ISC to progress new agendas through member coalitions

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s Chief Executive Officer, Ainsley Simpson, has challenged the industry to come together around a “shared vision” as the clock ticks on climate change.

Simpson made the call at the recent ReConnect conference, which brought together more than 300 infrastructure delegates from across Australia and New Zealand.

“Competitive advantage will not be defined by intellectual property, rather by the speed at which innovations are shared to reduce the learning curve for others,” said Simpson.

The council also launched two new agendas, ‘Advance our nations, fair — world-class infrastructure for thriving nations’ and ‘Place-based approaches to net zero’, which will be progressed through collaborative member coalitions.

Developed in partnership with Urbis, the infrastructure performance report and agenda finds industry fragmentation, subjective decision-making, risk aversion and sectoral capacity are the key barriers to “world-class infrastructure performance”.

Launching the paper, Urbis Future State Director Kate Meyrick reminded the audience to remember infrastructure’s purpose. “Infrastructure is about solving problems and enabling opportunities. If we want to be a better ancestor for future generations then we need to take a more restorative approach and make far bolder decisions today,” Meyrick said.

Separately, the place-based approaches report and agenda, launched in partnership with Mott MacDonald, calls for a systemic, networked approach to decarbonisation focused on towns, cities and regions rather than just assets, sectors and materials.

Amanda Sturgeon, Climate Change Practice Lead at Mott MacDonald, said, “This is a call to action for the infrastructure sector to lead by example, thinking globally, acting locally in the cities and regions which we live, work and play.

“The true power of a place-based approach is that it unlocks innovation and new potential that would not be evident from a typical top-down approach, such as local business investment and community engagement in net-zero solutions.”

Gala awards

As a part of the event, organisations and projects setting new benchmarks in sustainability were recognised at the Infrastructure Sustainability Council Gala Awards 2022.

“We are embarking on a decade of rapid transformation, and our members know that sustainable development is both a responsibility and an opportunity. They are taking action to address challenges and move forward sustainably,” Simpson said.

Winners include:

Excellence in Governance Outcomes Award: Victoria’s Major Transport Infrastructure Authority (MTIA) North Western Program Alliance (NWPA)

Excellence in Social Outcomes Award: Cross River Rail’s Tunnel, Stations and Development (TSD) package of works by CPB, BAM Ghella and UGL Joint Venture

Excellence in Environmental Outcomes Award: McConnell Dowell Decmil Join Venture (MCDDJV) with MTIA’s Major Roads Project Victoria

Excellence in Economic Outcomes Award: Acciona, Department for Infrastructure and Transport’s NorthHub

Emerging Leader Award: Rosie Dutton, Sustainability Manager at Acciona, for her influence and contribution to sustainability outcomes

Sustainability Champion Award: Pamela Simpson, for her work as Sustainability Team Lead for the planning phase of the Manuwarra Red Dog Highway Stage 4 project

Outstanding Individual Contribution to the Sector Award: Liz Root, Principal Sustainability Advisor on the Auckland City Rail Link, for enhancing sustainability and championing social outcomes in the New Zealand construction sector

Outstanding Achievement for Infrastructure Sustainability Operations Award: Downer EDI for North West Tasmania Road Maintenance Contract with State Growth

Outstanding Achievement for Infrastructure Sustainability Design Award: Arenco for the Rooty Hill Station upgrade and multi-storey car park with Transport for NSW

Outstanding Achievement for Infrastructure Sustainability As-Built Award: MTIA’s Caulfield to Dandenong Alliance (Acciona, CPB, Aurecon, WSP, MTM, LXRP) for work on the Level Crossing Removal Project.

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