Transport Sustainability Plan

To achieve our sustainability vision of a NSW where every journey is people and planet positive, we needed to create a uniform approach to sustainability across all our modes of transport.

Watch the video for our plan

At Transport, our eight focus areas address the most important sustainability aspects associated with our activities, each supported by sustainability goals, where we will concentrate our attention and resources.

Respond to climate change

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

Protect and enhance biodiversity

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

Improve environmental outcomes

Support the transition to 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

Procure responsibly

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

Partner with communities

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

Respect culture and heritage

Aboriginal culture is acknowledged, integrated and preserved
Acknowledge and incorporate culture through stories, examples, and best practice

Align spend and impact

Value created from sustainability is considered alongside financial analysis in all relevant decisions
Reduce whole of life costs for the transport network

Empower customers to make sustainable choices

Use customer journeys to inform, engage and inspire more sustainable practices and demonstrate our progress

Read about our eight sustainability focus areas

Our Sustainability Plan will ensure we are being environmentally and socially responsible in the way we work, embedding economic sustainability in decision making and building a transport system that is resilient to future shocks and stresses.

Download Summary: Sustainability Plan Download Full Version: Sustainability Plan 2021

The Plan addresses a range of legislative requirements and is informed by key strategic and regulatory drivers:

Sustainability vision

Every journey is people and planet positive

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Paris Agreement to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change 2015

Environmental Planning and Assessment Act
1979 (NSW)

Transport Administration Act 1988 (NSW)

Protection of the Environment
Operations Act 1997 (NSW)

NSW Climate
Change Policy Framework

NSW Waste and
Sustainable Materials
Strategy

NSW Electric Vehicle
Strategy 2021

NSW Government
Resource Efficiency
Policy 2019

NSW Circular
Economy Policy
Statement 2019

Transport
Environment and
Sustainability Policy

Transport Environment and
Sustainability
Management Framework

Future
Transport
Strategy

Future
Energy
Strategy

Future
Energy
Action Plan

Net Zero and
Climate Change
Policy

Other plans, policies
and legislation

Key focus areas

Keep learning how we're actioning change

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Global goals

As we celebrate World Environment Day, Transport recognises that restoration is key to fighting biodiversity loss and climate change around the world. Our revegetation initiatives, spanning from rainforest to urban areas, demonstrate our commitment to protect and enhance biodiversity

Transforming grazing land into rainforest

Ecosystems continue to be threatened by climate change and extreme weather events. One initiative we have implemented to assist with this threat is the transformation of 6 hectares of cleared grazing land at Tinderbox Creek near Bangalow into subtropical rainforest. Over 13 years, approximately 9,000 rainforest plants were planted, successfully establishing populations of seven threatened and three nationally rare plant species.

Revegetation to expand Koala habitat

At an even larger scale, the Woolgoolga to Ballina Pacific Highway Upgrade included an ambitious Koala Revegetation Plan, creating 130 hectares of new koala habitat. By planting native trees, we compensated for habitat loss, improved connectivity, and guided koalas towards safe road crossings.

Protecting new species and rainforest

Our revegetation efforts are evident across our projects, including our work along the Coffs Harbour Bypass. The project’s early work conducting ecological surveys led to the discovery of two new plant species: Fontainea sp. Coffs Harbour and Pittosporum kororoense. To protect these newly discovered species, the project implemented measures to safeguard the plants within their natural habitats. When required, plants were relocated to suitable environments and propagated in designated facilities. Thousands of these plants are now thriving within protected sites.

Additionally, in response to community feedback, the project realigned the Coffs Harbour Bypass to preserve the White Booyong Fig Subtropical Rainforest, known locally as Grandpa’s Scrub. This redesign avoided impacting this remnant rainforest, demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship and community collaboration.

Figure 1: Pittosporum kororoense showing flush growth, two years after translocation

Figure 2: White Booyong Fig Subtropical Rainforest (locally known as Grandpa’s Scrub), February 2023

Preserving endangered species and native plants

Our commitment to restoration is also evident in the Nowra Bridge Project, where we took proactive measures to preserve the endangered Magenta Lilly Pillies. Seeds were collected and propagated on-site, and these plants were successfully replanted adjacent to Bomaderry Creek.

Similarly, our M12 project focused on the collection and propagation of native plant seeds in partnership with Toolijooa Nursery. We successfully propagated various native species and will replant approximately 31,000 new trees along the M12 corridor. Additionally, we will share any surplus propagated plants with other conservation areas, extending the benefits of native flora preservation and expansion beyond our projects.

Urban greening in Parramatta

Extending our efforts to urban environments, our partnership with the City of Parramatta Council aims to combat the urban heat island effect and improve air quality. We are planting over 5,500 trees in Parramatta by 2024 as part of the Parramatta Light Rail Tree Offset Strategy. This initiative supports urban cooling, biodiversity and surpasses the pre-construction tree count.

Biodiversity Offset

Across our projects, we follow our Biodiversity Policy and Biodiversity Management Guidelines to avoid, minimise and mitigate the impacts on biodiversity. We also look for ways to restore biodiversity, and to go above and beyond minimal compliance requirements. We established a unique Biobank to meet our obligation under NSW and Commonwealth law. The Biobank holds biodiversity credits from Transport-owned land and from projects that have reduced impacts due to design refinements. It forms a crucial subset of Transport’s total biodiversity credit holdings and strengthens our participation in the Biodiversity Offset Scheme.

Our diverse revegetation efforts highlight our commitment to comprehensive restoration and conservation. By collaborating with communities and taking thoughtful actions, we are creating positive changes that will benefit both our cities and natural landscapes for generations to come.

#GenerationRestoration

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