The IS Rating Scheme (IS) is Australia and New Zealand’s only comprehensive rating system for evaluating economic, social and environmental performance of infrastructure across the planning, design, construction and operational phases of infrastructure assets. The scheme can assess the sustainability performance of infrastructure at the individual assets level, for portfolios or networks, or even at a regional scale.
The IS Planning rating helps quantify economic, social and environmental opportunities and benefits early in an infrastructure project. It makes benefits easier to deliver efficiently and results in the strongest sustainability outcomes. It can be applied to an individual asset or at a community or regional level.
The IS Design and As-Built rating helps identify and deliver economic, social and environmental opportunities and benefits in the design and construction phases of a project, making benefits easier to deliver efficiently. It also recognises the sustainability results project teams are achieveing. The rating can be applied on every infrastructure asset class and considers the full asset lifecycle, including operation and decommissioning.
The IS Operations rating helps practitioners assess how operating assets, networks or portfolios of infrastructure assets are performing. It also helps identify economic, social and environmental opportunities and benefits efficiently, and continue to improve the way assets are operated.
The IS Essentials rating will offer projects with a capital value of $5m - $100m a scheme to identify, measure and deliver economic, social and environmental sustainability outcomes in the design and construction phases. It will also recognise the sustainability results project teams are achieving. The rating will be available on every infrastructure asset class.
The IS International rating helps practitioners identify and deliver the economic, social and environmental opportunities and benefits of global assets in the design and construction phases. It also recognises project teams for the sustainability gains they are achieving.The IS International rating can be undertaken on every infrastructure asset class and in any jurisdiction.
All our IS rating products can be used to assure Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) performance for individual infrastructure assets and networks or portfolios of assets. This ESG performance data is compatible with many sustainable finance products, including sustainability-linked loans and green bonds.
Infrastructure is the structural and connecting fabric of an economy and society. It allows goods and services to be produced and distributed and provides creative spaces and conduits for people.
This is the most common definition of sustainability or sustainable development: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (United Nations, 1987)
Sustainable infrastructure is infrastructure that has been planned, designed and delivered to meet the needs of society while enhancing the environment and economy.
To gain the best infrastructure sustainability outcomes, sustainability needs to be considered as early as possible in the infrastructure lifecycle.
Provides a common national language for sustainability in infrastructure to support sustainability conversations.
Provides a framework to help proponents and practitioners apply and evaluate sustainability outcomes consistently in tendering processes.
Helps proponents and practitioners scope whole-of-life sustainability risks for projects and assets, leading to smarter solutions that reduce risks and costs.
Fosters efficiency and reduces waste to reduce costs.
Fosters innovation and continuous improvement to keep improving sustainability outcomes.
Builds an organisation’s credentials and a reputation for taking sustainability seriously.
To apply for a rating, you fill out a Registration of Interest (ROI) and sign a rating agreement with ISC.
The main stage of the rating: Your IS Project Manager supports you to complete the rating. This stage ends when you submit your rating for verification.
Independent third-party verifiers review your rating. You will usually learn your final score approximately three months after you submit your rating.
Your project is awarded an IS rating based on your overall score.
Review our Frequently Asked Questions page which has information around our rating fee model changes.
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