Metro Tunnel Project: Sustainability – Targets and Governance
Context/Background
Sustainability was a key consideration in the planning, design and construction of the Metro Tunnel project aiming to ensure the project left lasting economic, environmental and social benefits. Delivering the project with sustainability in mind is about making sure that we meet our needs today, while protecting the opportunity for future generations to meet theirs.
The Response / Approach Taken
The Metro Tunnel Sustainability Strategy set out the sustainability commitments that apply to the Metro Tunnel Project. These commitments, grouped into nine themes:
These themes were supported by 33 comprehensive targets. The project contractors (CYP and RNA) were required to meet these targets as part of their contract with the State.
Sustainability rating tools were applied to the project to monitor sustainability performance and ensure sustainability outcomes were delivered. These include the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA)’s IS Rating Scheme Tool, and the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA)’s custom Green Star Tool. These set critical benchmarks to monitor and measure the sustainability performance of the Metro Tunnel Project against sustainability requirements.
The project release annual reports from project commencement to completion to report on the project’s performance against sustainability outcomes.
Key Lessons / Insights
- Embedding sustainability targets as an Environmental Performance Requirement (EPR) in the Environmental Management Framework (EMF) assisted in establishing clear sustainability expectations upfront
- An ‘active client’ governance model for sustainability helped drive contractor accountability and the strong sustainability outcomes across the project
- State support is required to help drive innovative solutions and assist in navigating and proving sustainable alternative meet engineering standards.
- The development of an initial Climate Change Risk Assessment (including engagement with rail operators) as part of reference design provided a strong platform for contractors to invest effort in innovation when embedding climate resilience into the detailed design
- Annual sustainability reporting provided a platform for the project to publicly capture and promote achievements across disciplines (economic, social and environment) throughout the whole project lifecycle
Conclusion/Recommendations for Future Projects
Establishing clear sustainability expectations for the project upfront and setting a framework for monitoring performance resulted strong sustainability achievements for the Metro Tunnel project. Early understanding of opportunities through the reference design and EES process helped inform the initial sustainability strategy and build understanding of potential opportunities. Monitoring, including public reporting, throughout the life of the project ensured that the project’s contracts maintain accountability across the long delivery timeframe.
The Sate’s support, through VIDA Metro, was crucial in supporting the project’s ambition to push the boundaries and explore and embed innovative and sustainable materials the design and delivery of the project. It also assisted in bring together the relevant areas across the organisation to delivery sustainability initiatives across economic environmental and social aspects.