Sustainability

The City Rail Link (CRL) is being designed and constructed to the highest sustainability standards.

The CRL project aims to achieve sustainability excellence by being careful with the resources it uses, optimising its carbon footprint, avoiding waste and leaving a positive social and cultural legacy for Tāmaki Makaurau.

Already setting the benchmark for delivering sustainable infrastructure in Aotearoa New Zealand the design phase of the project has been awarded three Leading Infrastructure Sustainability ratings. The highest rating possible and a first for New Zealand. The Infrastructure Sustainability Council framework has been embraced and enhanced by working with mana whenua to make it more appropriate for our cultural context.

With more than 2,000 people working on the project at its peak we are helping to make a positive to social impact, through targeted employment, training, and career development for Māori, Pasifika and youth along with others marginalised in the workforce. To be successful, the businesses wanting to win contracts for construction need to demonstrate how they are going to help us achieve our social outcomes strategy.

Once built, the CRL will give people more sustainable transport choices and we want to make sure we are sustainable in the process of delivering it.

We’ve been recognised by rail industries on both sides of the Tasman for City Rail Link’s “remarkable” efforts to protect the environment.

CRL’s main contractor, Link Alliance won the Australasian Rail Industry (ARI) Sustainability & Environmental Excellence Award in September 2023. Check out our sustainability efforts shown in this video.

Sustainability in numbers

Sustainability initiatives

2023 Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability Report

2022 Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability Report

Read previous reports here

Latest Awards

New Zealand Procurement Excellence Forum Supreme Award Winner 2023

City Rail Link scooped the Environmental Impact, Social Impact and Supreme Awards at the 2023 New Zealand Procurement Excellence Forum Supreme Awards.

Feedback from the judges:

"City Rail Link was a clear winner with how they built alliances, delivering on tangible environmental and social procurement. Despite many aspects outside of procurement control, they still managed to deliver excellent results under significant scrutiny and pressure. The benefits into the future cannot be overstated, as they will have an impact on infrastructure, industry, and provide employment opportunities with many years to come".

CRL wins the Building Nations Decarbonisation Outcome Award

CRL Ltd delivery partner Link Alliance won the Decarbonisation Outcome Award (projects over $20m) at the Building Nations 2050 Impact Awards.

The Award recognises projects that have exemplified climate consciousness.

Recognising the incorporation of decarbonisation of the project into the project's life-cycle, from the early stages of design through to measuring project sustainability and environmental outcomes

The judges said:

“The City Rail Link (CRL) has busted through construction and infrastructure industry norms to win New Zealand’s highest sustainability accolade. The City Rail Link (CRL) project has proven the infrastructure industry can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and its environmental impact while developing Auckland’s much-needed public transport infrastructure.

“This will result in ongoing reduction in both congestion and carbon. Taking a long-term view and calculating a whole-of-life footprint of 100 years for the project, the CRL put sustainability at the core of every decision from the outset.

As New Zealand’s largest transport infrastructure project, it is leading the change in the way infrastructure projects are designed and delivered.”

CRL Urban Ngahere (Forest) Planting Programme

We’re planting 393 trees and over 4,000 plants around CRL stations and within four inner-city areas.