Qube Holdings Limited today announced that the first stage of Moorebank Logistics Park has been awarded an Excellent” Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) rating (for Design) from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA).
Moorebank Logistics Park is one of only a select group of privately developed projects to achieve this rating.
The IS Rating Scheme is Australia and New Zealand’s only comprehensive rating system for evaluating sustainability across infrastructure programs, projects, networks and assets. The tool evaluates the sustainability performance of the quadruple-bottom-line (Governance, Economic, Environmental and Social) of infrastructure development.
The project is targeting outstanding sustainability and innovation outcomes, and the design of these has been recognised through the award of the IS rating.
Qube’s Director of Development, Michael Yiend, said the award exceeded all expectations.
“It is recognition for the hard work and expertise of a large number of people who shared a vision to deliver something special. It demonstrates the innovations available to deliver major industrial development in a more efficient and environmentally sustainable way,” he said.
The Moorebank Logistics Park will:
- save more than 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO2-e) over 40 years of operations via energy efficient design (electric forklifts, efficient lighting, and crane regenerative power)
- result in tCO2-e savings which represent a 77% reduction when compared to a business-as-usual freight delivery scenario
- save a further 4 million tonnes of tCO2-e in that 40 year period by transporting containerized freight by rail instead of road – removing thousands of heavy truck trips from the nation’s roads
- generate more than half of the energy required across the 243 hectare precinct via solar power (the first warehouse includes a 3MW solar array; one of the largest single roof top solar installations in the southern hemisphere)
Greenhouse gas emissions have also been minimised through the reduction and selection of sustainable construction materials. Embodied energy within construction materials has been halved across the project through efficient design and construction practices.
The project design achieved a world first in innovative technology, due to its high degree of automation. This includes automated gantry cranes, straddle carriers, sortation systems and terminal operating systems. Automation reduces energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, enhances safety, minimizes environmental impacts, improving productivity and economic output.
An Australian first innovative process was awarded for the project’s approach to managing urban heat island effects, with measures implemented to achieve a 4ºC decrease in temperature on the project compared to neighbouring industrial developments.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which invested in the Moorebank project, worked alongside Qube to support the implementation of clean energy solutions at the development. CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth congratulated Qube on its ISCA achievement.
“Qube’s success reflects its commitment to sustainability and demonstrates the possibilities for decarbonisation across even the most complex infrastructure operation. Infrastructure is considered a challenging sector to decarbonise, yet this project shows that it also offers great potential. Qube tapped into that potential to find many creative ways to lower its carbon emissions.
“The lessons learned from the design and construction of Moorebank will see the benefits of this project multiplied across the infrastructure sector – another significant step towards its decarbonisation and Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy” he added.
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