Council directors at ADEPT have released The Little Book of Live Labs 2, described as 'a practical guide showing how cutting carbon on local roads can also save money and time'.
The book brings together the top lessons, evidence, and tools from the Department for Transport funded £30m Live Labs 2 programme, covering ideas 'that authorities can use now', from procurement and carbon budgeting to street lighting and verge management. There is also a portfolio of proven products, materials and techniques.
Recommendations for government will follow in the programme's final report to DfT in spring 2027.
Directors at ADEPT suggested the 'key message' of the book was that cutting carbon can also save money and make local roads more resilient.
Giles Perkins, programme director for Live Labs 2, said: 'Low carbon doesn't have to mean higher costs: Live Labs 2 has proven that. This document shows local authorities how to save money, time and carbon using approaches that have already been tested on real roads.
'As local road networks face fiscal pressure, ageing assets and more extreme weather, we need decisions that consider cost, time and carbon outcomes together, rather than treating carbon as a separate goal. That's how we maintain and improve our roads, making them cheaper to run and more resilient for the future.
'The priority now is for the whole sector to work together to use this evidence. I'd urge decision makers, influencers and practitioners to read the document, look through the ideas and start putting them into practice.'
Live Labs 2 has spent three years testing new ideas for decarbonising road maintenance on networks across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Across the award-winning programme, schemes have saved money on street lighting, materials and maintenance, freed up staff time by reducing inspections and repeat visits and shortened construction programmes, ADEPT said.
