Author: Reshma vallabhaneni

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council is proud to partner with RMIT University, School of Property, Construction and Project Management.

“This partnership with RMIT demonstrates our shared commitment to building workforce capability — ensuring sustainability is not an afterthought, but a core skill in how projects are designed, managed and delivered.”

— Toby Kent, CEO, Infrastructure Sustainability Council

In Australia and New Zealand, the infrastructure sector is evolving at extraordinary speed. Projects are expected not only to deliver value for money and performance outcomes but also to respond to climate risk, nature impacts, supply-chain integrity, and community expectations in a deeply interconnected way. As the sustainability agenda expands, so does the demand on infrastructure professionals to understand, interpret, and apply the IS Rating Scheme with confidence and influence.  

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council has worked with experienced industry professionals to develop a comprehensive IS for Professionals Pathway (IS4P). A completely redesigned, refreshed, future-ready learning experience shaped by industry requirements, best-practice learning design, and the real skills needed to deliver sustainability outcomes on projects.

About the IS for Professionals Pathway

1.A streamlined, five-week learning journey 

The five-week structure offers a clear, progressive pathway from foundational Infrastructure Sustainability concepts to life-cycle stage-specific application. Each week builds on the previous, blending self-paced learning and reflection with expert-facilitated workshops. Designed to reinforce learning, the pathway allows participants to escape the ‘forgetting curve’ and leave with skills they can immediately implement. 

“The new and improved ISAP course is very contemporary and effective. The shorter duration of the sessions, and the enhanced use of both facilitated and e-learning formats increases engagement, retention of information, and the up-take of new skills for application by the learners in the real world.” – Patrick Ilott (CEO) Perspektiv

2. Real-world tools and processes 

The Pathway integrates the core human skills such as ‘Setting up for Success’ and the ‘Head, Heart & Hand model’, with key IS processes like developing Business as Usual Assumptions, undertaking a Materiality Assessment, composing Credit Summary Forms, and preparing a submission quality. Modules are supported by templates and examples drawn directly from best practice. 

3. A strong focus on practical, real-world application 

Participants work through realistic project scenarios, analyse proven case studies, and apply step-by-step methodologies in interactive workshops—building the confidence to translate theory into practice on live projects. 

 Over five weeks, participants engage in a structured, modern learning journey that includes: 

• 9 facilitated workshops  

• 9 self-paced eLearning modules 

• Enrolment in the ISAP exam  

 Resulting in skilled, practical, and confident Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professionals. 

“The new IS4P is modern and practical, which is what the industry needs today. Big props to the ISC who recognised the need for this redevelopment, and for involving the ISAPs of today to provide a better foundation for the ISAPs of tomorrow to tackle IS Rating management in their projects.” – Szeto Yan Weng (Sustainability Advisor) Gamuda

 Benefits for Learners and Industry 

 Engaging learning experience 

Blended learning keeps learners engaged by combining the flexibility of self-paced digital content with the energy of interactive workshops, discussion, and practical application. Delivered in a blended format and spread over five weeks, it fits seamlessly into a usual work schedule—allowing learners to build capability without stepping away from their day-to-day responsibilities. This varied, immersive approach avoids learning fatigue, strengthens retention, and helps learners confidently translate theory into real-world practice. This learner experience is reflected in an average satisfaction score of 9.3, reinforcing the Pathway’s impact and relevance in real-world infrastructure delivery. 

“The new training builds ISAPs capabilities to not just deliver a rating but understand how to implement and embed sustainability on infrastructure projects, the content is tangible and practical.” – Jessamine Welsh (Sustainability Manager) Spark North East Link

 Accessible, clear and guided learning 

Designed to meet learners where they are, the Pathway offers accessible, clear, and guided learning for professionals at all stages of their careers. Experienced practitioners can leverage the program to formalise their expertise through accreditation, while those new to the industry are supported with a structured introduction to measuring and assessing sustainability performance. Clear guidance, practical examples, and progressive learning ensure everyone can build confidence and capability at their own pace. 

“My experience undertaking the ISC training has been very positive. The modules provided a practical understanding of the IS framework and how sustainability requirements apply throughout project delivery. The content was clear, relevant to my role, and helped build my confidence in supporting IS rating outcomes. As I am currently working on a project delivering an IS rating, the training aligned well with my day-to-day experience and strengthened my understanding of the requirements.” – Asanka Gamage (Project Engineer – Civil & Sustainability) TasNetworks

 Stronger alignment to industry expectations 

The Pathway is grounded in real-world industry practice, shaped by current infrastructure delivery challenges and expectations. Content is structured around how sustainability decisions are actually made on projects, with a strong focus on applying the IS Rating to influence outcomes, manage trade-offs, and drive performance. This ensures learners gain skills that are immediately relevant and valued across the infrastructure sector. 

 Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professional (ISAP) 

Graduates of the Pathway enter the ISAP accreditation with a deeper, contextual understanding of the IS Rating. They emerge as professionals who can not only complete ratings, but also lead discussions, guide multidisciplinary teams, and embed sustainability thinking throughout the asset lifecycle—ensuring their impact goes beyond compliance to driving meaningful, long-term outcomes. 

The IS Pathway is more than a professional development course; it’s a structured, practical journey that equips professionals to lead, influence, and embed sustainability across every infrastructure project. 

Whether you’re new to the industry or seeking accreditation, this program gives you the skills, confidence, and real-world insight to make an immediate impact.  Take the next step in your sustainability career today.

“Having recently delivered the first cohort of the new IS for Professionals training, I can confidently say that the extensive work undertaken by the ISC Learning and Development team—supported by myself and several experienced IS practitioners—has resulted in an outstanding outcome.
The updated program has been thoughtfully designed to support both new and experienced professionals seeking to build their capability in implementing sustainability across major infrastructure projects. After more than a decade of delivering IS training, I can say that this course goes well beyond Infrastructure Sustainability fundamentals. It provides a valuable opportunity to learn from peers, develop practical change-management skills, and explore cost-effective approaches to achieving successful IS Ratings.” – Ken Lunty (Technical Director) Arcadis

Dear members,

As 2025 draws to a close, it is timely to reflect on the progress and the strains shaping infrastructure across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
This has been a year of sustained delivery pressure across the sector. While investment remained strong across housing, transport, energy, water and social infrastructure, projects continued to face challenges from cost escalation, workforce shortages and market capacity constraints. In this environment, sustainability has become more closely tied to practical outcomes, strengthening funding confidence, supporting productivity, improving long-term asset performance, managing climate risk and lifting whole-of-life value.

2025 brought some turbulent times for sustainability globally. Australia, however, saw continued policy momentum:

• The release of Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target
• The National Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan,
• The Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) are coming into effect
• The launch of the first Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy;
• Australian companies leading in the voluntary adoption of the TNFD, including several ISC members
• Together, these developments continued to push climate-related strategies, disclosures and nature considerations firmly onto corporate agendas.

In Aotearoa New Zealand, the picture has been more mixed. Key climate targets have been delayed and reporting thresholds significantly raised. At the same time, sustainable finance remains high on the agenda with public consultation on the NZ Sustainable Finance Taxonomy commencing at the end of this year.

In our sector specifically:

• INSW’s Decarbonising Infrastructure Policy 2025 was complemented with Technical Guidance to standardise methods across projects; and
• The NSW Government launched their policy to drive digital transformation in infrastructure, both driving progress toward more harmonisation.
• Infrastructure Australia published the Delivering Net Zero Infrastructure: Workforce Report, highlighting the capacity needs required for lowering emissions in delivering infrastructure.
• All such actions tie well with Infrastructure Net Zero’s Defining Net Zero, which was published by the ISC and related parties under the Infrastructure Net Zero initiative, now hosted by ASBEC.

For the Infrastructure Sustainability Council, this year has been about delivering tangible outcomes and laying clear foundations for the future. In FY25, we certified 29 “As Built” projects spanning rail, road, energy and water sectors. Together, these projects delivered an estimated emissions reduction of nearly 3.5 million tonnes of CO₂e and approximately A$1.274 billion in avoided costs, representing around 10 per cent of total project capital expenditure.

We also delivered significant upgrades to our tools. The release of the IS v2.2 Design and As-Built tool has improved clarity, flexibility and accessibility, supporting projects of different types and scales to integrate sustainability from early design through to delivery.

One of our most important milestones this year was the launch of Strategy 2030. This sets a clear roadmap for how ISC will support the sector over the next five years, with an expanded focus on delivering across sustainable finance, water, energy and nature-positive infrastructure. As we look ahead, our commitment remains clear:  to enable connected infrastructure that supports people to thrive on a healthy planet.

I thank our you, partners, members and supporters, for the shared commitment, trust and collaboration that continues to make this work possible and impactful.

Best wishes for safe, healthy, and restorative festive seasons!

Toby Kent,
Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Sustainability Council

We’re Featured in Infrastructure Magazine (June 2025 Issue) 

We are pleased to share that the Infrastructure Sustainability Council was featured in the June 2025  print edition of Infrastructure Magazine. The article highlights our recently lauxnched member portal as we pivot toward simplicity and stronger member value. 

The article highlights how the new ISC membership offering: 

• streamlines and segments with simplicity in mind, while still being inclusive of any sized organisation 
• is designed to help advance the ambitions and objectives of member organisations, and to pro-actively enable collaboration and partnerships 
• is amplified by the launch of a new member portal to make value more accessible across our members entire organisation.

We thank Infrastructure Magazine for this recognition. Read the full article here

Special Offer for Members of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council! 

All ISC members are entitled to a free digital or print version of Infrastructure Magazine as part of their membership. Register to receive your copy via the ISC member portal here.  

Last month, participants of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s RISE mentoring program and local ISAPs were invited to Sydney Metro’sTunnelling Infrastructure Academy (TIA) at Clyde – an Australian–first, dedicated tunnel training hub, run by Gamuda as part of the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package.

From exploring the spoil shed and conveyor systems to engaging with emerging digital technologies, attendees walked away with invaluable insights into how innovation and capability development are transforming our industry.

This state-of-the-art facility tackles Australia’s construction skills shortage with six practical training zones, featuring:

Since its launch, over 670 individuals have enrolled in the tunnelling pre-employment program, embedded within accredited units of competency.

A highlight of the tour was exploring the inner workings of the autonomous and AIassisted TBMs, deployed for the Sydney Metro West Western Tunnelling Package.

These machines use Gamuda’s proprietary AI software to automate steering, thrust, and slurry systems—delivering 8% energy savings over manual TBMs, reducing wear and downtime. The TIA itself is powered by a 240 kWp mobile solar farm—making it one of the largest solar installations on a Sydney Metro site.

Further cementing its pioneering credentials, the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package received a “Leading” Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, and won the Excellence in Social Outcomes award for its TIA initiative.

A massive thank you to Gamuda for their ongoing support of the RISE mentoring program and for opening the doors to such an incredible learning experience. If you’re interested in becoming part of the RISE Mentoring Program in 2026, you can fill out this EOI and you will be notified when applications open.