Aligning to global sustainability goals

Transport’s eight focus areas are aligned to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

What are the SDGs?

The SDGs are a universal call-to-action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. The goals recognise that we must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability in development.

At Transport, we collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders from industry, domestic and international agencies, and our communities across NSW. With our scale and reach, we are in a key position to drive positive impact at scale and accelerate progress towards achieving the 2030 goals.

We have aligned our eight focus areas with the UN SDGs and will provide updates on how we are progressing against these goals.

Tap on a SDG card to learn more

Hover on a SDG card to learn more

SDG icon #1

SDG icon #2

SDG icon #3

SDG icon #4

SDG icon #5

SDG icon #6

SDG icon #7

SDG icon #8

SDG icon #9

SDG icon #10

SDG icon #11

SDG icon #12

SDG icon #13

SDG icon #14

SDG icon #15

SDG icon #16

SDG icon #17

Where do the SDGs and Transport overlap?

Respond to climate change

Sustainability goals

Consider climate change risks in all key decisions
Achieve net zero emissions from our operations and fleet by 2035
Net zero emissions by 2050

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Protect and enhance biodiversity

Sustainability goal

No net loss of biodiversity as a result of our infrastructure development program

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Improve environmental outcomes

Sustainability 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

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Procure responsibly

Sustainability goals

Social and environmental outcomes are included in all procurement decisions
Go beyond minimum compliance targets in Aboriginal Procurement Policy

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Partner with communities

Sustainability goals

Always leave a positive legacy for communities as a result of projects
Enable, apply and report on community engagement

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Respect culture and heritage

Sustainability goals

Aboriginal culture is acknowledged, integrated and preserved
Acknowledging and incorporating culture through stories, examples, best practice

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Align spend and impact

Sustainability goals

All decisions consider value created from sustainability alongside financial analysis
Reduce whole of life costs for the transport network

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Empower customers to make sustainable choices

Sustainability goal

Use customer journeys to inform, engage and inspire more sustainable practices and demonstrate Transport’s progress

Alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Our plan

Keep learning how we're actioning change

Watch how we're taking action

NSW is home to seven native freshwater turtle species, two of which are found nowhere else in the world. However, these native turtle populations are declining due to several challenges such as introduced predators, habitat loss and road mortalities.

Following the opening of the Northern Road Upgrade Project in Western Sydney several community members raised concerns about turtle fatalities. Conventional road fauna mortality surveys are an important tool in developing mitigation measures. However, they are time consuming and require a two-person ecologist team to drive sections of the road. These teams can either travel at the posted speed limits, potentially compromise data accuracy, or choose slower speeds for precision, which can disrupt traffic flow and compromise safety.

An artificial intelligence (AI) solution was developed and trialled in response to the communities’ concerns. The idea uses video data from dash-mounted cameras to detect turtles and then use AI to differentiate between turtles and other objects such as potholes. Leveraging this mapping ability, the initiative aims to find an innovative way to inform effective mitigation measures and is a collaborative effort between Transport’s site personnel and ecologists from Western Sydney University.

Figure 1: An example of AI technology being used to analyse video data for turtle identification on roads

Figure 2: A further example of AI technology applied to analyse video data in identifying turtles on roads

Overcoming the challenges of traditional surveys, AI analysis of dash-mounted camera video provides a simple and a more effective solution for identifying and mapping turtles on the roads. The AI model developed by the dash cams team has been successfully tested on three different camera formats including iPhones. These dash cams easily attach to most vehicles and capture high-quality video footage. They have an accuracy rate of over 90 per cent in detecting turtles on roads, even at speeds of 80 km/h – a significant achievement given the challenges of identifying turtles on roads. The enhanced accuracy also minimises the need for ecologists to review all footage, saving both time and effort.

Figure 3: Side-by-side comparison of a turtle and a pothole

Aligning with the start of turtles’ breeding season, November is celebrated as National Turtle Month. This national citizen science event, co managed by Western Sydney University, is dedicated to raising awareness about threatened freshwater turtle species. In support of our commitment to protecting and enhancing biodiversity, our M12 Motorway team had joined with Western Sydney University in the 1 Million Turtles program. This collaborative effort strengthens our commitment to fauna protection and deepens our understanding of conservation requirements across our projects.

The impact of this innovation extends beyond protecting the local freshwater turtles. With this ongoing collaboration with the university, we are continuing to develop AI technology, to eventually identify various other species on our roadways. This enhancement is expected to advance our biodiversity monitoring and increase our knowledge of roadkill hotspots.

By identifying and understanding any fauna mortality hotspots more effectively, we can implement targeted mitigation and connectivity measures during or even after road projects. The mitigation strategies will help protect our unique fauna and enhance road safety for our road users.

Figure 4: A native freshwater turtle spotted on an NSW road