What is it?
Embodied carbon (CO2e) in materials constitutes around 40% of the carbon footprint of road construction and maintenance, with significant additional associated carbon in the transportation, distribution, sourcing and maintenance of materials and assets. There is a plethora of ways in which we can attempt to decarbonise road materials; through recycling, optimisation of supply and demand and cutting-edge materials that carry inherently lower embodied carbon.
That’s why our Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads focuses on achieving net-zero through decarbonisation of road materials, identifying and scaling materials, processes and solutions that can revolutionise the sector’s carbon footprint.
Why now?
We are facing a climate crisis and in reaction, North Lanarkshire Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, along with at least 309 other local authorities. Across the SCOTS network and the Transport for West Midlands local authorities, we are working together to collectively respond to this challenge by decarbonising roads, recognising the benefit of working together to tackle this issue and support the journey of our local authorities to net-zero emissions.
Start your journey to decarbonisation