Smashing myths and delivering value—a repeatable approach to sustainable development
Nicholas Fleming A and Susanne Cooper ASinclair Knight Merz
The APPEA Journal 52(1) 189-194 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ11014
Published: 2012
Abstract
Organisations that develop and operate capital assets, including public and private infrastructure, face an increasingly challenging task. A large range of factors needs to be addressed to develop and operate an asset successfully during its economic life. These factors include changing temperature and climate extremes, heightened social expectations, fast global communications that heighten visibility and transparency, new regulations and pricing regimes, and economic values being placed on what were once intangibles (like biodiversity). Leading organisations recognise this as a challenge to design, deliver and operate smarter, more sustainable and cost effective solutions. What is clear is that many organisations are struggling to achieve this. How to bridge the gap between business policies for sustainable development and practice is the central question. The common perceptions prevail that sustainability is ‘just a green issue’, will ‘delay my project’ and cost more. Yet in practice, the opposite is often true. This paper uses real project examples to demonstrate how integrated, smart design processes can simultaneously de-risk assets, save money and deliver better social and environmental outcomes.
Nicholas Fleming has a first class Honours degree in civil engineering (1992) and a PhD in sustainable infrastructure development (1999) from the University of Adelaide. He has more than 20 years local and international experience consulting to the water, natural resource, mining and infrastructure sectors. Since 2008, he has been the Chief Sustainability Officer for Sinclair Knight Merz, a global professional services and project delivery firm operating in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australasia and the Americas. He is a Director of the Board of the Australian Green Infrastructure Council, and Deputy Chair of the Sustainability Taskforce of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. nfleming@globalskm.com |
Susanne Cooper is SKM’s global practice leader in sustainability, with more than 20 years consulting experience working with all levels of government, internationally and with private industry. She brings experience in developing sustainability strategies, policies, assessments and reporting across numerous industry and government sectors. Susanne has worked on integrating sustainability into the design and implementation across diverse technical areas, infrastructure projects and organisations. They include major transport, water and energy infrastructure, as well as mining projects. She has also worked closely with organisations to translate sustainability in meaningful and practical terms. scooper@globalskm.com |
