With more than $160 billion in projects on its books, the Not-For-Profit Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) has picked up the Gold Award at the Banksia Sustainability Awards in Sydney last night.
ISCA CEO Ainsley Simpson accepted the ‘Best of the Best’ award on behalf of the ISCA team, board and industry partners.
“ISCA is a success story that underscores power of collaboration and cross-sector commitment from the infrastructure, construction and engineering industries to do things differently. It is a deep honour to be recognised at Australia’s most prestigious sustainability awards,” says Simpson.
ISCA also took out the Banksia Not-For-Profit Award earlier in the evening. Other winners included Fujitsu Australia’s Digital Owl solution and Monash University’s Master of Environment and Sustainability program.
“The Banksia judges admired ISCA for walking the talk when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals,” says Banksia Foundation CEO Graz van Egmond.
ISCA’s Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating scheme is explicitly aligned to 15 of the 17 SDGs and makes direct contributions by supporting social enterprises delivering on SDGs 1 and 2.
ISCA has found that certified IS projects have saved more than 2.2 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equating to $76.1 million in avoided costs.
“The scheme isn’t just an overarching system, but dives down to an operational level, so it is delivering outstanding outcomes. It’s clear that ISCA are open to sharing their success with others because they are truly committed to creating long-term and ongoing change,” van Egmond says.
“We are thrilled to be recognised with the Banksia Gold Award, but we won't rest on our laurels. We are determined to work collaboratively to scale our reach, elevate our advocacy and ensure sustainability is core part of infrastructure evaluation,” says Simpson.
“The SDGs unite us all, and so does a determination to deliver infrastructure with quantifiable cultural, social, environmental and economic benefits,” she says.
Image: Supplied. ISCA 2019 Banksia Gold Award, (l-r) Ainsley Simpson CEO ISCA, Professor Kate Auty, Chair Banksia Foundation, Patrick Hastings COO ISCA
