Advice on opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of infrastructure

The Victorian Government is seeking Infrastructure Victoria’s advice on opportunities to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of future public infrastructure investments. The advice will consider how policies and guidelines can better account for the greenhouse gas emissions produced in the design, investment, construction, maintenance, and end of life of Victoria’s infrastructure.

Specifically, the government is seeking advice on:

1. opportunities to identify, prioritise, quantify, incentivise, and track reductions in embodied, operational, and enabled infrastructure emissions at early strategic planning and investment decision making stages, including business case assessment
2. options to update the Victorian Government’s existing investment guidelines, procurement policies, regulatory tools, standards, frameworks and/or guidelines to reduce emissions
3. innovative approaches that the Victorian Government can use to incentivise private industry to increase production and adoption of low-carbon materials and/or methods in procurement
4. enablers and barriers to implementation of any recommendations and their ramifications for reducing the emissions of infrastructure delivery, increasing productivity, and reducing costs. This could include any impacts on costs and benefits, and how these could be equitably distributed across stakeholders and over the life of infrastructure
5. timing and stages to implement options for the best long-term outcomes which minimise transitional costs for the government, the industry and the community.

Infrastructure Victoria will engage with industry, regulators, government agencies, peak bodies, research communities and other stakeholders in developing this advice.

The terms of reference set out the purpose and process of the advice in more detail.

Submissions

Infrastructure Victoria called for submissions on opportunities to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of future public infrastructure investments. The consultation period closed on 14 May 2023.

We received 14 submissions from peak bodies and industry groups in fields such as construction and transport, private companies involved in infrastructure development, government organisations, advocacy groups, and private individuals.

Those who consented to their submission being published can be found below.

• Australian Steel Institute, in conjunction with BlueScope Steel and InfraBuild Steel
• Cement, Concrete and Aggregates Australia
• Cement Industry Federation
• Engineers Australia
• Green Building Council Australia
• Materials and Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance (MECLA).

Thank you to all who contributed to this important discussion. Submissions are now closed.

Infrastructure Victoria’s final advice to government is due by September 2023.