Practice Note 12.2: Climate Resilient Materials for Infrastructure Assets

Changes in the climate as a result of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions will likely alter the speed at which asset materials deteriorate. As a result, the useful life of infrastructure assets will change – in some cases decreasing whilst in others increasing. As the performance of an asset is largely dependent upon the performance of its components, resilient assets require the use of strong, durable and sustainable materials that are also cost effective. The selection of such materials can increase the resilience of infrastructure by extending useful life and reducing maintenance.

Selecting more climate resilient materials or making changes to increase the resilience of existing materials has the potential to maintain or extend the useful life of assets as the climate continues to change. In 2018 Practice Note 12.1 – Climate Change Impacts on the Useful Life of Infrastructure (PN12.1) was released to increase the understanding of climate change and its potential impacts to infrastructure and asset management including useful life.

This Practice Note acts as an Addendum to Practice Note 12.1 and provides support to finance and asset managers, designers and engineers who are responsible for making decisions on the most climate resilient materials and treatments to use for those assets that have been identified as vulnerable because of their remaining useful life, type and location.

To complement PN12 and PN12.1, this Practice Note 12.2 (PN12.2) provides information on climate resilient materials that can be used in the design and maintenance of infrastructure assets for each of the five materials and six climate variables described in PN12.1. The key objectives of PN12.2 are to:

• introduce asset managers to construction materials and practices that can increase resilience to different climatic hazards;
• provide a decision framework for material selection that considers their effectiveness and sustainability; and
• provide case studies that demonstrate the application of resilient construction materials and practices.

Each of these Practice Notes are designed to encourage consistency of data and outputs and assist asset managers to apply best practice by providing a technically sound national approach. Considering the impact of climate change on the useful life of infrastructure assets will ensure long-term improvements in service delivery, asset performance, risk and reputation, and can achieve co-benefits such as energy and cost savings, carbon reductions and organisational recognition.