This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
ONE of Australia’s first-ever cranes to be powered by 100% renewable diesel has taken to the sky on the NSW government’s Powerhouse Parramatta project.
Design and construction partner Lendlease is using renewable diesel to power tower cranes on site, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from crane operations by up to 90% over the life cycle of the fuel, compared to fossil diesel.
The renewable diesel was procured and imported to Australia as part of a cross-industry collaboration between Powerhouse project partners the NSW government, Lendlease, Marr Contracting and Refuelling Solutions, together with builder Multiplex, as the fuel is not currently manufactured or available in Australia.
Renewable diesel will now be used in cranes on the construction of several other major infrastructure projects.
“We’re introducing the first renewable diesel to Australia onto our project sites, in collaboration with partners, which will radically reduce emissions from construction equipment and become a game-changer for our industry,” said David Paterson, managing director, construction, Lendlease Australia.
“We hope today’s announcement inspires collective action from Australian contractors, the supply chain, and customers to address one of the most critical needs of our time.”
Lendlease is already using renewable diesel across the majority of construction projects in the United Kingdom, including Google’s headquarters in London. Its office and retirement living funds achieved the highest sustainable ratings in the 2022 Global Real Estate Benchmark (GRESB) rankings.
Construction is responsible for 23% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with roughly 5.5%of these emissions directly caused by powering construction machinery and equipment, mainly through fossil fuel use such as mineral diesel.
Lendlease’s is targeting “absolute zero carbon” across investment management, development and construction globally by 2040.
Marr managing director Simon Marr said the decision to replace mineral diesel with HVO100 was a significant advancement for sustainable construction.
“This allows us to transition away from fossil diesel and maintain the speed, power and reliability of our cranes to drive productivity and cost efficiencies, while helping our clients achieve their sustainability goals by directly contributing to a reduction in scope one emissions,” Marr said.
Regional managing director of Multiplex, David Ghannoum is excited for the company to pioneer the introduction of HVO100.
The first shipment of HVO100 to Australia was achieved in August 2022, through work between Marr Contracting and Australian Government. They will become the first business in the country to use the 100% renewable diesel.
“This is a critical step towards a net zero carbon future for one of the country’s largest industries, being construction,” Ghannoum said.
“Multiplex has made a global commitment to reduce our carbon footprint and support our clients and supply chain to do the same. Removing fossil diesel fuel from our sites presents a huge opportunity for our projects and industry to significantly reduce carbon emissions and make a real change.
“This renewable fuel initiative is an evolution of our decarbonisation strategy – in place for more than 10 years – and solidifies our global commitment to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for ourselves and our value chain,” Ghannoum added.
