CRL wins highest-possible rating for infrastructure sustainability

10/05/2023

The City Rail Link project was last night awarded an Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Design rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC), with a score of 93, corresponding to a “Leading” rating, the highest possible in its scheme.

CRL Ltd chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney says the independent assessment from the Australia-based ISC is a ringing endorsement of the values and “hard mahi” of the CRL and Link Alliance team brought to New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project.

“We have, from the get-go, worked our hardest to make the CRL an exemplar project, to set a new higher benchmark for construction, workplace safety, environmental sustainability and to form partnerships in our community to provide opportunities for people who face barriers to entering the workforce,” Dr Sweeney says.

“This award is recognition of achieving that ambition and, on behalf of the CRL and Link Alliance teams, I want to thank everyone involved and acknowledge the hard mahi it’s taken to reach our goal,” he says.

The ISC independent assessors highlighted three innovations that were critical to award the highest possible rating: the incorporation of Māori cultural values into the IS framework, using the BIM model (a digital measuring tool) to track the carbon footprint during design and the use of battery-powered MSVs with regenerative braking (which converts the kinetic energy lost during deceleration into stored energy in the vehicle’s battery).

Other highlights include:

• An 18% reduction in the footprint of concrete used, equivalent to eliminating more than 7,000 truckloads of concrete
• Reducing mined tunnelling and associated concrete and steel by 11% in the redesigned Karanga-a-Hape Station
• Maximising the use of grid electricity during construction to achieve around 80% reductions compared to diesel generators
• Minimising use of carbon-intensive shotcrete and reinforcing steel and maximising use of lower-carbon bored and cut-and-cover tunnels at Maungawhau

The assessors also focussed on the delivery of positive social outcomes, particularly the efforts to provide meaningful training and employment to Māori, Pasifika, and youth. 

CRL Ltd and Link Alliance implement a 16-week paid internship for rangatahi (youth), including training and wrap-around support,  career development, mentoring and pastoral care programme creating confident, capable people with improved career pathways and creating supply chain opportunities for Māori and Pasifika businesses, social enterprises and socially innovative businesses.

Sweeney says it has been a privilege to partner with Mana Whenua on many initiatives and to witness the positive and enduring outcomes from this good work.

CRL Media Release Ends.