CEO Report

COP27 and our role in addressing climate change

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Standards Australia's CEO, Adrian O'Connell and International Engagement Manager, Abbey Dorian at COP27.

by Adrian O'Connell
 
I was fortunate recently to participate in the UN’s COP27 climate change conference in Egypt as part of the ISO leadership delegation.
 
The event hosted thousands of policy makers and expert delegates from across the world who networked and collaborated on a wide range of topics, including the critical role standards play in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation challenges and delivering on climate action commitments. Standards are an essential source of know-how to give effect to many of the commitments made to address climate change, in particular the commitment to net zero by 2050. The launch of the ISO International Workshop Agreement (IWA) guidelines on achieving Net Zero was a key feature of the forum, advocating for the role of International Standards in paving the way to a low carbon global economy. 
 
I have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of the UN COP forum to deliver effective action, however, the event did reinforce my view about Standards Australia’s crucial role in international standards bodies and in our nation’s approach to sustainable practices. At the event I reflected on the important work we are doing in the space.
 
Standards Australia has several key initiatives underway, all designed to deliver progress in areas where standards can have considerable impact:
 
  • Energy: there is a need to coordinate the introduction of smart energy technologies into legacy grids which were not designed to accommodate them. We are establishing a Smart Energy Advisory Group to help prioritise standards relating to smart energy. This group will combine technical and policy expertise to help advance technical standards 
 
  • Hydrogen: in 2020, eight key hydrogen standards were adopted, but with demand for this cleaner energy source on the rise, more work must be done. Our Hydrogen Technologies Strategic Work Plan summarises our work to date, and outlines a pathway forward
 
  • Circular Economy: shifting society to re-use, repair, repurpose and/or recycle requires new thinking, frameworks and business models. Standards Australia is coordinating a Circular Economy Advisory Group to strengthen partnerships and identify immediate priority areas. We are also updating technical standards while developing new ones
 
  • Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG): the challenges to ESG investment are considerable, from social inequity to lack of harmonisation of frameworks and lack of trustworthy information. We are developing a one-stop-shop for ESG users, to include a policy toolkit, processes, measurements and validation tools, plus a framework of standards and regulations to help businesses marshal their approach to ESG
 
COP27 has been an important and educative experience for Standards Australia, and we look forward to working with you to advance our work on climate change.

Digital Engineering: Shifting the paradigm

This month, Standards Australia hosted a hybrid panel session, Digital Engineering: Shifting the paradigm in the construction sector. 
 
The event launched Standards Australia’s initiative to engage with industry on the future of the engineering and construction sector. 
 
For the panel, Standards Australia’s General Manager of Engagement and Communications, Adam Stingemore, was joined by Ian Oppermann, NSW Government Chief Data Scientist, and Industry Professor at UTS; Dr James Glastonbury, Executive General Manager Engineering, Technology and Innovation at McConnell Dowell; and Simon Vaux, CEO of DEOS Digital.
 
Together they spoke on industry drivers for change, the rise of digital twins, and the future of smart infrastructure. 
 
Watch the recording of the event via this YouTube link.  

Standards key to resilient and sustainable cities

Lead gas installation Standard revised

Vale Peter Clarke

With only a couple of years of actual retirement, after a record four and a half decades of membership, we are deeply saddened by the news that Mr Peter Clarke has regrettably passed away. 
 
For 16 years Peter was Chair of CE-012, Standards Australia’s technical committee for Aggregates and Rock for Engineering Purposes and performed much of the extensive drafting and development of new standards, along with the renewal of existing standards within the AS 1141 and AS 2758 series. 
 
He had been an industry stalwart in his involvement with technical committees and his hard work and dedication over the years left CE-012 in an excellent position. 
 
CE-012 committee member Professor Vute Sirivivatnanon describes Peter as a ‘rock’ and a ‘diplomat’ in strongly guiding the committee to consensus, with two new AS test methods developed for assessing the potential alkali-silica reactivity of aggregates in 2014: AS1141.60.1 and AS1141.60.2. Peter also led a team revising and updating HB79 Guidelines on minimising the risk of damage to concrete structures in Australia, which was published in 2015.
  
Peter was nominated by the committee and awarded the 2012 Meritorious Contribution award, which he humbly accepted on behalf of the extensive work of the committee. To be nominated for the same award in 2016 was amazing and a most deserved accolade. 

On behalf of Standards Australia and the CE-012 committee members we wish to pass on our sincerest condolences to Peters’ wife Mary, and the entire Clarke family.
 
With respect, 
 
Tom Kovacs — Chair of CE-012 Aggregates and Rock for Engineering Purposes

In Conversation with Nathan Langford

New committee member agreement

Standards Australia is deploying an improved Committee Member Agreement to allow for electronic signatures and other improvements. The new Agreement is more streamlined and accommodates recent changes to Standards Australia's technologies and systems.
 
In addition, the Agreement outlines the benefits of committee membership, such as access to the Standards Australia learning platform, networking opportunities with national and potentially international experts, recognition of participation through certificates of appreciation, and use of Standards Australia’s name and logo on social media.
 
Current committee members who signed the previous Committee Member Deed may continue to participate as a Committee Member in accordance with the Committee Member Deed. However, new members will be asked to sign the new Committee Member Agreement before they can join a Standards Australia technical committee.
 
If you have any questions about the new Committee Member Agreement please contact our Stakeholder Engagement team.

Aged Standards

To keep our catalogue contemporary and relevant, we are seeking feedback on a number of Aged Standards (documents over ten years old), belonging to inactive Technical Committees. 
 
Let us know if these standards are still used by your industry or community by Monday 19 December 2022. 
 
Learn more on our Aged Standards Review page.

International Update

Standards Australia represents Australia on the two major international standards development bodies, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Our activities are reported on our International Updates page.
 
Click here to view our highlights from November (PDF):
 
  • IEC General Meeting 2022
  • Management consultancy: New Field of Technical Activity 
  • Oil and gas industry must become sustainable too 

Sector Update

Access the latest standards development news in your industry sector via our Sectors page

Drafts Open for Comment

The public comment process provides an opportunity for stakeholders and members of the public to make valuable contributions. With the launch of our new public comment platform, draft standards currently open for comment are now available via Connect.