Focus area
Improve environmental outcomes
Transport is committed to reducing the environmental impacts of projects and operations, including minimising pollution from our networks, projects and operations.
Our goals
Develop a circular economy for Transport by designing waste and pollution out and keeping products and materials in use
Reduce environmental impacts of projects and operations
Why it's important
Using sustainable materials lowers the carbon footprint of our activities and fosters markets for recyclable materials. This reduces our reliance on precious drinking water reserves and safeguards waterways from pollution to ensure the ongoing health of flora, fauna and communities.
Balancing all environmental factors ensures we are holistically considering our projects and the communities they impact. This delivers the most beneficial outcomes and protects the wellbeing of the surrounding environments and communities.
Develop a circular economy for Transport by designing waste and pollution out and keeping products and materials in use
As one of the largest procurers of projects in Australia, we have the ability and the responsibility to leverage this and shape a more sustainable market. Through our buying power we are driving innovation and supporting the transition of a circular economy.
Our Sustainable Procurement in Infrastructure Initiative will provide a consistent approach to meeting our circular economy commitments and supporting decarbonation within project delivery.
Building and fixing roads requires us to manage millions of tonnes of excavated spoil, road building materials and waste. Over the last financial year, we have diverted 96 per cent of this waste away from landfill, exceeding the previous financial year’s diverted waste and the NSW Government’s targeted recycling rate of 80 per cent.
We continue to collaborate with our delivery partners to drive innovation in the use of recycled materials such as glass to replace sand when making asphalt.
Across our projects, we have diverted 91 per cent of waste away from landfill and will continue to find ways to grow our circular economy.
Resource recovery rates from our road maintenance activities
Resource recovery rates from project delivery
Reduce environmental impacts of projects and operations
We are committed to minimising the impacts of building, operating and maintaining infrastructure on the surrounding land, water and air.
Through environment inspections on project, maintenance and operational sites, we can identify areas of environmental risk and prevention. From the 1,495 inspections conducted in the last financial year, 85 per cent were green light inspections. This means their environmental risks were being effectively managed.
We also monitor and respond to environmental incidents, classifying them on a scale from C1 to C6 with C6 being the lowest consequence classification. Our top three environmental incident impact areas in the last financial year were related to spills and leaks, soil and water, and biodiversity. Since last year, Transport has been working with project teams to achieve a 100 per cent close out rate for all C4 and above incidents.
Case studies and highlights
To find out more about our performance, visit:
