IS Impact Notes - ISCouncil
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While environmental, social, economic and governance outcomes lie within organisational sight-lines, impact is an additional perspective on change that explores how organisational activities are experienced in the long term by the planet, by people and through prosperity. Impacts are the changes that quadruple bottom line outcomes are designed to facilitate.

The IS Impact Notes will explore specific sustainability issues and outline potential pathways to generate impact with the IS Rating Scheme: applying credits in IS Technical Manual, Sustainable procurement approaches and driving positive action through policy.

There are opportunities for our members to collaborate in the development of the IS Impact Notes. Please get in touch for more information.

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Net Zero

Infrastructure plays a vital role in meeting net zero targets. This impact note outlines how the IS Rating Scheme helps organisations and project teams account for and reduce whole-of-life carbon emissions across the planning, design, delivery, and operation of infrastructure, aligning with national targets and industry frameworks. Achieving net zero requires a system-wide approach that integrates sustainable procurement, leadership, resilience, resource management, circular economy, innovation, and ecology alongside carbon management and decarbonisation. With infrastructure built today operating well beyond 2050, urgent action is essential.

IS Impact Notes - Net Zero
IS Rating Alignemt Note PowerPoint Cover

IS Rating Alignment Note

The IS Ratings Alignment Note on TNFD Disclosures and Metrics is here to guide organisations in leveraging IS Ratings for TNFD (Taskforce for Nature-based Financial Disclosures) recommendations.

IS Rating Alignment Note
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Circular Economy

This impact note outlines how infrastructure organisations and projects can set the pathway to enable a circular economy via resource efficiency actions, sustainable procurement, leadership and management, and innovation. The IS Rating Scheme rewards circularity outcomes and recognises the role of the circular economy to tackle global issues, aligning with multiple UN SDGs, including SDG12 on responsible consumption and production, SDG11 on sustainable cities, SDG7 on affordable and clean energy, SDG13 on climate action, SDG14 on life below water, SDG15 on life on land, and SDG8 on decent work and economic growth.

IS Impact Notes - Circular Economy
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Modern Slavery

This Impact Note outlines how infrastructure projects can drive action - through leadership and management, sustainable procurement, materials sourcing, and workforce sustainability - to integrate an appropriate and effective modern slavery response with long-term impact. The IS Rating Scheme supports embedding modern slavery management actions, aligning with the UN SDG 5 Gender equality, and UN SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth.

IS Impact Notes - Modern slavery IS Impact Notes – Modern slavery video clip
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Low Embodied Carbon Materials

This first IS Impact Note outlines the role of the infrastructure industry in supporting the reduction of embodied carbon emissions from construction materials. It describes how the IS Rating Scheme drives embodied emissions reductions at a project level via sustainable procurement, options assessment, innovation, and at a materials level via Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and third-party product certifications.

IS Impact Notes – Low Embodied Carbon Materials