Infrastructure Connections

Infrastructure Connections

A knowledge sharing podcast brought to you by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council.Follow and join us on our next episodes!

  1. S3E11 - Road Ecology w/ Ben Goldfarb

    1D AGO

    S3E11 - Road Ecology w/ Ben Goldfarb

    ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ธ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—”๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ถa? 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:    โ€ข Vehicle damage    โ€ข Towing and insurance costs    โ€ข Human hospital bills    โ€ข Almost 150 human pedestrian deaths each year    โ€ข Road repairs   But the real damage to animals and the environment is invisible.    โ€ข Lost access to breeding grounds    โ€ข Lost access to food sources    โ€ข Impeded migration    โ€ข Biodiversity loss as seeds fail to cross roads    โ€ข Reductions in fertile females    โ€ข Starvation    โ€ข Functional extinction    โ€ข Species extinction   There is good news. Australia is increasingly leading the world in wildlife crossings, building:    โ€ข Arboreal bridges    โ€ข The Crab Bridges of Christmas Island    โ€ข Koala log bridges through underpasses    โ€ข Flying squirrel poles.    Road ecologists continue to find ways to reduce the impact of roads on our environment. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐˜†๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ.    ๐Ÿ‘‰ We'd love to hear your feedback, share your questions or comments below.    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Like & Subscribe so you won't miss out on our upcoming episodes!    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Keep up to date with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council:   Website: https://www.iscouncil.org/  LinkedIn:   / infrastructure-sustainability-council         #infrastructure #podcast #infrastructureconnections #sustainability #crossings #roadecology

    28 min
  2. S3E10 - Sustainable Procurement w/ Bec Timmings

    FEB 26

    S3E10 - Sustainable Procurement w/ Bec Timmings

    ๐—œ๐˜€ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—บ๐—ผ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—ถ๐˜๐˜†?   Sustainability feels expensive and hard when itโ€™s bolted on at the end.   But when procurement is involved early, everything shifts:  โ€ข Sustainability is embedded from planning, not postโ€‘design  โ€ข Procurement and sustainability teams work together  โ€ข Suppliers help shape smarter, costโ€‘neutral solutions   Public procurement is powerful โ€” it influences 13โ€“20% of global GDP and can shift entire markets.   Soโ€ฆ is it the most important stage?   We explore this with Bec Timmings, Executive Advisor at ConnellGriffin and a leading voice in sustainable procurement.   ๐Ÿ‘‰ We'd love to hear your feedback, share your questions or comments below.    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Like & Subscribe so you won't miss out on our upcoming episodes!    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Keep up to date with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council:   Website: https://www.iscouncil.org/  LinkedIn:   / infrastructure-sustainability-council         #infrastructure #podcast #infrastructureconnections #sustainability #sustainableprocurement #procurement

    28 min
  3. S3E6 - Transport Resilience w/ Cathy Bebelman

    12/12/2025

    S3E6 - Transport Resilience w/ Cathy Bebelman

    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 of climate and the environment.  Auckland Transport made changes to their approach to transport after the 2023 Auckland Anniversary and Cyclone Gabrielle storms.    This month they published their Climate Adaptation Framework and Action Plan 2025 - https://at.govt.nz/media/iqebfs0r/at-climate-adaption-framework-and-action-plan.pdf     The storms caused 2,000 landslides across the region at a cost to repair of $360 million. Cathy discusses how they worked to resolve this as well as how their budget might need to change to incorporate climate related storm damage to come.  That hasn't slowed down AT's electrification efforts.  Aucklanders now enjoy a fully electric train system, the largest electrified bus fleet in the South Pacific, and new electric ferries on the water.    And there's a lot more to look forward to.   ๐Ÿ‘‰ We'd love to hear your feedback, share your questions or comments below.    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Like & Subscribe so you won't miss out on our upcoming episodes!    ๐Ÿ‘‰ Keep up to date with the Infrastructure Sustainability Council:   Website: https://www.iscouncil.org/  LinkedIn:   / infrastructure-sustainability-council         #podcast #infrastructure #sustainability #buildingtomorrow

    30 min

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A knowledge sharing podcast brought to you by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council.Follow and join us on our next episodes!