SUSTAINABILITY


IPWEA NZ exists to advance best practice infrastructure asset management to support thriving communities in New Zealand.  The infrastructure we build today will shape tomorrow's communities.

Sustainable infrastructure refers to designing, building, and operating of the structural elements and networks that support human society, in ways that do not diminish the social, economic and ecological processes required to maintain human equity, diversity, and the functionality of natural systems.

About Sustainable Infrastructure

Governments worldwide are beginning to make legislative changes to address and correct our impact on the natural world.  The public and private sectors are now acting upon the awareness and acceptance that our climate requires us to urgently reassess the way we relate to the natural world. 

A step change is urgently needed in public policy and private investment decisions so that climate resilience is an automatic and critical investment consideration for all sectors of the physical economy. 

IPWEA NZ are committed to being part of the solution by encouraging the conversation, collaboration and action to advance sustainability in our industry.

What we're doing

Environmental & Sustainability Excellence Award
In 2019, IPWEA NZ proudly partnered with Morphum Environmental, to launch the first Environment & Sustainability category in it's Excellence Awards. The Award was positively received by the industry, attracting a significant number of entrants.   
Read more here.

Get in touch

Join us!
The shift to a truly sustainable world takes all of us.  If you have a resource, event, or idea that you'd like to share on this page, or to discuss, please contact freda.wells@ipwea.org.

Webinars

9 June 2020: Sustainable Infrastructure Opportunities Post-COVID-19 - Webinar

Hon Min James Shaw and Dr Errol Haarhoff, Professor of urban design at The University of Auckland, spoke about the opportunities to advance sustainable infrastructure following the experience of COVID-19 lockdown. (60min) - click here

Events Archive

Hon James Shaw - Inspiring Speaker Event
Hear from Hon James Shaw and Dr Jo Cribb Feb 12 - click here

Climate Change Carbon Zero Event
Listen to five expert speakers on where to from here with carbon zero, Feb 11 in Auckland - click here

Useful Links

Wiki Page for resilience to natures challenges - UC

University of Canterbury repository of research on resilience of spatially-distributed infrastructure networks to extreme natural hazards - click here

Project Drawdown

An impressive online resource of well-researched climate change solutions.  Click here

IPWEA NZ Online Sustainability Forum
Engage with 1,000's of IPWEA members on sustainability issues - click here

Adapting infrastructure to climate change - James Hughes
Branch meeting presentation, November 2019 - click here

Articles

Why asset management planning is key to addressing the threat of climate change. By David Jenkins, CEO IPWEA

​Climate change poses a significant risk to infrastructure, as extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, bushfires, storm surges and flooding become more frequent.  We need to build resilience into infrastructure in the planning phase. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. As a rule of thumb, early mitigation measures can save five times the cost of repairs.  Read the full article here

Sustainability Forum

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Solar Tender Documents

    By: Ella Boyen , 4 years ago
    Posted in: Sustainability

    HI Sandy, an onerous document will sort the wheat from the chaff. It tends to put the cowboys off. Some of our requirements at Frankston City Council include: Costing in 5 years maintenance to the tender Bank guarantee 5% of contract sum, retained ...

  • Profile Picture

    RE: Sustainable Infrastructure Videos

    By: Dion Cowley , 4 years ago
    Posted in: Sustainability

    Hi Brianna. Have you seen this one? http://pureadvantage.org/news/2016/06/23/5139/ ------------------------------ Dion Cowley New Plymouth District Council New Plymouth

    1 person recommends this.
  • Profile Picture

    Sustainable Infrastructure Videos

    By: Brianna Aris , 4 years ago
    Posted in: Sustainability

    Hi The City of Albany runs a monthly "Green Movie" to raise awareness and context of sustainability across our organisation. The Engineering team gets to choose this month's movie so we are looking for something about 20 mins long, that is entertaining ...

    2 people recommend this.
  • Profile Picture

    Solar Tender Documents

    By: Sandy Eager , 4 years ago
    Posted in: Sustainability

    Hi, I'm working on solar tender documents for fourteen of our largest electricity consuming facilities. We're experiencing some tension between what is standard practice in the solar industry and what is usually required in a design and construction ...

    1 person recommends this.