Framework for Carbon Emission Evaluation of Road Maintenance

Abstract

Currently in the UK, carbon emissions associated with businesses activities has moved from policy requirements to definitive legal responsibilities following the UK's Climate Change Act (CCA) in 2008. Real and pressing need exists for a flexible and easy to use technique to enable businesses to assess their carbon emissions; following recent changes in legislation and regulations on environmental impacts of construction activities. The aim of this paper is to develop a methodology that can offer businesses a carbon Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool to identify emissions "hotspots" across its value chain, and inform a carbon reduction hierarchy. The approach employed is based on the methodology described in the Publicly Available Specification (PAS2050) protocol. The objective of the method is to identify where the largest production of emissions exists and provides for the biggest potential reduction within routine highway maintenance processes. The developed methodology framework offers businesses the potential to make informed decisions in carbon terms, by identifying and prioritizing areas of potential emissions reduction. Tables 2 Figures 6 Total 5472+ 2000= 7472 2 Itoya, Hazell, Ison, El-Hamalawi and Frost INTRODUCTIONThere is a growing consensus that human activities contribute significantly to the increasing concentration of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. These activities cover both individual and industrial activities and their associated energy use (1,2). This has raised a greater awareness and understanding of the environment, and has also called for a change in energy use and other activities that emit carbon; to ensure that future economic development is achieved within economic, social and environmental limits. This is reflected in the UK by a legislative commitment to reduce Greenhouse Gas production (GHG) by at least 80% by 2050 from 1990 levels (1, 3). This places legal obligations on all sectors (including construction) to reduce their emissions, and defines strategies to meet this obligation. Reducing carbon emissions in construction processes is highly desirable given their impact.Furthermore, carbon emissions reduction is now becoming a contractual requirement and a major consideration in tender selection in both the UK and internationally, particularly for public sector clients. This emerging Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for new projects has placed the construction industry under pressure, particularly the civil infrastructure maintenance sector, to assess and reduce emissions. In the past, businesses wanting to assess their emissions have usually done so by focusing on activities under their immediate control, but recently, customers have required businesses to assess their emissions across their value chain. This is driven by the increasing demand for low-carbon goods and services, and the need to make costeffective investment decisions in carbon terms. The broader strategy by which this demand can be met in construction reach deep into every aspect of the built environment. Thi...

Carbon emissions management in construction operations: a systematic review

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The Correlation between the Number of Asphalt Mixing Plants and the Production of Asphalt Mixtures in European Countries and the Baltic States

“…Furthermore, Wang et al [17] noted that the volatile organic compounds generated during asphalt pavement production have a negative impact on the atmospheric ecosystem and that this problem has raised increasing concerns globally in recent decades. Itoya et al [18] also revealed that asphalt production, compared to other processes, led to the most significant carbon emissions. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are an essential primary criterion for environmental evaluation [19].…”

Highway routine maintenance carbon dioxide emissions assessment

“…This section presents the scope and system boundaries definition within the life-cycle approach, definition of the two stages and five basic steps to implementing the PAS2050 methodology framework (Itoya et al, 2012) within the context of highway maintenance process carbon footprinting.…”

“…In addition, the existing carbon dioxide emissions assessment methodologies lack the capacity to provide reliable carbon footprint information to inform business decision making. To this end, the current paper presents the application and results of a project-focused and process-based life-cycle methodology framework (Itoya et al, 2012) based on the publicly available specifications (PAS2050 (BSI, 2011)) protocol, developed by the authors and specific to highway maintenance works within the UK. The case study (focusing on carbon footprinting) results of a 'typical' UK highway maintenance procedure based on the framework are presented.…”