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Month: September 2025

The 2025 ISC Survey Outcomes

Posted on by Sarina Aguinaldo

Thank you for your feedback! 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our recent stakeholder survey. Your input is invaluable and will help shape what we do next. We wanted to share some of the key things we heard from you and how we are responding. 

Ratings tool
You told us that Version 2.1 of the Ratings tool felt burdensome and too process-oriented. We are excited about the changes in Version 2.2, which has now been rolled out, and we hope these address many of your concerns by placing greater emphasis on outcomes. We will continue to monitor feedback and work closely with you to ensure the tool delivers on its purpose. 

Topics that matter
You highlighted the issues that are most important to you – including Nature and Finance, Carbon and Infrastructure, Sustainable Procurement, Return on Investment in Sustainability and Circularity. These areas will be the focus of our key Impact Themes, with new materials and activities that move from theory to practice. We will develop this work in partnership with you as the experts in our sector. If you are interested in building capacity or contributing to these conversations, please contact Monique.isenheim@iscouncil.org. 

Knowledge sharing and collaboration
You told us you want more opportunities for knowledge sharing, best practice, case studies and practical solutions. In response, we are establishing new member committees that will cover both technical topics (Planning, Design and As-Built, Operations) and broader themes (Policy and Advocacy, Capability, Contractors, Sustainable Procurement, Modern Slavery, AI and Digital, Sustainable Finance). If you are interested in being part of a committee, please submit your EOI here or contact: elise.hay@iscouncil.org.  

Thank you again – we are looking forward to on working on those changes with you! 

IS Energy Advisory Group completes its work: Recommendations and Reflections

Posted on by Sarina Aguinaldo

As the energy transition accelerates across Australia and New Zealand, the imperative is clear: A sustainable transition must deliver positive outcomes across the entire lifecycle of renewable energy infrastructure. 

To ensure this, renewable energy assets — from generation to transmission and distribution — must be planned, designed, and built in ways that not only minimise environmental harm but also generate lasting value for the communities they serve. 

This has been the driving purpose of the IS Energy Advisory Group (ISEAG), convened by ISC to explore how the ISC and IS Ratings can support and guide the sustainability performance of renewable energy infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand. 

Three dedicated subgroups have tackled critical aspects of the transition: 

🔹 Group 1 confirmed that IS v2.1 Design & As Built Ratings provide real value in securing social licence and managing carbon impact — and delivered practical recommendations to improve implementation across energy projects. 

🔹 Group 2 explored supply chain opportunities and barriers — and advocated for alignment with other industry bodies and greater innovation through ISC’s tools. 

🔹 Group 3 focused on the vital role of communities — recommending better support for engagement around the value and impact of IS Ratings. 

 

Co-Chair Simon Hooper (Perspektiv): “The participation of representatives from a broad cross-section of the energy infrastructure development industry was a clear strength of the IS EAG – the input from the cross-section of industry professionals definitely contributed to collation of relevant and useful recommendations. “ 

 

What’s Next? 

The ISC has now reviewed and integrated the ISEAG’s recommendations into its ongoing workplan. A targeted communications plan is also being rolled out — including case studies and tailored guidance for energy stakeholders. 

Thank you to all contributors who helped shape this important body of work. Your insights are already making an impact — and will continue to guide the sustainable delivery of energy transition infrastructure for years to come. 

Organisations involved with the Energy Advisory Group included: Perspektiv, Transgrid, TasNetworks, CleanCo, Aurecon, Smec, Infrabuild, Endeavour Energy, The Energy Charter, Jacobs, ACEN, Genus Group, Meridian Energy. 

Suppliers in the Spotlight Webinar – 9

Posted on by Reshma vallabhaneni

A bi-monthly supplier showcase hosted by the IS Council, with each edition featuring a range of suppliers. In this series, you will hear from: Jun Rong Oh of Infinity Cube Pte Ltd, Joshua Begbie of GECA, Mark Shepherd-Smith of Docketbook, David Flintoff of SLURRYTUB and Zoe Schmidt of Adbri.

Access the presentation file here

Access the webinar recording here

Please note that the Docketbook presentation is re-recorded from 14:22 to 10:25 due to technical difficulties

S2E7 – Beca’s Circular Design Framework w/ Tania Hyde

Posted on by Sarina Aguinaldo

Description:

Host Seth Scott interviews Tania Hyde, Technical Director & Circular Design Lead (Transport & Infrastructure) at Beca. One of our most detailed episodes yet, Tania talks about Beca’s Circular Design Framework, how infrastructure projects can achieve circular principles by asking tough questions, accounting for the Planet Price in purchasing, and free Circular Spatial Planning from TU Delft.

Here are the links to some of the resources mentioned in the podcast:

Beca’s Circular Design Framework: https://www.beca.com/ignite-your-thinking/ignite-your-thinking/year-2022/circular-by-design-framing-it-up
Free Circular Spatial Planning from TU Delft: https://online-learning.tudelft.nl/courses/spatial-circularity-strategies-for-sustainable-regional-development/
Planetary accounting from Planet Price: https://planetprice.io/

S2E6 – Australia’s Circular Economy w/ Lisa McLean

Posted on by Sarina Aguinaldo

Description:

During our interview with Lisa McLean, Managing Director and CEO of Circular Australia, we learned of some of the impressive circular initiatives happening in Australia, such as:

  • The importance of building circular “precincts”, a place to keep resources in circulation locally.
  • The new ISO 59000 Global Framework for implementing circular economy principles
  • Several of Circular Australia’s members doing amazing things, such as Allmould’s collection of St. Vincent’s Hospital’s plastics waste to form new plastic blocks for use in the wind industry.

Lisa is the Managing Director and CEO of Circular Australia, an independent peak body for circular economy innovation. She has successfully advised industry and governments to bring market change with new policy frameworks and regulations enabling the circular zero-carbon economy over the next 20 years. Formerly a political journalist, Lisa was also founder of the carbon accounting service Carbonwise and helped establish the Clinton Climate Initiative. Lisa is leading the transition to a zero-carbon circular economy in Australia.

Toward a Nature Positive Future for the Water Sector

Posted on by Reshma vallabhaneni

Integrating natural capital into strategy, design and decision-making

In today’s world, embracing nature isn’t just a choice — it’s a necessity.

As biodiversity loss from climate change and human activities accelerates, we must weave nature into every decision we make. Around 50% of Australia and New Zealand’s (ANZ) national gross domestic product depends on it.

In the water sector, treating natural capital as a valuable asset is both a business imperative and a vital step toward more resilient, adaptive and responsible operations.

Developed in partnership with Jacobs, this paper explores how a natural capital approach – framing nature as a core business asset – helps water utilities make informed decisions, manage environmental risks and enhance sustainability. It shares lessons from the U.K.’s policy and practice landscape and offers specific recommendations for water utilities in ANZ.

Lessons from the U.K.

As water utilities adopt a natural capital approach, they can learn from the U.K.’s challenges and successes. The U.K. has led efforts since 2012 to use natural capital as a tool for biodiversity and environmental outcomes, supported by comprehensive policy and legislation.

Drawing on this experience, the paper highlights key insights for ANZ water utilities. These include:

  • Incorporating ecosystem services into water resources planning and development decisions leads to positive outcomes for water management.
  • Understanding the baseline of impact and dependency on nature is the first step for transitioning to nature positive future.
  • Local context, including legislative frameworks, ecological characteristics, community dynamics and cultural values, influences how projects and initiatives are planned, managed and executed.
  • By adopting a natural capital approach, public bodies and businesses can better identify, appraise, design and deliver projects and programs that serve their primary functions while also generating nature focused outcomes and co-benefits.
  • Valuing natural capital can unlock new funding and partnership opportunities, particularly within the water sector.

Key recommendations

As climate change and biodiversity loss intensify, integrating nature into decision-making becomes essential. The paper recommends that utilities:

  • Conduct comprehensive assessments of natural capital dependencies and impacts
  • Foster cross-sector collaboration and partnerships
  • Integrate indigenous knowledge
  • Develop robust nature-positive strategies aligned with financial disclosures

By implementing these measures, water utilities in Australia and New Zealand can become champions of nature-positive development, supporting resilient water systems, healthier ecosystems and thriving communities for future generations

Download the paper here

This paper was developed in collaboration with Jacobs as part of our shared commitment to advancing nature-positive solutions in the water sector.