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Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery

The paper provided guidance to reduce embodied emissions in the delivery of public infrastructure across the planning, design and construction phases.

Significant progress has been made since the release of the discussion paper, which outlined six principles and actions for reducing embodied emissions, with the progress focusing on early project development stages.

Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Roadmap

Infrastructure NSW and Transport for NSW have also prepared the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Roadmap. This document details activities and milestones relating to embodied emissions over the next 3 years, to provide greater policy clarity to industry and communicate the coordinated work of NSW Government.

The Roadmap sets out key initiatives from 2023-2026 towards decarbonising infrastructure delivery and reflects the collaborative relationship between Infrastructure NSW and Transport for NSW. 

View the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Roadmap.

If you have any enquiries regarding Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery please contact industry@infrastructure.nsw.gov.au.

FAQs

The NSW Government has adopted a goal of Net Zero emissions across the whole NSW economy by 2050 and a 50% cut in emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.

Decarbonising the infrastructure sector requires understanding and managing emissions right across asset lifecycle stages, from emissions embedded during construction, generated by ongoing asset operations, and left behind through waste.  

This requires meaningful collaboration between Government and industry to support innovative low carbon design and construction methods on Government projects, as well as to collect accurate data on the carbon impacts of infrastructure projects.

Infrastructure NSW is taking action through two key initiatives:  

  1. Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery policy: The policy addresses embodied emissions on NSW Government infrastructure projects and embeds best practice carbon management into decision making, design and delivery practices.
  2. Measurement guidance: Infrastructure NSW has developed a consistent approach to estimating and measuring embodied carbon that will be applicable in NSW and is being adapted for national use. 

The Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery policy sets expectations for NSW Government infrastructure delivery agencies on managing embodied carbon in public infrastructure projects. 

The policy will ensure embodied carbon is a key consideration in early project stages and that carbon information is collected consistently across Government projects. The policy is aligned to the NSW Business Case Guidelines and is underpinned by the following principles: 

  • Apply the Carbon Reduction Hierarchy.
  • Assess the upfront carbon impact.
  • Engage with the market.
  • Develop and Carbon Management Plan.

The guidance provides a consistent measurement approach across infrastructure asset types. It directs NSW Government infrastructure delivery agencies on how to estimate upfront carbon early on in project development stages and how to measure upfront carbon during project delivery.  

This ensures that all agencies can understand their carbon impact early on in project development and that all agencies are consistently reporting upfront carbon to support future benchmarking and target setting.

In June 2023, Infrastructure and Transport Ministers approved the national adoption of the measurement approach being developed by Infrastructure NSW.

Infrastructure NSW chairs a national working group with transport and infrastructure representatives from other jurisdictions to facilitate engagement on carbon measurement. Infrastructure NSW is engaging nationally on this issue through a working group it established of infrastructure bodies. The Commonwealth Government will be supporting work towards national alignment.

A draft national approach was prepared in 2024.

Infrastructure NSW and Transport for NSW are now responding to industry requests for an aligned NSW Government forward workplan on embodied emissions through the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Roadmap. The Roadmap sets out key initiatives from 2023-2026 towards decarbonising infrastructure delivery and reflects the collaborative and complementary relationship between Infrastructure NSW and Transport for NSW.