Embodied carbon from construction accounts for nearly 10% of NSW’s emissions. Government and industry are working together to drive change, says Infrastructure NSW’s Dena Jacobs.

The NSW Net Zero Commission has found that the built environment sector is not on an emissions reduction trajectory. Embodied emissions represent an increasing share of built environment emissions. The Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Policy addresses embodied emissions and is now mandatory on NSW Government infrastructure projects.

Reducing emissions from construction is essential for achieving NSW’s net zero targets. The embodied emissions associated with construction account for close to 10% of the state’s emissions. Recognising this, the NSW Government is embedding carbon reduction into the planning and delivery of its infrastructure projects.

On 4 April 2025, the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery Policy became operational. The policy applies to all NSW Government infrastructure projects with an estimated capital cost of $50 million or more in the buildings sector and $100 million or more for linear infrastructure. It sets out requirements for considering and reducing embodied carbon across the project lifecycle.

The policy ensures that decarbonisation is not an add-on but a core component of project development. It requires agencies to assess carbon impacts across three project stages: business case, procurement and planning approval, and construction. 

To support the implementation of the policy, Infrastructure NSW has developed a comprehensive Decarbonisation Toolkit, which includes:

The Decarbonisation Toolkit was informed by a survey of infrastructure supply chain participants and NSW Government. With over 400 respondents, it showed that a quarter of projects that respondents had worked on over the past five years had set and met embodied carbon reduction targets, indicating that there is extensive industry experience in decarbonisation. Despite this, confidence to decarbonise remains low among professions with significant influence over carbon outcomes, namely architects and engineers, construction managers and business case developers. This points to the need for collaboration between industry, professional associations, and government to uplift capability.

For more information, including access to the Toolkit and supporting materials, visit: Decarbonising Infrastructure.

About the author

Dena Jacobs is an Executive Director in the Strategy Division at Infrastructure NSW, and leads Infrastructure NSW’s sustainability, energy coordination and resilience work programs. This includes the Decarbonising Infrastructure Delivery policy and measurement approach that focuses on reducing embodied emissions in infrastructure delivery. Dena has a background in economics, having previously worked at Deloitte, NSW Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Reserve Bank of Australia.