IS Essentials is a game-changing extension to the ISC’s globally recognised IS Rating Scheme, whichh is a collection of third-party assured rating tools that evaluate the social, cultural, environmental and economic performance of infrastructure assets across their life cycle.

Designed specifically for small infrastructure projects valued at $5 million to $100 million, IS Essentials is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to help government agencies, private asset owners and investors to measure, improve and report on social, cultural, environmental and economic performance.

ISC Acting CEO Patrick Hastings says the tool is significant in advancing the sector’s sustainability efforts, with 80 per cent of infrastructure investment across Australia occurring in projects valued at under $100 million.

“These tend to be projects that are closely tied to communities, such as energy generation, water treatment plants and road projects, which have the potential to deliver more for the communities they serve than just the basic utility of the asset,” said Mr Hastings.“We want to support project and asset owners recognise this, help them respond and excel in their delivery, noting IS Essentials will not only enable them to start on this journey more effectively, but accelerate it.”

With legislative requirements, national and global adoption of carbon accounting standards and mounting pressure on organisations to collect, record and report their sustainability efforts, the ISC wants to ensure those delivering vital infrastructure projects have the support they need to do so efficiently and effectively.

“IS Essentials is designed to scale according to both the size of the asset and the ambition of the organisation, while also providing a road map to transform their systems and processes so that these practices become business-as-usual,” Mr Hastings said.

IS Essentials has undergone a rigorous testing process, thanks to the support of 26 pilot projects across Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Westpac New Zealand Government Innovation Fund.

Maritime Safety Queensland participated in the pilot project through its program of works to replace 30 maritime beacons in the shipping channels from Cairns to Weipa in north Queensland.

Amanda Scarpato, Director of the Maritime Program Management Office for Maritime Safety Queensland (Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads), said working with IS Essentials became more than just a one-off “tick”.

“By working with IS Essentials, we challenged many of our business-as-usual decisions to deliver safer, more sustainable infrastructure,” Ms Scarpato said. “We can now take the IS Essentials principles and apply them to other infrastructure projects.”

Mr Hastings said it is that change of mindset and practice that will accelerate not just decarbonisation of our assets but drive better outcomes for communities.“Sustainability needs to be a business priority,” Mr Hastings said. “It’s about setting strong foundations and investing in the future, not just for the organisation itself, but the infrastructure assets and networks being delivered and for the communities we’re operating in.”

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The ESP Policy establishes a reporting framework which will create a baseline of environmentally sustainable procurement. The policy will be phased in over two years, with phase one directed at the procurement of Construction Services from 1 July 2024.

The ESP has three focus areas: climate, the environment and circularity, or using existing resources for as long as possible, through refurbishment, reuse, repair, recycling, and alternative methods such as leasing/renting to achieve greater sustainability.

Suppliers will be required to report against the relevant metrics on all government contracts to which the ESP Policy applies – including for infrastructure projects with a procurement value threshold of greater than or equal to $7.5 million. One of the metrics endorsed in the ESP Policy Framework to meet Australian best practice standards is for suppliers to show they have achieved a verified IS Rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council.

“The transition to a net zero and circular economy requires a shift in how we all consume materials, including the Federal government, with its huge spend across the nation, procuring goods and services from thousands of suppliers,” said Patrick Hastings, Acting CEO, Infrastructure Sustainability Council.

“This is a powerful endorsement by the Minister for the Environment and Water, the Honourable Tanya Plibersek MP, in selecting the Infrastructure Sustainability Council’s IS Rating Tools to measure and assure environmentally sustainable procurement for construction services from 1 July 2024,” he said.

“Policy decisions that impact on procurement will drive considerable impact across these three focus areas. More broadly, the ISC celebrates the purpose outlined in the policy of stimulating investment and innovation in sustainable goods. We believe that this policy will further improve the maturity, capability, and capacity of sustainability practice within industry,” he said.

The ISC went on to note its strong support for annual reporting of performance results against the ESP Policy key indicators and expects this development will have an important signalling effect for private sector procurement also.

“Ensuring that progress is reported is essential to understanding where future efforts need to be directed to see achievement of net zero by 2050. The ISC looks forward to working with suppliers undertaking construction services to ensure that sustainability performance is measured in a way that meets policy reporting obligations and increases impact,” said Mr Hastings.

The Federal Government notes that the success of the ESP Policy will be measured against three key performance indicators (KPI’s): the extent to which greenhouse gas emissions are minimised; the extent to which there is an increase in the use of circular economy principles; and the number of suppliers contracted to provide goods and services to the Australian Govt that have a Supplier Environmental Sustainability Plan (SESP) in place.

The Government holds itself to account for performance under the ESP Policy. For transparency, results against the key performance indicators will be published annually on the website of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

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