Author: loren.blundell@iscouncil.org

A journey to net zero presents a compelling case for a great opportunity to change the way we approach out transport sector, and indeed our towns and communities. It is a ‘call to action’ for the industry to stop and rethink the way we approach transport in Australia. It presents an opportunity for the industry to come together to collaborate, ideate and explore new methods, approaches, and tools to improve the impact our industry has on society, the environment, our culture, and climate.

Delivered as part of an industry-first partnership between the Australasian Railway Association (ARA), Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) and Roads Australia (RA) and includes 46 recommendations to accelerate decarbonisation in the sector. Authored by KPMG and sponsored by Arup, the report analysed local and global examples of leading best practice and features 29 case studies demonstrating existing technology and strategies for carbon reduction.

The report identified five key areas of action to drive action and support the sector’s journey to net-zero:

1. Create a national, strategic approach to transport and infrastructure, with a focus on placemaking to meet the community’s long-term needs
2. Introduce policies and investment that promote the development of efficient, sustainable, and resilient transport systems, including a move to ensure all new infrastructure projects incorporate net zero emissions targets
3. Enable collaboration, capacity building and education at all stages of the process and advocate for new approaches to procurement
4. Implement governance structures, processes and approaches to drive transparency and sound decision making to support the decarbonisation of transport systems
5. Adopt and promote technology solutions that optimise asset design, construction and operation of road and rail fleets

Simon Morgan, Director Corporate Affairs – Roads Australia – 0403 477 131
Joeley Pettit, Director, Corporate Services and Corporate Affairs – Australasian Railway Association – 0407 061 421
Laura Harkins-Small, General Manager, Advocacy – Infrastructure Sustainability Council – 0423 058 183

From the moment we wake to the moment we go to sleep, what we do and how we do it, is enabled by our infrastructure.

It is crystal clear, this century is one of change – for our lifestyles, our communities, our economies and our environment. Whether it is climate change, addressing inequality or riding the wave of the technology disruption, we will no longer be able to take our way of life for granted or ask the planet and people to bear the cost of doing things the same way that we always have. Delivery of a positive future for people, planet and the economy will not happen by accident. It is only possible through proactive, coordinated and collaborative action by people, for people. Infrastructure is going to be instrumental in building resilience and helping us drive and reinforce positive change. The infrastructure we plan, build and operate today will be the difference between surviving and thriving; now and for generations to come.

This challenge needs to seen, and seized by a world-class infrastructure sector. We have crossed the chasm, and sustainability is no longer peripheral and localised; now it is becoming democratised and globalised. It is becoming competitive advantage, core business, and unlocking new markets. Sustainability, ESG, is yet to fully unleash as a catalyst for market transformation. As this happens, our sector will find its purpose; enabling people, places and planet to thrive.

How? By delivering infrastructure for people, by people. Together with our partners Urbis, we’ve explored the relationship between world class infrastructure and thriving nations, and mapped new opportunities that deliver investment returns for all beneficiaries, ecosystems, communities and economies. It will take foresight and increased interconnection; and a sectoral culture that is underpinned by action that is resourceful, resilient and responsible. Together let’s create a legacy our people are proud of.

A place based approach acknowledges that the implementation of net zero commitments and goals will be more successful if the solutions both relate to the unique context in which they are applied, and mobilise localised resources, action and engagement.

Place based solutions to net zero provide multiple benefits such as:

• Mobilising enthusiastic local investment and resources on locally applicable solutions that are not otherwise visible to the market, thus accelerating much needed scale-up of net zero solutions.
• Accelerating community buy-in to the lifestyle changes needed, through an understanding of local concerns and motivations.
• Increasing the opportunity and likelihood of success to achieve net zero mandates.

The need for local action

All branches of government have critical roles to play in the success of a net zero future in Australia and New Zealand. With mandates across government and major centres of production and consumption, an estimated 70% of Australia’s carbon emissions come from the infrastructure sector. Many tiers of government are already committed to a place based approach – we need to leverage this to make sure that local governments and communities have the power to directly influence many of these emissions.

A systems approach

Implementing net zero solutions in the infrastructure sector is complex. When change is needed, especially on the scale required to achieve net zero, a systems approach that looks at the interconnectedness of infrastructure rather than at the sector and sub-sectors in isolation, has the potential to unlock barriers.

The business case

A local systems approach can derive previously untapped value by capitalising on co-benefits that are only visible or implementable at a local level, but generate resilience across the whole system. This kind of approach can reduce the overall whole-life cost. Treating a community or urban centre as a system-of-systems can help authorities understand where potential points of failure exist and highlight the best places to instil new resilience, resulting in lower long-term costs.

Place based solutions

Place based solutions engage local solutions to net zero that are based on the principles of co-design, cross-sectoral systems thinking, outcomes focus and creating new potential not previously evident from a top-down approach. Successful net zero solutions that are place based connect all urban systems; buildings, infrastructure, utilities, transport, water and waste together with digital solutions. This same approach is also applicable to climate resilience.

In Australia, collective action is needed to deliver low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure that meets community, Government, and investor requirements. Australian state and territory Governments have committed to net zero carbon by 2050 to address climate change risks identified by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). All have set further intermediate 2030 benchmarks to drive action over the next decade. Additionally, almost every jurisdiction requires the infrastructure supply chains to deliver carbon reductions measured using the Infrastructure Sustainability Council Rating Scheme (IS Rating Scheme). The IS Rating Scheme is the Australian and New Zealand rating framework to assess the sustainability of the planning, design, construction and operation phases of infrastructure programs, projects, networks, and assets. The IS Rating Scheme evaluates governance, economic, environmental and social performance and has now become standard practice in most states and territories for any major transport project to plan and deliver carbon reductions, across a broad range of asset classes and sizes. Throughout Australia we have also started to see a range of targeted policy programs to incentivise innovation and uptake in low emissions building materials, renewable energy and the circular economy.

Our industry is strongly placed to help enable this transition over the next decade because of its role in shaping societies and economies and through its unique position to influence emissions reductions, leverage investment, and respond to policy incentives from government, proponents, and asset owners. 

The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) has been supporting the infrastructure industry drive best practice through the Infrastructure Sustainability Rating Scheme (IS Rating Scheme) since 2012. In this time, the Scheme has actively contributed to capacity building and transparently measuring the social, environmental, governance and cultural outcomes delivered by more than $160 billion of infrastructure projects currently under rating. To help quantify the future benefit the Scheme can deliver, ISCA engaged RPS to assess the net benefits that an IS Rating provides to our society. The study used a cost benefit analysis (CBA) or ‘welfare economics’ framework supported by stakeholder engagement. A CBA framework assesses the costs and benefits to all impacted parties within Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand including not only the project proponents but also the environment, community members and government. Targeted stakeholder engagement added to the robustness and richness of the findings because, consistent with the principles of Social Return on Investment (SROI), engagement revealed how stakeholders that are actually implementing the Scheme are affected.

Infrastructure has a significant, lasting influence on Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Around 70% of Australia’s emissions are associated with infrastructure projects. Infrastructure assets built today will still be operating in 2050 when countries like Australia are expected to reach net zero emissions under the Paris Climate Agreement. Despite this, emissions reductions in line with a net zero emissions future are not effectively prioritised in infrastructure planning, design, procurement and operations across sectors. The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) is partnering with ClimateWorks Australia and the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) to explore and define the role infrastructure can play in achieving a net zero emissions future. The purpose of this Issues Paper is to progress a new conversation to better understand the challenges and opportunities in reshaping transport, energy, water, communications and waste infrastructure for a net zero emissions world. Infrastructure bodies, governments, professional and industry associations, investors, designers, builders and operators have a shared responsibility to support the transition to net zero emissions within their own scope of influence, and collaborate with the broader sector to deliver solutions. These stakeholders are the audience for this report and the conversations it engenders. This conversation is timely. Governments and private investors are spending record amounts of money on new infrastructure. At the same time, infrastructure is facing pressure on two fronts to prepare for net zero emissions:

• All Australian states and territories have set commitments or aspirations to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, or earlier
• Private investors are increasingly aligning investment portfolios with net zero emissions in order to future-proof economic value and investment returns

Strategic infrastructure choices in both the public and private sector are made with key future trends in mind, such as population growth, urbanisation and new technologies. The global transition to net zero emissions is also a key trend relevant to today’s infrastructure choices. Emissions reduction strategies need to be coordinated with parallel efforts to build infrastructure that is resilient to the impacts of forecast climate change. A comprehensive analysis on the physical impacts of climate change for infrastructure is beyond the scope of this paper, but it is critical to acknowledge the importance of planning, designing and building resilience in infrastructure alongside our transition to a net zero emission future. Infrastructure unprepared for a net zero emissions future risks becoming ‘stranded’ due to significant and unanticipated losses of value and faces restricted pools of financing. On the other hand, there are growth opportunities available for infrastructure assets that are prepared for, and enable, the transition to a net zero emissions Australia.