Watch a recording of our ISAP Quarlety Update Forum and hear from the ISC team about the latest news and updates on IS Version 2.1, the ISC Connect Conference, BAU guidelines and Verifier Principles.
Month: September 2021
Industry Briefing – Modern Slavery & Infrastructure
The construction and performance of our infrastructure shapes the world that we live in and the future that we will leave to the next generations.
As part of our commitment to delivering sustainable infrastructure, we are working with our members to tackle modern slavery risks in our sector through the Modern Slavery Coalition. This Coalition brings together some of Australia’s largest infrastructure companies to explore options to assess and address key modern slavery risks area, including through engagement with suppliers.
If you are an Infrastructure Sustainability Council member, or work in the infrastructure industry, and want to learn more about the Coalition and modern slavery risks in our sector, watch the recording of our recent Industry Briefing Webinar on Modern Slavery.
Levers for change series – Sustainable Finance and Climate-Related Disclosures
We live in a time of adaptation whether it is to the risks and opportunities resulting from climate change, changing regulatory and reporting requirements, or stakeholder and staff expectations.
In this bite sized Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) thought-leadership series we examine the levers for change, what and who is helping us get into gear and build momentum to meet the change. In this particular webinar we examine sustainable finance and the impending climate related disclosure regime in Aotearoa New Zealand
Watch the recording and hear from industry experts, Amelia Sharman of External Reporting Board, Louise Tong of Bank of New Zealand, Kaapua Smith of Contact Energy Ltd, Philip Houghton-Brown of BT Funds Management Ltd and Adrienne L. Miller of Infrastructure Sustainability Council.
Regency Road to Pym Street Project (R2P Project, Adelaide, South Australia)
The IS rating scheme (IS v 2.0 Design & As-Built) has inspired the R2P Alliance to move beyond ‘business as usual’ and include sustainability criteria in all significant decisions. The result has been new ways of working that are bringing strong economic, environmental and social outcomes.
The Project:
At-grade multi-lane motorway, motorway overpass, transition to lowered motorway, pedestrian and cycle overpass
Alliance: Department for Infrastructure and Transport, McConnell Dowell, Mott MacDonald, Arup
Alliance contract signed: July 2019 | Practical completion: August 2021
IS rating: IS v2.0 (Design and As-Built) | Design rating: Gold | As-Built rating: pending
Desired Sustainability Objectives:
- Governance
- Economic
- Environmental
- Social
Overview:
“Pursuing an IS rating puts the focus on sustainability, particularly with management teams,” says Cathy Chesson, Technical Director, Mott MacDonald. “On the R2P Project, it pushed us to examine each part of the project for sustainability outcomes we might not traditionally have thought of.”
Some outcomes were the result of smart procurement. For example, when the Alliance chose construction materials, they opted for Downer’s Reconophalt, a ‘circular economy’ asphalt product which incorporates soft plastics, printer cartridges and recycled asphalt.
Then, encouraged by the IS rating scheme, the team sought an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to better understand the greenhouse gas emissions involved in using Reconophalt. This information is now available to the wider industry through ISCA’s materials calculator.
The R2P Alliance set targets for social outcomes too – and bettered them. Women fill more than 25% of the project’s management positions across 14 professional and technical roles; workforce targets for Aboriginal people have been exceeded; the project proudly employs South Australia’s first civil construction apprentices.
“If you don’t have something to aim for, how are you going to achieve these social sustainability outcomes?” asks Anna Kordahi, McConnell Dowell’s Environment and Sustainability Manager.
Anna believes the project benefitted from IS performance standards which required the R2P Alliance to collaborate across many disciplines, and with community stakeholders too. “That drove us to make sure we included everyone who needed to be involved.”
Cathy and Anna stress that it is important to get things right ‘from the start’. Practitioners should seek early buy-in from leadership teams, involve design and construction sustainability teams, suppliers and contractors upfront, and set up sustainability systems and plans in the tender phase. They also recommend focusing on big-ticket items to make the greatest sustainability gains.
Cathy has a word for proponent clients too: “Contract requirements really do drive outcomes!”
The Infrastructure Sustainability Council congratulates the R2P Alliance on their IS v2.0 Gold IS rating and the major sustainability gains they have achieved.
More Information:
R2P Alliance • Regency Road to Pym Street Alliance
Credit: R2P Project
Caption: Installing the pedestrian and cycle overpass, near Pym Street
JOINT MEDIA RELEASE | Industry first partnership to lead the way to achieve net-zero transport in Australia
An industry-first partnership between Roads Australia (RA), the Australasian Railway Association (ARA) and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council has been announced today, with the three bodies united in their efforts to help reduce the climate change impact of new and existing transport infrastructure.
The focus of the project will be to showcase best-in-class initiatives and make policy recommendations that help Australia achieve net zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Accord.
This partnership underscores the transport infrastructure sector’s commitment to enhanced sustainability outcomes and follows the IPCC Report released last month. The IPCC Report reinforced the urgent need for decarbonisation across the economy to achieve the Paris targets and avoid some of the significant impacts of climate change on our communities and regions.
RA, ARA and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council have engaged KPMG to undertake the study, which will culminate in a report to be published later this year. The focus is on identifying ways government and industry stakeholders can accelerate decarbonisation throughout a transport asset’s lifecycle, by reducing embodied, operating and enabled emissions.
The strategic importance of this project is supported by the partnership’s collective members, including those common to all three partnership organisations. This includes Arup, engaged as the report sponsor, a firm committed to accelerating reduction in carbon emissions and creating effective sustainability outcomes for their clients.
In 2020, the Reshaping Infrastructure for net zero report estimated that transport construction contributed around half of infrastructure’s total annual construction emissions and approximately a third of infrastructure’s enabled emissions – or equivalent of around 121Mt CO2e.
“The organisations involved in this initiative clearly understand the impact transport infrastructure has on the environment and climate change,” said RA CEO Michael Kilgariff.
“No single organisation can effectively address the challenge. This partnership recognises that strong collaboration between government and industry is required to meet national and global sustainability goals and community expectations.”
“This is a great opportunity for the transport sector to come together to support the development of sustainable, resilient and connected communities as Australia moves to net zero,” said ARA CEO Caroline Wilkie.
“This collaboration reflects the shared commitment of our sector to showcase best practice and deliver real solutions to enhance the sustainable development of transport infrastructure in Australia.”
“Over the last decade consideration of the quadruple bottom line, with a particular focus on environmental sustainability and net zero, has become standard practice for many large transport projects,” said Infrastructure Sustainability Council CEO Ainsley Simpson
“This industry-first collaboration will help our shared members maximise their capability, commitment and experience to help every part of our sector accelerate toward our net-zero future,” she said.
“We are delighted to be working with RA, ARA and the Infrastructure Sustainability Council on this timely piece of work addressing environmental sustainability in transport infrastructure – and to provide support for the cause through our Corporate Citizenship program,” said Alistair Coulstock, Director KPMG Climate Change and Sustainability.
“This thought leadership piece will showcase some great transport infrastructure projects in Australia and overseas. More importantly, it is an opportunity to identify vital policy recommendations that will assist federal and state government decision-making in order to map out a practical pathway towards a low carbon future.”
”Arup is keen to support Australia’s transport sector in scaling-up current sustainability initiatives and implementing new ones. We see multiple opportunities for positive change through a combination of existing and new technology,” said Kerryn Coker, Co-Chair, Arup Australasia.
“Governments can make significant impact through policies, and as major transport infrastructure and service providers – influencing low carbon investment choices across construction, manufacturing, fuels, operations, maintenance and decommissioning. We see this report as a catalyst for more sustainable public and private transport ecosystems with enduring social benefits.”
Further Information:
Simon Morgan, Director Corporate Affairs – Roads Australia – 0403 477 131
Joeley Pettit, Director, Corporate Services and Corporate Affairs – Australasian Railway Association – 0407 061 421
Laura Harkins-Small, Head of Advocacy – Infrastructure Sustainability Council – 0423 058 183
Please Note:
The Infrastructure Sustainability Council Chief Executive Officer Ainsley Simpson will take part in two webinars hosted by RA and the ARA this week.
- The ARA will host a webinar to launch its Sustainability Strategy at 11am AEST on Tuesday 7 September.
- RA will host a Policy Webinar highlighting recycling and sustainability in the delivery of transport infrastructure at 1pm AEST on Thursday 9 September.
Infrastructure Australia Plan points to sustainability and resilience as the nation’s biggest opportunities
The Infrastructure Sustainability Council has welcomed Infrastructure Australia’s 2021 Infrastructure Plan and its emphasis on sustainability and resilience.
The 2021 Infrastructure Australia Plan is a 15-year roadmap for infrastructure reform that responds to the challenges and opportunities identified in the 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit. The Plan sets out detailed recommendations to deliver better infrastructure for all Australians.
“We are very pleased to see sustainability and resilience valued as strategic priorities and called out on page three of the Plan, rather than buried one hundred pages deep. This speaks volumes about Infrastructure Australia’s priorities and the future direction of infrastructure investment in this country,” says Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Ainsley Simpson.
“The Plan clearly articulates that sustainability and resilience are among the biggest risks to our nation and are at the core of public value. This makes sustainability and resilience our biggest opportunities and a shared responsibility.”
Ms Simpson says Infrastructure Australia’s direction aligns with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s strategic plan, released in July, which seeks to embed sustainability into infrastructure decision-making “by making it easy to compare and improve sustainability performance”.
“We must consistently measure what matters because we know measurement leads to better management – and that in turn attracts investment. Members of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council are committed to measuring what matters and more than $200 billion of investment has been registered with the IS Rating Scheme since 2012.
“Our data confirms that sustainable infrastructure delivers for communities, with projects rated under the IS Rating scheme reducing energy consumption by 68%, for example. We also know that every $1 of investment in an IS-rated project returns up to $2.40 in benefits to Australians – benefits like better health outcomes or human capital development.
“Infrastructure Australia’s Plan emphasises the importance of national harmonisation, sectoral and system-level policy and principles, as well as the importance of collaboration to achieve best practice. The IS Council is behind Infrastructure Australia’s call to collaborate to accelerate, because a problem shared, is a problem solved faster.
“We also applaud Infrastructure Australia’s collaborative spirit during the development of the plan. The result is a testament to the many hours of engagement, input and support from industry.
“We support systemic reform and are pleased to see a Plan that advances infrastructure policy, planning and procurement for a resilient, inclusive and low-emission future,” Ms Simpson concludes.
Media contact:
Karen Jamal karen@kjcommunications.com or 0412 179 135