Construction and decommissioning activities are typically resource intensive and present opportunity for operating efficiency improvements. Environmental issues during the operational phase of various types of Infrastructure projects primarily include the following:
- Poor quality of construction materials / building materials
- Air emissions
- Wastewater discharge
- Solid waste management
- Transport, telecom
The infrastructure sector has numerous opportunities for cost-savings and efficiency improvements. An analysis of what areas of the operations could be improved to generate savings and higher efficiency can be determined by exploring the following:
- Use environmentally friendly building / construction materials
- Reduce and reuse construction waste
- Increase water recycling and reuse of wastewater
- Reduce air emissions by switching to alternate fuel sources for operating machinery
- Increase use of efficient vehicles such as hybrids or electric vehicles for transporting materials
- Transportation – increased use of efficient vehicles as hybrids or electric
- Disposal of obsolete telecom equipment, use of renewable energy such as solar powered transmission towers
For more information on E&S risks in infrastructure sector please refer to factsheets in Related Documents section.