Stronger global commitment to deliver sustainable projects

• Webuild has received a Leading Rating – the highest classification – from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) for the Airport Line project

• Infrastructure Sustainability Council is Australia’s leading body for assessing infrastructure projects based on environmental, social, economic and governance factors

MILAN, February 6, 2023 – Webuild has been awarded the highest classification from Australia’s Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) for the Airport Line, formerly known as the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth. The ISC “As Built Leading” rating for the new light rail line acknowledges Webuild’s commitment to building sustainable infrastructure in this core market where the Group is expanding. The ISC is a leading evaluator of infrastructure projects based on environmental, social, economic and governance factors. 

The Airport Line, which was opened in October 2022 by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, received in July 2018 the ISCA Certificate for “Excellent” Sustainability in Design, based on the initiatives introduced into the design of the final project. The latest rating confirms these design intentions were successfully executed in the completed project.

Built by Webuild in a joint-venture with local partner NRW, the 8.5-kilometre line features three stations connecting the eastern suburbs with the Central Business District, passing through the international airport. The line is expected to take up to 15,000 vehicles off the roads every day and cut up to 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. 

The rating rewards the many solutions put into practice by Webuild to make the project as sustainable as possible, in particular the management of water and the materials used. 

Water used by the tunnel-boring machines (TBM) was recycled at an on-site slurry treatment plant, saving 2,740 megalitres of water, the equivalent of more than 1,000 Olympic swimming pools. 

Webuild used a sustainable concrete blend to produce the segments that line the tunnel walls. Known as Triple Blend 60MPa Concrete, it is a low-cement blend containing 65% supplementary cementitious materials. An estimated 21,848 tonnes of CO2 emissions were as a result avoided in the production of the 54,000 tunnel segments. In 2019, the Concrete Institute of Australia presented Webuild with an award for excellence in Technology and Innovation for this process.

Sustainability is central to Webuild’s development strategy. Its 2021-2023 ESG Plan focuses on three strategic areas (Green, Safety & Inclusion), identifies clear goals – especially to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and accelerates investments in innovative, highly sustainable projects. In 2022, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) approved the climate change goals set by Webuild to reduce its emissions by 2030. The Group’s commitment to sustainability has won acknowledgment from ratings agencies VigeoEiris (Advanced), ISS-Oekom (Prime) and EcoVadis.