Infrastructure Sustainability Council and ConnellGriffin Release Landmark Thought Leadership Paper Calling for Sustainable Procurement Reform to Transform Infrastructure Delivery

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) and ConnellGriffin have today released a major new thought leadership paper calling for system level reform of infrastructure procurement to unlock long term environmental, social and economic value across Australia and New Zealand.

Titled Transforming Infrastructure Delivery Through Sustainable Procurement Reform, the paper positions procurement as a critical mechanism through which sustainability ambitions are translated into commercial reality shaping what infrastructure is delivered, how it is delivered, and the outcomes it creates for markets and communities.

Developed through extensive collaboration with government agencies, industry practitioners and supply chain participants the paper finds that while intent to deliver sustainable infrastructure is strong, current procurement systems frequently address sustainability too late in the project lifecycle, limiting efficacy, consistency, and impact.

The report draws on global best practice, benchmarking Australia and New Zealand against other leading jurisdictions, and sets out a practical ‘Plan Source Manage’ framework to embed sustainability across planning, sourcing, and contract management.

“Procurement sits at the heart of the infrastructure system and is one of the most powerful levers of change available to government and industry. It is where policy ambition becomes delivery reality,” said Toby Kent, Chief Executive Officer of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council. “When sustainability objectives are embedded early and carried consistently through procurement strategies, commercial settings and performance frameworks, they move beyond aspiration to become measurable and enforceable outcomes. This report demonstrates that sustainable procurement is essential to decarbonising infrastructure, strengthening industry capability and delivering lasting value for communities, and critically shows how procurement can be leveraged to achieve those outcomes.”

The research highlights that jurisdictions achieving the strongest results are those that move beyond transactional procurement and adopt strategic outcomes focused approaches aligning sustainability objectives with evaluation criteria contract incentives and assurance systems.

It also identifies significant opportunities to strengthen capability consistency and confidence across the sector through clearer standards better data and digital systems and stronger alignment between sustainability priorities and procurement decision making.

Richard Martin, Executive Director from ConnellGriffin said,

“Procurement is the mechanism through which ambition becomes action. It determines how sustainability objectives move from policy statements and business cases into commercial settings, contract requirements and on‑the‑ground delivery…This report and the work done by our organisations is essential to delivering the infrastructure outcomes our communities expect”

The paper is intended as a practical guide for infrastructure owners government agencies procurement professionals project teams and suppliers seeking to modernise procurement settings and embed sustainability as a core commercial and economic consideration rather than an add on.

The full report is available to download here

Media enquiries

Loren Goddard
Strategic Project Lead
Infrastructure Sustainability Council
+61 432 567 090
Loren.goddard@iscouncil.org

Lauren Jesberg
Director, Strategy and Business Development
ConnellGriffin
+61 400 118 323
ljesberg@connellgriffin.com