Infrastructure creates around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for approximately half of all the resources used and waste created on the planet. That is alarming enough, but between 60% and 70% of the infrastructure planned by 2050 has not been built yet.
This context, according to Dr Jacqueline Balston, places a big responsibility on asset managers, architects, and engineers to make a major contribution to sustainability, and help limit the impact of climate change in future infrastructure.
Balston, who is IPWEA’s Director of Sustainability, told the IPWC 2025 conference that the infrastructure sector had an “enormous responsibility” to do three key things.
Firstly, she said the sector needed to reduce its impact on the environment with sustainable, reusable and recyclable assets.
IPWEA, she mentioned, had developed best practice guidance on the circular economy and the use of recycled materials in infrastructure assets.
The second responsibility was to ensure that all new infrastructure is designed, built and maintained, to be carbon neutral and climate resilient.
The third priority was to “prioritise nature based green infrastructure solutions” as an alternative to traditional hard assets.
“It has been shown that including green infrastructure (GI) as part of an overall asset management strategy, can save capital and operating costs and reduce risk when compared to engineered alternatives,” said Balston.
“By applying asset management practices to green infrastructure, we can ensure green assets are valued and managed to provide optimal services and do not become degraded.”
Balston defined GI as a managed and interconnected nature-based network for the provision of services.
“Managed nature-based green infrastructure assets are those that are intentionally managed to provide a required level of service, such as managed forests or urban forests, infiltration ponds, lawns and gardens, or restored and rehabilitated coastal and marine assets,” she said.
“Hybrid or enhanced assets combine nature-based elements and supporting engineered assets and include street trees with pits, rain gardens, constructed wetlands and living shorelines with hybrid components.”
The eco-system services for the land provided by green infrastructure are multi-pronged, and range from land slope stabilisation, cooling and a reduction in the urban heat island effect, to shading and air quality improvement.
The services for water include sediment capture, enhanced water infiltration and retention, reduced surface runoff and flooding.While coastal GI assets deliver storm and coast protection, erosion control, dune stabilisation, water quality improvement and sediment capture.
“The co-benefits of investing in GI to provide these services are extensive,” said Balston. They include reduction of energy consumption in buildings, increased property values, the storing of carbon, climate resilience and the protection of wildlife habits.
“There is also improved pollination, improvements in human health and well-being, enhanced visual amenity and many more benefits.”
IPWEA’s soon to be released Green Infrastructure Management Manual details five key elements of asset management as applied to green infrastructure.
These are:
- Providing a defined level of service
- Management future changes in service demand
- Taking a lifecycle approach
- Identifying, assessing and appropriately managing risks
- Having a long term final plan
To provide ongoing ecosystem services, managed GI needs to be integrated into asset management planning at the highest level and included in Strategic Asset Management Plans, Asset Management Plans, Long-term financial Plans and Operating Plans.
“Including green infrastructure into an asset management plan will include a range of stakeholders from elected members and organisational management to asset managers, engineers, biologists, ecologists, financial staff and for local government members of the public,” said Balston.
“So perhaps most important in this step is coming to a common language to ensure that all stakeholders understand the common goal.”
In collaboration with a range of project partners and funding from the Local Government Association Research & Development Scheme, IPWEA has developed the Green Infrastructure Management Manual. The manual is available free of charge on the IPWEA website. Click here to download this resource.