New global collaboration initiative to guide decarbonisation in the infrastructure sector

Infrastructure leaders from all over the world gathered in Geneva for the 2024 FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference, with the ambition of ‘Transforming lives with infrastructure’. Supporting that ambition, FIDIC launched a new long-term initiative designed to assist projects and organisations to reduce carbon emissions throughout the lifecycle of their infrastructure projects.

Carbon Collaboration Initiative

The initiative was first proposed by Ramboll CEO Jens Peter Saul during FIDIC’s first global leadership event in April 2023, and is supported by a core team of experts from Ramboll, Mott MacDonald, Arup, Arcadis, WSP, and researchers from the University of Cambridge.

“Infrastructure accounts for over 70% of total carbon emissions worldwide. So, the engineering and consulting industry has the responsibility and opportunity of helping to significantly reduce this impact,” says Jens Peter Saul, CEO of Ramboll. “If climate change were a pandemic, we would quickly come together and share best practice, knowledge, and data of how to overcome the virus. But climate change is even more serious, so we need to act now.”

Integrating sustainability into infrastructure projects

To get started, the first step involves developing a Carbon Management Framework (CMF). The CMF is not a rigid standard but flexible guidelines that can be tailored to the needs of different projects and stakeholders. It provides a clear pathway for the industry to advance from basic carbon awareness to the comprehensive integration of carbon management strategies across entire portfolios of projects.

The CMF outlines a phased approach for implementation, encouraging project teams to engage with stakeholders, establish benchmarks, and continuously monitor and report progress.

“Our Carbon Collaboration Initiative reflects our unwavering commitment to lead the way in driving down carbon footprints in infrastructure projects around the world,” says Basma Eissa, Head of Policy, ESG & Sustainability and CMF project manager at FIDIC. “With our unique ability to bring together diverse stakeholders, including engineers, developers, and financial institutions, we aim to foster global collaboration on adopting sustainable practices. This initiative is crucial as we move toward a low-carbon future, enabling our members to leverage best practices, benchmark progress, and achieve tangible reductions in emissions through whole-life carbon management. FIDIC is proud to use its convening power to promote such essential transformations in how we build the future.”