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The Infrastructure Sustainability Council refl ects on the IS Rating system’s impact on promoting greater sustainability of infrastructure projects over the past decade.
was $3 billion dollars. Since then, more than 316 projects valued at more than $213 billion have registered to undertake an IS Rating certification, with the scheme now mandated for various infrastructure classes across all states, the ACT and into New Zealand.”
The IS Rating Scheme is Australia and New Zealand’s only comprehensive rating system for evaluating economic, social and environmental performance of infrastructure across the planning, design, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance phases of infrastructure assets.
The tool is intended for use by stakeholders, including infrastructure owners, designers, constructors and operators, to benchmark and drive bestpractice sustainability in their projects.
The IS rating scheme can be engaged at planning, design, as-built and operations stages of development. It is set to deliver a compelling return on investment of up to $2.40 for every dollar spent.
The 2021 Impacts Report published by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council showed the IS Rating tool was undertaking ratings in most infrastructure asset classes including transport (roads, rail, airports, ports), energy, water and nature-based infrastructure.
There has been steady growth in the number of projects completing an IS certification since the IS Scheme’s establishment; in fact, certifications doubled from 13 in FY18 to 26 in FY21.
As Ms Simpson further observes, ensuring that an infrastructure-led economic recovery goes hand-in-hand with social, economic and cultural benefits is a key goal of the IS scheme.
“For instance, IS-rated As Built projects over the last four years have avoided 64 per cent of lifecycle energy GHG emissions and a further 40 per cent of lifecycle materials GHG emissions compared to business-asusual practices, representing 26.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or ‘CO2e’ emissions, equivalent to 5,522 wind turbines running for one year,” she notes.
“Circular economy results are inspiring too, with the ten As Built projects that were certified in FY21 collectively diverting 14.5 million tonnes, or 95 per cent, of project waste from landfill and ensuring the re-use of 97 per cent of spoil.”
Among successful projects rated by the scheme, the $1.2 billion CBD and Southeast Light Rail project in New South Wales was able to achieve an IS Leading certificate by simply replacing 33 per cent of emissionsintensive cement with supplementary cementing materials.
Similarly, The Level Crossing Removal Project Package Four – CBD Caulfield to Dandenong – in Victoria achieved a similar rating by using 91 per cent recycled aggregate.
In August 2021, the Infrastructure Sustainability Council launched an updated version of its Design and As-Built tool based on feedback from the industry, making the tool more intuitive and outcome-focused.
Having a common set of benchmarks across various jurisdictions has led a marked improvement in the way the sector approaches and delivers long term benefit through infrastructure and this is clearly demonstrated by the growth in assets receiving a leading rating.
With increasing uptake of the IS Rating Scheme and the introduction of the ISv2.1 Design and As Built Tool, there are plenty of catalysts for further accelerating the sustainability performance of infrastructure assets. The ever-increasing capability within the sector and focus across the jurisdictions means the time for rapid transition is now. THE INDUSTRY REFLECTS ON THE IMPACT OF THE IS RATING:
“It is not an overstatement to say that the IS rating scheme has revolutionised the infrastructure industry in Australia. I can recall what projects were like before IS. Sure, there was some good environmental protection and risk management, but broader concerns were barely considered. Now, infrastructure projects are being planned, design, constructed and operated in a way where sustainability is considered in all its dimensions by a wide set of decision makers. The language of sustainability is becoming familiar to these people, and this language has given them a licence to bring their thoughts, ideas and dreams into their work to start to address global challenges like climate change. Congratulations on driving such a remarkable (and necessary) change in 10 years!”
Rick Walters – Chief of Standards and Innovation, GRESB
“The IS Rating scheme is a meaningful tool for fostering innovation and collaboration across the infrastructure sector. The scheme has helped create a common language around sustainability and assisted governments, industry and communities to understand, implement and deliver more sustainable infrastructure outcomes. As we acknowledge in the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan and Assessment Framework, the scheme is an effective way to target investment, benchmark sustainability performance, set priorities and enable transparent reporting across a range of assets.”
