The Highways Sector Council (HSC) has released its Net Zero Highways plan, with an initial focus on road user and capital carbon emissions.
These two activities were said to contribute the most to the whole-life emissions of the highway asset.
The HSC said the plan highlights the progress made by the sector and the ongoing work by various bodies to reduce carbon emissions. It committed to working collaboratively to enable the achievement of:
- The Climate Change Committee’s balanced pathway to net zero
- The Government’s Net Zero Strategy
- The Department for Transport’s (DfT) Decarbonising Transport plan
Chair Leon Daniels said the HSC plans consider 'how the sector is coming together to deliver action at unprecedented scale and at pace to meet the challenge of Net Zero'.
The HSC said that given the urgency of the net zero challenge it will initially focus on reducing those Greenhouse Gas-producing activities that contribute the most to the whole life emissions of the highway asset.
Road user emissions from tailpipe: Leveraging its members and partners, the HSC will help share best practice and expertise - for example in EV infrastructure.
Capital carbon - embedded emissions from the construction and maintenance: The HSC said that PAS 2080: Carbon Management in Infrastructure can be the cornerstone from which the industry can build and accelerate improvement. It added that it will leverage its sector-wide membership to accelerate the scalable adoption of PAS 2080 as a fundamental enabler to minimising the whole life carbon footprint of highways.
A brief has been prepared for an HSC working group to develop practical guidance and resources to help all organisations in the sector align their operations and projects to PAS 2080.
Leicestershire County Council director of environment and transport Ann Carruthers said: ‘The sooner we see an industry-wide shift towards whole-life carbon reduction, the sooner we can meet our net zero targets, and ensure better business performance, reduced costs, increased competitiveness and innovation.’
Jacobs’ head of highways, John Dixon, said: ‘PAS 2080 is increasingly being adopted and promoted in the Highways Sector. It is a flexible standard that can be applied to different project types, sizes and stages.
‘If we use it as a means to facilitate consistency and collaboration at pace we stand a better chance of making a difference on time.’
A DfT spokesperson said: ‘We are keen to see how HSC progresses this work for the benefit of the sector throughout the country.’
