NSW has released a Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Roadmap, which introduces a standardised carbon measurement tool across Government projects, and will also begin consultation on a draft Protection of the Environment Policy (PEP) for sustainable construction, which is being delivered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).
The Protection of the Environment Policy will be piloted on three Transport for NSW projects in 2023, including the Edmonson Park North multi-storey commuter carpark, St Mary’s Footbridge and the M12 West.
The draft PEP will require public authorities, from July 2024, to consider its provisions for all new public infrastructure proposals, including State Significant Infrastructure. They will also need to consider how the proposal has:
- reported embodied carbon emissions and analysed options to reduce embodied carbon in the design and construction stages
- prioritised the use of low carbon recycled or remanufactured substitute materials derived from waste streams generated in NSW.
At the same time, NSW has also released Circular Design Guidelines, another milestone under its Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy. These Guidelines will support industry to implement circular economy principles across every stage of built environment projects, from inception to delivery.