Achieving sustainable infrastructure

The world is awakening to the urgent actions needed to respond to the climate crisis, and the infrastructure sector has a fundamental role to play.

As the world prepares for a new reality coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a clear necessity in this moment to rethink how we can rebuild the global economy and societies for a more resilient and sustainable future. Now more than ever we should be aware of our impact on the planet and our vulnerability to threats of a global scale. Resilience, mitigation, preparedness and sustainable growth are at the top of the agenda in board rooms, legislative chambers and the public domain. Governments around the world are turning to infrastructure as a means to boost economic growth. The prioritization of green infrastructure projects through mechanisms like sustainable finance and robust ESG criteria can help to ensure that we emerge from the COVID-19 crisis more resilient to address imminent threats including climate change.

SYETA member firms are involved in this critical industry transformation, bringing together our respected infrastructure and sustainability practices to work closely with private and public sector asset developers, operators and investors in four key areas. Together, SYETA professionals are helping clients to plan, build and manage infrastructure programs that are environmentally resilient, socially impactful and deliver sustainable economic growth for current and future generations.

The four key enablers for achieving sustainable infrastructure.

• Climate Change and Decarbonization
  Infrastructure industry participants are committed to helping develop solutions to the climate crisis. To do so, they must first access reliable information to understand the climate change-driven impacts on their assets and the inter-connected ecosystems.By quantifying the financial, physical, regulatory, reputational and transitional risks, infrastructure developers and operators can take the most effective steps to decarbonize their businesses and transform their organizations for a sustainable future.
• True Value
  To obtain coveted project approvals, win contracts and secure financing, infrastructure developers, owners and operators must show how their activities and assets impact society from an economic, social and environmental perspective. However, until recently, it has been difficult to present a clear, holistic view of the value created by infrastructure programs.Now, SYETA’s methodology provides a comprehensive means to express the overall value that projects create or reduce for society, enabling asset developers, owners and operators to provide transparent ESG disclosure to stakeholders and enable decision-making that contributes to sustainable development.
• ESG investmetns
  Much of the investment industry is focused on incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance principles (ESG) into their investing mandates and portfolio holdings. The result is that investors must identify and track complex ESG considerations for infrastructure opportunities in the debt and equity markets. Similarly, infrastructure developers and operators must embed ESG criteria in their projects, and across their asset lifecycles, to attract investor and lender interest. KPMG helps clients understand the ESG risks, liabilities and compliance issues related to asset transactions, to safeguard asset value and support business growth.
• Sustainable Finance
  Although sustainable development is critical to reducing the harm of climate change, historically it was difficult to attract the necessary capital to sustainable projects due to unfamiliar investment risks. Now, through regulation and incentives, governments and the financial industry are encouraging Sustainable Finance, to mobilize capital towards sustainable infrastructure and green technologies. KPMG helps bring together infrastructure developers and investors, helping them explore, create and partner in innovative sustainable finance programs that can strengthen our planet.