The day will close with a Verifiers panel, which will be your opportunity to ask all the curly questions to get the most out of an IS rating.

As with all ISCA events, there in a policy to ensure that all suppliers are from either Supply Nation, certified social enterprises and are sustainable. From the lanyards made of recycled plastic bottles through to Indigenous artist created delegate bags, everything has been sourced to create a positive change for people and planet. ISCA are also incredibly proud that speakers, while selected on merit, represent an even split of genders.
To register for the IS Conference, or the Awards Gala Dinner, or to see the line-up of speakers visit the conference registration page.

IS Innovation Challenges: IC-3 Carbon Neutrality

IS Innovation Challenges are there to inspire projects, organisations, assets and individuals to pursue sustainability initiatives beyond the expectations of the ISv1.2 rating scheme.

Innovation Challenges are used to reward projects that go beyond the rating requirements and for continuous improvement of the tool.

Projects that meet the requirements outlined in Innovation Challenges will be rewarded through the Innovation category of the IS rating scheme.

A project can register interest for an Innovation Challenge through their Case Manager using the Innovation challenge registration form. For more information on submissions, visit the innovation challenges index.

The IC-3 Carbon Neutrality challenge rewards project/assets that achieve certified carbon neutrality. There are three IS innovation points available for residual carbon emission being 100% offset, and if offsets are deemed suitable under the National Carbon Offset Standard.

Evidence for achieving this challenge can be:

• Certificate of purchase/currency/purchase agreement/ carbon offset purchase agreement.
• Memo confirming cancellation of offsets and percentage of total carbon emissions offset
• Energy model

Why is this Challenge Important

Global energy use continues to rise as economies grow. Most Australian energy is derived from non-renewable fossil fuel resources (coal, natural gas and oil). The use of fossil fuels creates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which causes climate change. Climate change will adversely impact the systems that support our way of life such as ecosystems and climatic systems.

Australia is one of the highest per capita emitters of GHGs. Recognising the threat posed by climate change, the Australian and New Zealand Governments have committed to reduce GHG emissions. Australia has committed to reduce emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030 and New Zealand has committed to reducing emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. In 2015, New Zealand ratified the Paris Agreement, a global agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C. Australia ratified the agreement in 2016.

If Australia and New Zealand are to achieve their GHG emission targets, all industries and individuals will need to reduce their energy consumption and reduce their GHG emissions.

As such the goal of achieving carbon neutrality on infrastructure projects is an important milestone.

The intent of this innovation challenge is to reward projects that achieve carbon neutrality. Reductions should be prioritised over offsetting using the following hierarchy:

1. Reducing energy use and GHGs through design (i.e. designing out the need for activities that use energy or generate GHG emissions) and construction
2. Undertaking any necessary activities as efficiently as possible (e.g. maximising energy efficiency).
3. Where feasible, using renewable energy to replace non-renewable sources.
4. Offsetting (This challenge)

Guidance

Residual carbon emissions are 100% offset.

Residual emissions are made up of those demonstrated in Ene-1 including any reductions made through the use of on-site renewables. For example, if a project produces 10,000 tCO2-e over its lifecycle and 1,200 tCO2-e were reduced through energy efficiencies with an extra 2,300 tCO2-e reduced through renewables, then the residual emissions would equal 6,500 tCO2-e.

Certificates of purchase/currency/purchase agreement/carbon offset purchase agreement must be provided to demonstrate offsetting has been completed.

Total monitored carbon emissions for construction and operations and proof of purchase and cancellation of eligible offsets must be provided demonstrating a total construction and operations emissions offset. A memo complete with proof of offset cancellation may be used for evidence.

Clean Energy Opportunities Within Reach For Australia’s Infrastructure Sector

Article taken from the 2018 ISCA Impacts Report

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has identified enormous potential for improved sustainability through investment in clean energy opportunities within Australia’s infrastructure sector.

Established by the Australian Government in 2012, the CEFC works to increase investment in emissions reduction.  Australian infrastructure is a focus for the CEFC because the sector accounts for almost half the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, driven largely by fossil fuel consumption in energy generation and through transport and industrial process emissions.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said the scale of infrastructure projects, and their longevity, mean they are well placed to benefit from investment in clean energy technologies to lift energy efficiency, increase productivity and lower emissions including through fuel switching and electrification of transport.

“It is absolutely critical that the infrastructure assets of today contribute to the overall emissions reduction task that we are facing. Through our investments, the CEFC is targeting comprehensive and sustained improvements to the carbon footprint of our infrastructure assets,” Mr Learmonth said.

In the past year the CEFC has committed $300 million to two major infrastructure programs, to demonstrate the potential for emissions reduction in the sector – $150 million in equity towards the IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund and $150 million in debt finance towards the sustainable development of the nationally-significant Moorebank Logistics Park.
DELIVERING A STEP CHANGE IN INFRASTRUCTURE EMISSIONS

The $12 billion IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund, managed by IFM Investors, has Australia’s largest portfolio of high-quality infrastructure assets including, Ausgrid, Brisbane Airport, Melbourne Airport, Sydney’s Port Botany and the Port of Brisbane.

The CEFC estimates that just a five per cent improvement across the assets in the portfolio would abate almost 69,000 tonnes of CO2-e annually. This is equivalent to removing 14,775 cars from the road each year or providing electricity to 7,450 homes a year.

The CEFC’s commitment to the fund involves working with IFM Investors to enhance benchmarks and transparency around infrastructure emissions to deliver a step change in the emissions profile of Australia’s infrastructure.

While the agreement with IFM Investors is in its early stages, the kinds of initiatives likely to be implemented include

installing on-site solar PV and battery storage solutions and transitioning car fleets to electric vehicles over time. They are also likely to involve using smart management systems which monitor asset performance and assist with reducing energy consumption and optimising logistics and supply chains.

FUEL SWITCHING FOR EMISSIONS REDUCTION

The CEFC’s finance for Moorebank Logistics Park, being developed by leading freight and logistics company Qube Holdings Limited, is aimed at demonstrating the potential for emissions reduction through fuel switching.

The CEFC has committed up to $150 million through a seven-year bilateral term debt facility to assist in providing medium-term finance for the staged construction of the terminal.

The Moorebank project will switch the movement of 1.55 million freight containers at Port Botany from road to rail, with an estimated annual abatement of more than 110,000 tCO₂e in transport-related emissions.

The switch to rail transport, when operating at scale, will cut an estimated 3,000 truck journeys a day from Sydney’s road network, particularly the M5. It will also reduce the number of regular Sydney-Brisbane and Sydney-Melbourne truck freight trips.

The Moorebank Logistics Park will be developed across 243 hectares in south-western Sydney, taking advantage of its location near the Southern Sydney Freight Line, M5 and M7 motorways and in an area of rapid population and economic growth. The project will incorporate large-scale renewable energy technology expected to generate 65,000 MWh/year – enough to power over 10,000 homes.

Despite its massive scale – operating across a site the size of Sydney’s CBD – the freight and energy efficiencies delivered via the Moorebank Logistics Park are expected to result in net emission reductions totalling more than 2 million tonnes of CO₂-e over a 40-year period.

EXCELLENT STANDARDS FOR CLEAN ENERGY OUTCOMES

The CEFC finances infrastructure projects as part of its Sustainable Cities Investment Program which aims to invest $1 billion into clean energy initiatives in Australian cities over 10 years.

Its investments encourage increased transparency around emissions performance, through asset-level energy and emissions performance reporting and benchmarking against internationally-accepted science-based targets.

When the CEFC is assessing finance for infrastructure projects it typically asks that ISCA ratings of “Excellent” be sought for the relevant assets.

The CEFC is looking to finance measures that enable an increased focus on renewable energy and energy efficient technologies at the individual asset level. Its investments target best practice and market leading design, construction and operations.  Both equity investment and tailored debt finance are available and each request for finance is assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Learn more about the CEFC and its investments at cefc.com.au

Relationship Manager Job Position at ISCA

Join the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) as our Relationship Manager. Be part of a team that enjoys driving change, creating value and making a genuine impact.

You will be responsible for implementing our market engagement strategy to drive member value as well as execute annual acquisition and retention activities across the infrastructure supply chain.

About ISCA

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) is a member-based not-for-profit and the peak industry body for advancing sustainability outcomes. ISCA’s purpose is to accelerate sustainability in infrastructure. ISCA is a valued membership organisation representing all key stakeholder groups associated with the infrastructure supply chain, and actively pursues engagement through our IS rating scheme, building market capability, working with partners to innovate and actively share successes to catalyse positive outcomes for communities, the workforce, environment and economy.

Role and Responsibilities

The Relationship Manager supports the delivery of the Engagement and Innovation strategic areas to drive member value as well as annual acquisition and retention activities. Reporting to the General Manager, Infrastructure Innovation, you will work closely with the ISCA team and industry stakeholders. You will implement our market engagement strategy creating value for members and raising awareness about all to ISCA offerings (such as ratings, training and workshops, policy mapping, etc.). In addition to managing the day-today requirements of our growing member base and ISupply program you will establish new member relationships across the supply chain.

Knowledge & Experience

Essential Knowledge & Experience

• At least three years’ experience working in:
  • business development, relationship management or sales roles; and/or
  • the sustainability, infrastructure, construction, property or heavy industries sector/s
• Highly developed interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Proven ability to negotiate and manage stakeholder expectations
• A positive, proactive and energetic approach to business
• A client centric approach
• Professional and organised manner
• Ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment

Desirable Knowledge & Experience

• Suitable qualification in a relevant discipline
• Experience working for a small business, not-for-profit or industry body
• Experience working with the infrastructure supply chain
• Experience working with all levels of Government

How to apply

Send along your resume (no more than 3 pages) and a 1-page cover letter outlining how you meet the position, and why you would like to join our team to info@isca.org.au before Sunday 23rd September 2018.

ISCA is an equal opportunity employer and celebrates diversity of all kinds. We encourage all people to apply.

Applications received will be removed of any identifying information such as gender, race, age, parental status, disability or sexual orientation to limit unconscious bias before being provided to the hiring manager.

For more information please call ISCA on 02 9252 9733 or email info@isca.org.au.

How Sustainability Is Improving The Operation Of Infrastructure

Environment, Social, Economic, Governance: the 4 pillars that make up the quadruple bottom line of sustainability. This can be translated to the management of impacts on and the enhancement of:

• Environment: flora, fauna, air, water, land
• Social: community, stakeholders, heritage, workforce, supply chain
• Economic: financial sustainability, budgets, materials lifecycles, maintenance cycles
• Governance: asset maturity, risk and opportunity management, climate change adaptation, resilience

Another way of defining sustainability in asset management is “good business practice”. In many ways several of the aspects that are listed above are incorporated under different guises within a well-managed asset. The pathway from a well-managed asset to a sustainably managed asset is to take a holistic approach over the forecast useful life.

Sustainability has been viewed as an add-on or additional requirement to existing asset management systems. However, where the 4 pillars of sustainability are integrated into management systems and elevated alongside key business drivers, it is no longer an “extra”, but an essential. A sharpened focus and key sustainability commitments can generate organisational change and build a sustainability culture across complex large scale network environments. A rating system that evaluates the sustainability of infrastructure operations can provide a useful framework to achieve this.

A sustainability framework provides useful guidance to an infrastructure operator on what “good business practice” looks like, and allows for the quick identification of gaps across the 4 pillars of sustainability. This broadens the scope of opportunities and initiatives to address longer term and interrelated risks, and demonstrates how local work efforts can contribute to a company’s sustainability goals. In addition to better risk and opportunities management, a quadruple bottom line integrated system will ensure that service provision can be maintained and efficiently improved. In some cases, this can be done through improved stakeholder and community engagement.

At a practical level, understanding your steel, asphalt, concrete and other material uses for periodic renewal programs would allow planning for more robust materials to lower maintenance requirements, improve wear and tear/vehicle fleet emissions and impacts on the nearby community. Monitoring and measuring of water, energy and waste forms the foundation of resource management, and provides a platform implementing practical reduction opportunities.

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) is a member-based not-for-profit industry council. ISCA is the peak industry body for advancing sustainability outcomes in infrastructure.

ISCA advances sustainability outcomes in infrastructure is through the development and facilitation of the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating scheme. The IS rating scheme is an industry-compiled voluntary sustainability performance rating scheme evaluating planning, design, construction and operation of all infrastructure asset classes beyond regulatory standards.

The IS rating scheme for Operations is the first scheme in the world to measure the sustainability performance of infrastructure operations and maintenance. This framework facilitates the integration of sustainability into existing systems and assists in the development of a pathway to continuous development.

ISCA is currently working with a number of organisations, including Transurban, Metro Trains Melbourne and Downer to assess the sustainability performance of their assets and networks. This sustainability framework intends to assist asset and network operators to drive better outcomes across the quadruple bottom line and contribute to thriving communities.

Written by Kirsty Bauer (Technical Lead at ISCA) and Audra Liubinas (Sustainability Improvement Lead, Metro Trains Melbourne)

Sustainability Knowledge Sharing Session Kicks Off

Last Wednesday the very first rail sustainability Knowledge Sharing Session took place at Melbourne Metro’s 700 Collins Street head office. 

The meeting brought together sustainability experts from Metro, PTV, LXRA, RPV and their respective projects for a two hour discussion about sharing key learnings from across the sustainability sector.

The inaugural ISCA meeting was a vital opportunity to align on common goals and issues across all the parties involved, said Metro’s Sustainability Improvement Lead, Audra Liubinas.

“Sharing sustainability learnings between projects and the operator is important to ensure we maximise the benefits of our collective efforts to improve the sustainability of the city’s railway” she said.

The group recognised that they will need to work together to maximise the benefit to the community that can be achieved through sustainable design, construction and operation of rail assets.

Key focus areas identified during the meeting included reducing energy and water consumption of delivered assets, increasing sustainability of materials used in construction, improving project handover information and increasing the sustainability focus of Metro’s standards.

It also highlighted how the LXRA has already saved more than 84,000 tonnes of carbon across their projects, since implementing sustainability ratings.

Metro’s LXRP Environment and Sustainability Manager, Christian Beasley believes that although this session was a good start, it’s important that it happens on a regular basis. To this end the next meeting has already been scheduled and will take place in six months’ time.

“We have a government and clients pushing for a more sustainable network. Metro as the operator and project partner has a great opportunity and responsibility to assist with this” Christian said.