ReConnect

It is crystal clear. This will be a century of change and our actions now and in the near future will decide our direction. This is our decade of opportunity, and we must put that opportunity into place within cities, regions and nations. Fresh collaborations that introduce others’ worldviews, perspectives and disciplines to our existing tools, technologies and knowledge can help generate the innovations in the infrastructure space.

We need to drive actions that deliver outcomes - such as net zero, resilience and inclusivity – at scale and at pace, paving the way to a positive future. The National Climate change risk assessment has made it clear what the risks are and the Office of the Auditor General had signalled that progress in implementing both NZ Inc obligations under the Paris Agreement and giving life to Treasury’s Living Standards Framework is not where it should be. We now have a draft National Climate Adaptation Plan and Emission Reduction Plans to shape the course we will take as a nation and some guidance from Government procurement and MBIE but we need to ask too how best we turn all these public and private aspirations into action and in the most efficient way? The best actions are those taken in collaboration that operate at a system level and consider other worldviews, perspectives and disciplines and apply long term intergenerational lenses.  Using our existing tools, technologies and knowledge in this way generates innovations in policy, principles, practices and products so required in the infrastructure sector. 

This conference will look at leading planning, policy, procurement, practice in the infrastructure sector to understand how we can accelerate the journey to net zero for every town, region and city; the steps we need to break down silos to achieve true sustainability leadership and harness the power for technology and transformation to deliver inclusive access to opportunity and resilience. 

It is time to take legacy action now across our cities, regions and nations for people, the planet and economy.