In recent years, countries have increasingly recognised the importance of managing carbon emissions from infrastructure, especially in the international context of achieving “net-zero” emission targets. The UK government’s analysis of infrastructure carbon emissions concluded that sectors such as transport, water, waste, energy, and communications account for more than 50% of national carbon emissions, with this proportion expected to increase significantly over the coming decades. Within the BREEAM system designated by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) of the UK, an evaluation of infrastructure sustainability has been officially incorporated – BREEAM INFRASTRUCTURE (formerly the CEEQUAL standard). GRESB began separating infrastructure from real estate in its scoring system in 2016, allowing investment managers to more effectively assess the sustainability performance of different types of assets.

The “Net-Zero Carbon Infrastructure Evaluation Scheme”, jointly launched by TÜV Rheinland (Germany) and the BRE, is designed to audit the low-carbon attributes of infrastructure, serve as a guide for promoting low-carbon design in infrastructure, and implement low-carbon management practices within project teams. The Pioneer Edition of this standard applies to roads, bridges, tunnels, and underground utility corridors, with additional categories such as power distribution projects, flood defence facilities, railway stations, and energy facilities to be added later.