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Sustainability reporting

Annual reporting provides the department the opportunity to report on progress towards sustainability practices in line with various government initiatives. Below are activities engaged in by the department that demonstrate its commitment to sustainability practices that reduce resource use and the impact on the environment, working to improving the quality of life, now and in the future.

Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia’s rating tool

The department has made a commitment to obtain Infrastructure Sustainability Design and As Built ratings for all projects with a capital value at or above $100m, including all North-South Corridor projects.

The sustainability rating scheme, developed and administered by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia, provides the department with the ability to quantitatively measure sustainability performance across the whole infrastructure lifecycle, benchmark against other projects and track progress against sustainability objectives.

The department is currently exploring opportunities to improve sustainability outcomes for other projects, and will be working to review and compare the department’s Master Specification and management practices against the performance benchmarks established by the Infrastructure Sustainability rating scheme.

Property

During 2015-16 the department commenced reviewing its office leasing policies to continue to drive the market for high performing office buildings, with the view to extending current policies to set target ratings under the Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) Green Star Office Interiors rating tool and the NABERS OFFICE Water rating tool.

Public transport

This year the department released an Expression of Interest (EOI) for the supply of new buses from 2018-19 onwards. The EOI sought cost-effective, lower-emission vehicles that can meet required service standards.

Manufacturers were asked to provide evaluation buses which will operate across the Adelaide Metro bus network to assess whether they are fit for purpose and provide measurable environmental benefits. The EOI is complete with seven buses selected for the trial, being two fully electric buses, four Euro; 6 diesel buses and one Micro Hybrid.

Operation Moving Traffic

The Operation Moving Traffic program was launched in 2015 with the aim to improve the efficiency, reliability and safety of the transport network, which includes both roads and public transport and extends across Greater Adelaide.

A sustainable and high performing multi-modal transport network must operate in a way that is efficient, reliable, environmentally and socially responsible, and safe. In this way, Operation Moving Traffic aligns with the initiatives, solutions and actions set out in the Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan and the vision underlying The 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, which together integrate land-use and transport priorities in order to deliver a more compact and therefore more sustainable and liveable city.

The department’s active travel policies and programs, which encourage less reliance on car use and promote a shift to alternatives such as walking, cycling and public transport, also contribute to a significant increase in the capacity and efficiency of the transport network, all leading to better community health and reduced health care costs.

Transport and land use planning

The Integrated transport and Land Use Plan (ITLUP) released in July 2015 has identified the following solutions to reducing environmental impacts:

Reduce greenhouse gases in line with State Government targets, as well as other air emissions from the vehicle fleet

  • monitor the emissions profile of the transport sector and develop strategies to contribute to the State’s emission targets and the achievement of Carbon Neutral Adelaide
  • extending and improving walking and cycling networks, expand their catchments and incorporate walking and cycling options in planning to support zero-emissions transport
  • implementing the South Australian Governments’ new cycling laws (prescribing a minimum passing distance and allowing all ages cycling on footpaths) to make it easier and safer for individuals to cycle
  • improve local air quality by making the shift to electric trains and the reintroduction of trams (electrification also allows for potential future benefits of increased renewable energy)
  • encourage and adopt new technologies and practices in infrastructure design, construction and maintenance which reduce greenhouse gas and other emissions from transport
  • encourage early replacement of ageing transport fleets (all modes) to improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
  • support uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles, and provision of information on ways to reduce vehicle emissions from the existing fleet
  • support research, development and commercialisation opportunities for South Australia relating to low emission vehicles and fuels.

Reduce noise emissions and their impacts

  • Reduce the noise profile of the transport sector
  • deploy the Minister’s Noise Specification for new housing developments adjacent tram lines, train lines and major traffic routes
  • undertake noise mitigation when constructing new or substantially upgraded roads or railways adjacent to areas that are sensitive to noise
  • participate in national policy forums to reduce noise and air emissions from vehicles including, for example, improving Australian Design Rules for vehicles.

Improve environmental design, resource use and procurement practices

  • Minimise transport and land use effects and enhance the natural environment by using appropriate sustainable design principles, guidelines and targets for projects
  • adopt energy saving, low emission technologies as they become available
  • develop an environmental procurement policy.

Sustainable water use

In response to the KPMG review into the impact of increasing utility costs on sport and recreation organisations, the department’s Office for Recreation and Sport (ORS) led several initiatives:

  • Sustainable Clubs (part 6 of the STARCLUB Club Development Program) to help organisations responsible for maintaining sports grounds to plan for more efficient energy and water use.
  • Greening Your Club resources to equip organisations with knowledge and tools to reduce their environmental impact and utility use.
  • A fact sheet explaining eligibility requirements under the Recreation Grounds Rates and Taxes Exemption Act 1981.
  • Leak Analysis and Water Profiling Project to investigate water consumption data at ten sporting venues to identify leaks and investigate options for reducing water usage.
  • Established a Water Working Group; an across-government approach to manage the impact increased costs are having on sporting organisations, councils and schools.
  • Coordinates the Water Working Group with key staff from ORS, SA Water, Local Government Association, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DEWNR) and the Department of Education and Child Development (DECD) to identify effective and transferrable strategies to reduce water consumption.
  • Contributed to the development of the ‘Operational Guide - Irrigated Public Open Space Code of Practice’ resource to provide a best practice turf and irrigation management for all irrigated public open space.
  • ORS worked in partnership with the Conservation Council SA to develop an Environmentally Sustainable Clubs Training Program to introduce sporting organisations to environmental sustainability.

Carbon neutral city

The Government, in partnership with the Adelaide City Council, has committed to the goal for Adelaide to become the world’s first carbon neutral city. In working to achieve this ambitious goal, the department has:

  • extended the light rail (tram) network through the city to the Entertainment Centre and future extensions are planned through the AdeLINK network
  • continued work on upgrading and electrifying the Adelaide Metro rail system
  • commenced work on the O-Bahn tunnel to provide quicker and more reliable access into the city and to reduce congestion on the Inner City Ring Route
  • trialled two electric buses on Adelaide routes - building on the legacy of Adelaide’s Tindo, the world’s first solar electric bus
  • invested to improve cycling journey safety including new grade separated bikeways, additional cycle lanes and cyclist detection at major intersections
  • introduced 25 buses of Euro 5EEV emissions standard, allowing 25 buses of Euro 1 emissions standard, giving a total of 365 buses that are of the Euro5 EEV standard.