Environmental seal of approval for Pūhoi to Warkworth

The team working on Ara Tūhono – Pūhoi to Warkworth has received a huge environmental accolade, with their project receiving the highest sustainability rating in the world with the Greenroads Sustainable Transport Council!

It’s also only the third certified Greenroads Project outside of North America since the inception of the Project Rating Program in 2010.

Fletcher Construction Major Projects delivered the project alongside Acciona, for our clients NX2 Northern Express Group and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. The project’s  environmental team has been hard at work to receive the Greenroads certification since 2016.

Environmental Manager Karsten Stevenson says "to achieve an internationally recognised sustainability rating like this cannot be understated, however, to be advised that the project has achieved the highest global rating ever issued by the Sustainable Transport Council is truly an outstanding achievement”.

The Greenroads Sustainable Transport Council is an independent non-profit corporation which advances sustainability education and initiatives for transportation infrastructure. As the developer of the Greenroads Rating System®, the Council manages the certification process for sustainable transportation development projects in the U.S. and internationally. Initial engagement began during concept planning through the Waka Kotahi International Pilot Program. As a result of early engagement, the team was able to make a clear commitment for the ambitious target of achieving a Silver Rating and include it in the technical contract as part of the sustainability management strategy. We have now officially achieved that rating.

In late June, the Sustainable Transport Council’s Governing Board officially awarded Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth the Greenroads Silver Certification.

Some of the key features that gained us this rating include a focus on environmental protections and enhancements, such as:

• Protection of the local ecology including careful design to minimise impact on Kauri and other native forests.
• Significant sediment and erosion controls during earthwork operations were put in place to protect the Mahurangi and Pūhoi Rivers, with the project winning the IECA-Autralasian Award for Environmental Protection.
• Over 150 hectares of native revegetation was undertaken across forests, wetlands, alongside streams, on fill sites, and on newly landscaped areas.
• Relocation of threatened native flora and fauna into suitable habitats.

Additionally, the project excelled in health and safety outcomes for both construction and motorway users, including:

• Ongoing road safety audits before, during and after construction.
• Design for high safety performance and risk management using New Zealand’s KiwiRAP road safety rating programme.

Finally, the project earned extra credit points for innovation in the following areas:

• Proposing comparable referenced standards to those cited in the Rating System for pavement roughness.
• Significant engagement during the design and construction phases with iwi through partnership and collaboration.
• Outstanding performance in construction environmental management and site health and safety management.