The Hon. Anthony Albanese MP unveiled Australia’s first-ever sustainability rating scheme for infrastructure at a national launch event at Parliament House in February.
The scheme, initiated and driven by the Australian Green Infrastructure Council (AGIC), is supported by science developed through The Cooperative Research Centre for Infrastructure and Engineering Asset Management (CIEAM) based at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
In a research program led by AGIC’s founding chairman, Adjunct Professor David Hood, and funded by the Commonwealth through the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) program, CIEAM is conducting scientific research into sustainability assessment methodologies, training resources and management decision support to reinforce the metrics behind the scheme and associated tool.
Mr Albanese congratulated AGIC on successfully developing Australia’s first national scheme for rating infrastructure sustainability, commenting that the scheme will be to infrastructure what the Green Star Rating Tool is for the building industry.
He expressed the significance of sustainable infrastructure as a global issue and his delight in the synergies between the scheme and his own initiative, the Urban Design Protocol.
Professor Hood’s team includes one of Australia’s top road engineers, Professor Arun Kumar, and a past AGIC Director, Dr Tony Stapledon. Dr Stapledon is developing the business case for sustainability as a driver for infrastructure decisions, which will include guideline material for managers.
This research is to be undertaken with significant industry involvement and will deliver outcomes such as a decision support tool to assist management in optimising the benefits of sustainability; scientific support and guidance on sustainability assessment and rating; guidelines on sustainability as a contributor to business efficiency and competitive advantage; and training resources for AGIC on assessment processes.
