Author: isca@admin

Last week at their annual awards ceremony, Holcim Australia and New Zealand awarded the Sustainable Development Excellence Award to ViroDecs, Holcim’s range of readymix concrete to be represented by an Environmental Product Declaration.

ViroDecs came about as a direct result of listening to customers and understanding their needs, as well as the growing expectation for transparency and low carbon products in Australia and throughout the world.

“ViroDecs will assist our business to better understand the environmental impacts of our readymix concrete mixes and provide our concrete customers exclusive access to independent third-party verified life cycle data for CO2e emissions in our readymix concrete for the first time in Australia,” says Cyril Giraud, national development and sustainability manager for Holcim Australia.

The project kicked off in 2018 with a multidisciplinary team including specialists in environment, sustainability, technical, logistics, operations and marketing. Together, the team developed the brand ViroDecs and collected data from more than 190 concrete batching plants and 65 quarries across Australia to meet the rigorous data quality requirements for Environmental Product Declarations.

ViroDecs was launched at the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s annual conference in September last year and quickly gained interest from attendees including contractors, government departments and sustainability practitioners. The team have since followed this up with pit-to-pour tours and presentations at the request of a number of the interested parties.

Earlier this year, ViroDecs has been showcased at the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society and Green Building Council of Australia’s annual conferences.

Next month, in an Australian first, ViroDecs will be registered with the Australasian EPD scheme and will help shape the way the construction industry analyses the environmental impact of buildings and infrastructure.

For more information about ViroDecs, check out their website.

Left to right: Duncan Harris – Executive General Manager Aggregates, Glenn Simpkin – National Sales and Marketing Manager Concrete, Cyril Giraud – National Development and Sustainability Manager, Evan Smith – Environment Manager QLD, George Agriogiannis – CEO Holcim Australia and New Zealand.

 

The IS High Flyers video series identifies and showcases projects which have achieved Level 3 scores across a variety of ISv1.2 credits.

The purpose of these videos is to share successes and knowledge, and to gain insight into the best implementation of sustainability.

The third video of this series explains how the team on the Metro Tunnel Early Works project achieved a Level 3 score on the Mat-1 Credit.

Here’s how they did it:

ISupply Launches In Brisbane

The Queensland IS Community gathered last week at Arup’s beautiful offices to celebrate the launch of the ISupply Directory.

The ISupply Directory connects sustainable suppliers with projects and assets undertaking the Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating scheme. Since 2012, over $120bn worth of infrastructure projects and assets are in engaged in the IS rating scheme. The ISupply Directory provides a unique opportunity for suppliers to market their products and services to projects that have requirements through the IS rating, and for IS rating partners to identify suppliers that will help them achieve sustainability outcomes rewarded under the scheme.

Attendees heard presentations from sponsors Arup and Liberty, as well as Transurban, Holcim, Vital and Emesh.

ISupply will be launching in Sydney on 11th April, as well as in Auckland at #ConnectNZ, and Perth at the WA Conference.

Brisbane ISupply Launch in partnership with:

OzHarvest Team Day

At ISCA we believe that strong teamwork leads to improved collaboration, productivity and creativity.

Last Friday the ISCA team joined the OzHarvest Organisation, Cooking for a Cause. As a team we cooked 280 meals that were gratefully received by The Caretakers Cottage and Rough Edges.

OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation which provides excess food to charities and people nationwide. All of the food was ‘rescued’ – due to be thrown away after being deemed waste from supermarkets, events or photoshoots.  Helping OzHarvest was the perfect team building exercise, as the team learned culinary skills from professional chefs, the importance of making use of every last piece of food, and had a great time doing in doing so.

ISCA have identified SDGs 1 (No Poverty) & 2 (Zero Hunger) as the ones in which we have the least impact, so in supporting OzHarvest we are able to make a small contribution towards those goals.

Assessing responsible procurement in construction – your help needed to complete a quick survey

ISCA is working with the UTS Business School to assess purchasing practices in the infrastructure and construction sector in relation to social and environmental issues. 

ISCA plans to publish and share the results with the industry, so as to enhance sustainability awareness and practice amongst procurement professionals.

The survey will take about 10 minutess to complete and your response is strictly anonymous and confidential.

Your participation is extremely important to the success of this project.  We encourage you to participate by clicking the link below.

ISCA Sustainable Procurement Survey.

buildingSMART Australasia and GS1 Australia sign Memorandum of Understanding to advance global standards in the construction industry

buildingSMART Australasia, the vendor-neutral and not-for-profit body that leads the development of open digital information flows across the built asset economy, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GS1 Australia to enable the construction industry to benefit from their combined expertise using the standards and services they deliver.

The use of global buildingSMART and GS1 standards, for product identification and exchange of product data, is critical in addressing today’s challenges of digitalisation in the construction sector.

“This MOU presents an exciting opportunity to build the foundation for greater efficiencies in Australia’s building industry using open Building Information Modelling (BIM) standards for design and construction, and GS1 global standards for product identification and verification,” said Maria Palazzolo, CEO and Executive Director, GS1 Australia.

David Mitchell, buildingSMART Australasia’s Chairperson said, “Enhanced traceability applications to improve product authentication across the construction and asset management sector will help build compliance and minimise the effects of structural building failures and cladding fires like those we’ve seen recently.

“Having a better understanding of building projects with the adoption of a digital system that checks products against specifications and can identify products that have been recalled will bring positive and much needed change for the industry.”

Currently, there is no comprehensive digital framework in the construction industry to track and capture data about the products and materials used throughout the construction project lifecycle.

Liberty Steel’s Customer Experience Manager David McNeil said, “For over 15 years, GS1 standards have been critical in Liberty Steel Australia’s efforts to facilitate electronic trading and product traceability. Now, as the construction market increasingly demands full traceability of products throughout the supply chain, for both compliance and sustainability, integrating GS1 standards into BIM is a logical and essential part of that journey.”

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About GS1 Australia

GS1 Australia is the Australian member of GS1, a not-for-profit global organisation that develops and maintains the most widely-used supply chain standards in the world and a leader in facilitating efficient international business.  GS1 Australia currently serves 22 industry sectors and supports more than 19,000 members nationally to improve supply chain efficiency and cost effectiveness by adopting best practice GS1 global standards. For more information visit www.gs1au.org

About buildingSMART Australasia

buildingSMART Australasia is a not-for-profit industry-led volunteer organisation operating in Australia and New Zealand that develops data sharing standards, provides tools and training, and drives the adoption of openBIM for use in the construction industry. For more information visit www.buildingsmart.org.au

Join Our Team – Membership Manager

Join the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) as our Membership 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 through collaboration. 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 Membership Manager supports the delivery of the Engagement strategic area to drive member value as well as annual acquisition and retention activities. Reporting to the General Manager, Industry Engagement, 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

• Experience working for a member-based association, not-for-profit or social enterprise
• 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 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 description, and why you would like to join our team to info@isca.org.au before Tuesday 9 April 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.

2018 Emerging Young Individual Leadership Award Profile: Laura Pritchard

The IS Emerging Young Individual Leadership Award acknowledges our future leaders for their outstanding leadership and greatest contribution to advancing infrastructure sustainability in Australasia. This award was introduced for the first time in 2018.

Congratulations to Laura Pritchard, who was awarded the IS Emerging Young Individual Leadership Award for 2018.

Winner Profile: Laura Pritchard

Laura Pritchard is the Sydney Metro City & Southwest Sustainability Officer, responsible for ensuring sustainability practices are integrated in all areas of the project design and construction.

Laura has been an IS Accredited Professional for more than a year and is heavily involved in streamlining how the rating will be applied across the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project packages. This includes developing a set of base case assumptions, conducting a verifier briefing to explain how the rating will be applied across the packages of work and developing the ISCA implementation plan. In compiling these, Laura has collaborated with the Sydney Metro Northwest team and ISCA case managers to understand lessons learnt and best practice approach; fine-tuning these for Sydney Metro City & Southwest.

Sydney Metro City & Southwest is being delivered via 15 packages of works, which are undertaken by separate delivery partners. The six major infrastructure packages are seeking an ISCA rating, with some packages being rated under Green Star and smaller contracts to achieve NSW Sustainable Design Guidelines. This increases the difficulty of applying the rating due to the complexities of understanding what elements fit in each scope and in some cases overlap.

Leadership in infrastructure sustainability

Laura has provided outstanding support to the Sydney Metro City & Southwest team, including Senior Manager, broadening her leadership responsibilities significantly.

Laura concurrently manages the sustainability for the Sydenham metro upgrade and Barangaroo Station contracts as an embedded resource in the contract implementation group, with a high degree of autonomy to promote best practice sustainability. Additionally, she was the lead project support for enabling contracts for the Sydney Yard Access Bridge and Northern Corridor Work seeking high Sustainable Design Guideline Rating.

This has allowed Laura to develop her leadership skills in order to influence better infrastructure sustainability outcomes for Sydney Metro. From delivering general sustainability overview presentations to in depth presentations about key topics such as modern slavery and sustainability innovations, Laura is confident in speaking to different audiences and communicating the relevant outcomes.

Laura is part of the monthly Sydenham metro upgrade sustainability leadership committee. It is a contractor led forum, which consists of discipline and project leaders from both the contractor (John Holland Pty Ltd and Laing O’Rourke Australia Construction Pty Ltd) and client side and is focused on delivering ISCA outcomes. This collaboration has seen Laura drive vast improvements in the infrastructure sustainability space for Sydney Metro projects with the contractors.

In  addition  to  promoting  infrastructure  sustainability  outcomes  with contractors,  Laura  has  been  involved  in  encouraging  other  professionals  within  the  Transport  for  NSW  cluster  to register for ISAP training.

Laura has also driven initiatives such as:

• Partnerships with social enterprises
• Community benefit fund
• Sydney Metro response to Modern Slavery Act
• Low carbon concreteFine-tuning the strategic partnerships with Green Building Council of Australia and ISCA.

As part of implementing a partnership with Social Traders, an organisation that seeks to improve opportunities for social enterprises  within  large  supply  chains,  Laura  has  presented  to  various  internal  stakeholder  groups  across  the organisation.. Laura’s contribution to sustainability at Sydney  Metro  has  helped  the project evolve  as a  sustainability  leader  in  the infrastructure industry.

Her contribution is valuable for influencing innovation and dynamic change in the organisation’s approach to infrastructure sustainability solutions.

Achievements and Outcomes

Through Laura’s insight and thoughtful long-term approach to infrastructure sustainability, she has  helped  Sydney Metro set new benchmarks and milestones. These achievements have resulted in positive sustainability outcomes for not only Sydney Metro but also wider government, industry and the wider community.

Laura has been the backbone in ensuring that all the contractors working on the Sydney Metro City & Southwest achieve the minimum IS rating standard for both As Built and Design categories. This has been achieved through Laura’s composition of an ISCA implementation plan which outlines the requirements associated with achieving an IS Rating across the City & Southwest project. In addition to this, Laura held a verifier briefing for ISCA to develop the initial ISCA weighting assessments and how the ratings would be applied across the packages of work within the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project.

Through Laura’s transparency and open communication with both ISCA and the contractors involved, she has achieved strong relationships and excellent sustainability outcomes for Sydney Metro.

Her  dedication  towards  infrastructure  sustainability  has  been  recognised by  stakeholders  and  colleagues. Her knowledge  and  commitment  to  sustainability  has  also  been  recognised  through her  invitation  and  subsequent participation as a presenter in widespread workshops and forums including the Sydney Metro environment, planning, workforce & sustainability forums and the Sydney Metro contractor sustainability forum.

Congratulations once again to Laura. Submissions for the 2019 IS Awards open in June.

Webinar: Putting transparency in motion: EPDs for infrastructure assets

How do you assess the environmental impacts of a train made up of over 150,000 parts over its full life cycle?  Downer and thinkstep partnered to publish the first Environmental Product Declaration for a train in Australasia.

This webinar presents the key findings of a full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of over 550 tonnes of materials in construction and maintenance and puts it in relation to the environmental impacts of the train’s entire 30-year use phase.

Join us for a 30 minute “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” webinar on 27 March to hear why the findings are also applicable to other products or infrastructure projects, specifically those with a long service life.

Ellese O’Sullivan from Downer will share on Downer’s motivation for this study, the project requirements and the value for Downer’s customers and their internal stakeholders.

Jeff Vickers from thinkstep will give you a peek under the hood regarding how such a complex project can be done in a record time of 13 months.

thinkstep’s “Straight from the Horse’s Mouth” webinars are free of charge but places are limited.

Register here.

Presenters:

Ellese O’Sullivan

Ellese is Sustainability Manager at Downer and has 13 years’ experience in the environment and sustainability sector, with exposure across a broad range of sectors.  Ellese offers strong leadership in environmental sustainability for Rollingstock Services at Downer.

Jeff Vickers

Jeff is Technical Director at thinkstep. He has 13 years’ experience in the fields of eco-design, environmental management, LCA and strategy development. He focusses on assisting large organisations to integrate sustainability into their internal processes.

2018 Award Winner Profile: Rebecca Miller

Congratulations to Rebecca Miller, who was awarded the IS Individual Leadership Award at the 2018 Sustainability in Infrastructure, in October last year.

The IS Individual Leadership Award recognises an individual who best exhibits the most outstanding performance, leadership and greatest contribution to advancing infrastructure sustainability in Australasia throughout the past year. This category is open to all ISCA members and industry partners.

Winner profile

Rebecca is a Director with AECOM’s Sustainability and Resilience Practice based in Brisbane. She is a recognised industry leader and expert in sustainability and resilience, working consistently to demonstrate leadership and advocacy in this space and across a diverse range of infrastructure projects.

Both an IS Accredited Professional and member of ISCA’s Panel of Verifiers, Rebecca has over 15 years’ industry experience and has been associated with ISCA since before its formal inception as the Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC) in 2012. Over the years she has regularly been called on by ISCA to provide support and ad-hoc advice to support a diverse range of credits and categories including workforce; community wellbeing; stakeholder engagement and climate risk and adaptation.

An active urban resilience champion, Rebecca, is frequently asked to contribute towards industry activities that seek to advance the uptake and advancement of urban resilience and help assets and organisations better prepare, adapt and respond to a diverse range of shocks and stresses.  In 2017 she graduated with distinction from the University of Cambridge’s prestigious Masters of Sustainability Leadership, where the focus of her research was Climate Resilient Cities, from planning to action – lessons for success. She is also the Chair of the Green Building Council of Australia’s Expert Reference Panel on Climate Change and Resilience. Her breadth of industry input and involvement, especially over the past 12 months, has culminated in the development of ISCA’s new Resilience Category in ISV2.0 of the IS Rating Scheme.

Throughout her career Rebecca has worked to advocate for sustainable and resilient infrastructure across a diverse range of projects. Most recently this has included working with clients including ARTC, Bega Valley Shire Council, Transport for NSW (TfNSW), Parkes Shire Council, Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA), Landcom, Sydney Metro, and Parramatta Light Rail, to pursue key sustainability and resilience objectives.

She is considered a trusted advisor to several of ISCA’s members and her work with TfNSW in particular, has helped to shape and transform the way they embed and mandate sustainability and the IS Rating Tool across their projects and has supported the organization in maintaining their position as a national leader in infrastructure sustainability.

Congratulations again to Rebecca on her continued impact on the sector, hard work championing sustainability in infrastructure industry and for winning the 2018 IS Individual Leadership Award.

Keep an eye out as information for the 2019 Sustainability in Infrastructure Awards submissions dates and categories become available.

New Zealand Transport Agency becomes a member and will trial the IS rating scheme

The Transport Agency will commence a trial of the IS rating scheme in late 2017 on a small number of projects to gain working knowledge of its application. This represents a change from the Transport Agency position of having a watching brief of the ISCA tool to becoming an ISCA member and undertaking trials. This will support medium term plans to develop a robust and long term Environmental Strategy, which will provide more direction around sustainability rating tools. The Transport Agency remains committed to the continued application of Greenroads certification to high value state highway projects.

See the full press release by Harry Wilson, Director Safety and Environment Group

Arcadis recognised as employer of choice for gender diversity

Arcadis, the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets, was today announced as a Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) Equal Opportunity Employer of Choice for Gender Equality (EOCGE).

WGEA is an Australian Government agency that provides employers with advice, practical tools and education to help them improve gender equality. The WGEA EOCGE is a voluntary citation that publicly recognizes an organization’s commitment to gender equality through strong actions.

Greg Steele, CEO Australia Pacific, Arcadis: “We are very proud to be announced as a 2018 WGEA Equal Opportunity Employer of Choice for Gender Equality.

“At Arcadis we are firm believers in creating a diverse and inclusive workforce for all colleagues. I believe a diverse team will always come up with a better outcome than a team lacking diversity,” Steele said.

“In a male-dominated industry it’s critical that we take strong action, set targets, intervene when necessary and hold ourselves to account.

“We have made good progress as an industry but there is still a long way to go.”

Libby Lyons, WGEA Director: “This year, I am particularly delighted to see some of the innovative and exciting initiatives by our EOCGE citation holders on such issues as flexibility, paid parental leave, supporting women in leadership and addressing gender pay gaps.

“I congratulate all the 2017-18 citation holders for their commitment and recognition of benefits improved gender equality can bring to their business. These employers are setting the benchmark for other Australian workplaces to follow.”

Key Arcadis diversity initiatives in Australia include:

• ‘FlexAble’ certified workplace flexibility policy for all roles
• Ongoing gender pay-gap analysis focused on achieving gender pay equity
• Gender diversity targets for the business overall and individual business units