Tenix receives 'Excellent' Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Design and As Built ratings

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) has awarded Tenix an ‘Excellent’ rating level for both Design and As Built phases for two sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Cannonvale and Proserpine in North Queensland. Tenix designed and constructed the plants and will operate and maintain them on behalf of Whitsunday Regional Council.  

The company’s solutions will see the plants collectively save around 458 MWh of grid electricity per annum - a cost saving of around $120,000. Materials were significantly reduced, with 4189 tonnes less concrete and 368 tonnes less steel used by optimising the design and repurposing existing structures. The plant and process designs, energy-efficient equipment and revegetation efforts will collectively reduce operational carbon emissions over the plants’ operational lives by over 20,000 tonnes.

“We’re proud to be the first in Australia to be recognised with coveted Excellent rating levels for both the Design and As Built phases of the project,” said Tenix CEO Trevor Cohen. “It demonstrates that identifying and implementing beyond best practice and innovative sustainability solutions for different stages of a project are very achievable.”

Cohen acknowledged the role played by the Whitsunday Regional Council in “demonstrating how sustainability of critical infrastructure is important and can have positive impact and immediate benefits to the local community”.

“Of the 81% of the project’s total procurement expenditure, 61% occurred in the Whitsunday region and 20% in South-East Queensland, boosting the local economy and helping contractors and suppliers grow skills and capabilities,” he said.

ISCA’s Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating scheme is the only comprehensive scheme for evaluating the sustainability of the design, construction and operation of infrastructure. As noted by ISCA CEO Antony Sprigg, “Infrastructure sustainability is about designing and delivering infrastructure that will optimise the benefits to owners, users and society over the long life of the infrastructure, including lower environmental impact, enhanced social outcomes, better asset performance and commercial advantages.

“As much as we are seeing a significant increase in the number of organisations from private and public sectors using the IS rating scheme to independently rate the sustainability of their infrastructure project, I’d like to congratulate and recognise Tenix in demonstrating sustainability leadership in the engineering and construction sector having achieved not one, but two Excellent IS ratings for the Design and As Built phases of the Whitsunday STP Project.”