Infrastructure Connections

In this episode of Infrastructure Connections, we speak with Graeme Newton, CEO of the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority.   Graeme shares how sustainability was embedded into the Cross River Rail project from the start — through procurement, leadership, innovation, and long-term design thinking.   The conversation explores how the project delivered sustainability outcomes through initi...

What keeps people motivated when progress is slow, outcomes are uncertain, and challenges keep evolving?   In this episode, Richard Boele, Chief Purpose Officer at KPMG, explores the powerful role of purpose in sustaining energy, resilience, and long-term commitment to change. He explains the difference between purpose—your unique contribution and who you can’t help being—and impact, the outc...

How do great leaders show care, encourage teams struggling through tough times, and boost performance?  We invited Graeme Cowan to speak at our IS Connect 26 Brisbane Leadership Breakfast. Graeme is the Founding Director of R U OK? and host of The Caring CEO podcast. He is also the author of the book Great Leaders Care.  Graeme shared his knowledge gained from 20 years helping leaders bu...

How can procurement move beyond cost-cutting to become a catalyst for better infrastructure outcomes?   In this episode, we’re joined by Richard Martin, Executive Director at ConnellGriffin, to explore the growing role of sustainable procurement in shaping the future of infrastructure delivery.   The conversation examines why sustainability is often introduced too late in the procurement...

How do you move sustainability from a standalone function to something embedded across an entire business?   In this episode of Infrastructure Connections, we explore how sustainability is being integrated into infrastructure delivery at every level—from strategy and governance to operations, technology and culture.  The conversation examines the growing shift from compliance-driven sust...

As climate pressures intensify, the way we define infrastructure is being challenged. Increasingly, attention is turning to the role of natural systems —from wetlands and forests to rivers and marine environments—as essential components of resilient infrastructure.  In this episode of Infrastructure Connections , David Carter, Executive Chair at Beca and Guardian of the Aotearoa Circle, share...

How much does infrastructure cost?    We spoke with Geoff Cooper from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga about their National Infrastructure Plan to find out.    We learned some interesting things.   New Zealand spends more on infrastructure than most OECD countries. The infrastructure spend averages 5.6%, swinging between 5% to 7%.  Renewals run t...

Can investors make a return on sustainability?    "We see really good value creation investing in sustainability," said our guest in this episode of Infrastructure Connections. Alex Ayscough is an Investment Director at the infrastructure investment firm Morrison.   "I think sustainability provided investment opportunities for us, and a lot of other infrastructure investors as well....

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝟭𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶a? Ben Goldfarb found that roads are "the leading direct human cause of vertebrate mortality on land." More than hunting, wildfires, dams, and urban habitat loss combined.   The costs are enormous.   According to the @Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) animal-vehicle collisions cost Australia $7 billion every year through:  &n...

𝗜𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆?   Sustainability feels expensive and hard when it’s bolted on at the end.   But when procurement is involved early, everything shifts:  • Sustainability is embedded from planning, not post‑design  • Procurement and sustainability teams work together  • Suppliers help shape smarter, cost‑neutral solutions   Pub...

Do you take cars for granted?    What if you learned they were responsible for an increased sense of isolation?  A lack of trust in the community?   A source of stress throughout your day?  Even where you spend time in your home?    Studies show all this and more, yet we often fail to see cars as anything but urban solutions.   Today we're speaking to M...

Do you have someone to call when you don't know the answer?    On carbon?   On Nature Based Solutions?   On sustainable finance?   On circularity?    With so many sustainability regulations and requirements, it's impossible for one person to know it all. But it takes hours to read up on these topics and, even then, do you qualify as an expert?    When w...

Richard Evans is the Founder and CEO of Talent Nation, Australia’s leading Sustainability, ESG, Environment, Sustainable Finance and Climate & Energy recruitment agency. The company is a B Corp and 100% employee owned. He serves part time on the Membership Advisory Group of the UN Global Compact Network Australia. He has a background in management consulting and banking, and joins us from Melb...

Host Seth Scott interviews Cathy Bebelman.   Cathy is the Chief Scientist: Head of Science and Sustainability with Auckland Transport in New Zealand. Cathy has an extensive background in the environmental impacts of infrastructure and transport networks, working as a researcher and consultant in the public sector for over 25 years.  She advocates for a holistic approach to the management...

Host Seth Scott interviews David Clubb. David Clubb is the Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission for Wales. He is also the Head of Climate Action at Cardiff Metropolitan University. He also founded Afallen, one of Wales' leading sustainability consultancies. Prior to that, he was Director of RenewableUK, the award-winning trade body for sustainable energy. Wales is realising several outs...

Toby Kent is the CEO of the Infrastructure Sustainability Council. Prior to this, he worked for PwC Australia, where he served as a Partner in the Energy Transition. He co-founded and managed ResilientCo Consulting and has been an active board member of the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia for four years. He was also Chair of the Future Business Council for three years. &nbsp...

Host Seth Scott interviews Andy Hill, Founder of Planet Price  Andy Hill is the Founder of Planet Price, a software company that incorporates the cost of planetary boundaries in infrastructure procurement. A mechanical engineer, Andy is also ANZ Director at Hemisphere Partners, an M&A firm. He serves on the board and is an angel investor and mentor for several startups.  Andy shows u...

Host Seth Scott interviews Anthony Kane, President and CEO of Assistant Professor of Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.   Anthony Kane is President & CEO of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit which facilitates the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework. Anthony also serves as a commissioner on the DC Commission on Climat...

Host Seth Scott interviews Cailin Slattery, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business. Cailin brings us her findings from the paper “State Capacity and Infrastructure Costs” (co-authored with Yale Law School Professor Zachary Liscow and Columbia University's William Nober). Key findings of the report:    👉 One addtional transport...

Host Seth Scott interviews Tania Hyde, Technical Director & Circular Design Lead (Transport & Infrastructure) at Beca. One of our most detailed episodes yet, Tania talks about Beca's Circular Design Framework, how infrastructure projects can achieve circular principles by asking tough questions, accounting for the Planet Price in purchasing, and free Circular Spatial Planning from TU Delft...

During our interview with Lisa McLean, Managing Director and CEO of Circular Australia, we learned of some of the impressive circular initiatives happening in Australia, such as:  - The importance of building circular "precincts", a place to keep resources in circulation locally.  - The new ISO 59000 Global Framework for implementing circular economy principles  - Several of Circula...

Today we're touring one of Waste Management's recovery centres in Auckland and meeting with Ingrid Cronin-Knight, Chief Growth and Sustainability Officer at Waste Management New Zealand. We talked to her about how to turn waste into gold.   We learned a lot from our visit. Recycling isn't easy but when done right we can recover a good portion of our infrastructure materials, especially concre...

Guest Speaker Georgine Roodenrys is a respected leader in regenerative industrial development, with deep expertise in decarbonisation, circular economy, and climate strategy. She is a Director at Rennie, where she advises clients on navigating the complex transition to a low-carbon economy, integrating sustainability, innovation, and human progress.    👉 We'd love to hear your feedback,...

Dr Nicole Garofano is an Australian leading expert in circular economy systems and sustainable materials management, recognised for her deep expertise in plastic waste and packaging value chains. She is currently the Head of Circular Economy Development at Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, where she works across industry, government, and research sectors to support the acceleration towards Aust...

This week on Infrastructure Connections we're talking to Veena Sahajwalla about micro recycling and the circular economy. The takeaways from this episode give us new ways to look at circularity:   1. Companies are starting to re-think their identity. "We're not a waste company, we're a supply company." We supply resources as feedstock, resources that used to be waste for someone else.  ...