Contact us
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Contact us
Contact Us
Roads continue to be an important part of the country's infrastructure, but the carbon emissions associated with creating and maintaining roads need to be reduced to achieve net-zero goals.
Due to their unique responsibilities and influence, local authorities, who are responsible for the majority of UK roads, can be an effective avenue for enacting successful decarbonisation plans.
Why roads need to be considered when decarbonising local infrastructure
Roads remain a vital part of local infrastructure, with 62% of public transport journeys taking place on local buses (Transport Statistics Great Britain, 2022).
Local authorities are responsible for building and maintaining roads to service the needs of their constituents. In fact, local authority-managed roads make up 98% of road length in the UK (House of Commons Library, 2024).
In recent years, over 80% of local authorities in the UK have also declared a climate emergency and have their own net zero goals.
As a result, local authorities face the significant challenge of meeting the local area's transport needs while also finding solutions to decarbonise road construction and maintenance.
With asphalt roads making up the majority of UK roads, lowering the emissions associated with the production and deployment of asphalt is vital for decarbonising local road networks.
The unique advantage local authorities have for driving forward net zero
Local authorities have many levers to enact decarbonisation due to having localised knowledge, community trust and influence on infrastructure projects.
In fact, according to the Climate Change Committee, local authorities have the power to influence over a third of emissions in their area.
As decarbonisation relies on people and businesses deciding to switch to low-carbon solutions, local authorities can also influence and encourage these local level decisions to be made.
By initiating emission reduction practices and providing support and guidance for others to do the same, Innovate UK found that local action is more efficient at deploying technologies and leading behaviour change.
Using local networks and knowledge to implement action, decarbonisation schemes delivered by local authorities are also more successful at reaching their goals.
Challenges local authorities face when attempting to decarbonise roads
Due to the nature of local government in the UK, there is a huge variation in the size of each jurisdiction, the responsibilities they have and the funding they receive.
Due to this fragmented structure, local authorities progress at different rates to their decarbonisation goals depending on where they focus their resources and expertise.
Additionally, the lack of central government impetus hinders decarbonisation action at the local level due to the uncertainty around emissions reductions.
This discourages the implementation of time-sensitive policies that focus specifically on lowering carbon emissions in road projects.
Actions local authorities can take to drive forward net zero roads.
To overcome the lack of government targets placed on local authorities, many now include net zero targets within their own Local Transport Plans (LTPs), which they must publish every five years.
In order to support innovation and attract proposals from companies developing net zero solutions, local authorities must start specifying lower carbon products or processes for the projects they are tasked with delivering.
Making use of resources developed by national institutions can also support and enhance the expertise within local authority highways teams.
For example:
National Highways has published its "Net Zero Highways" Plan, setting out the actions it will take to achieve goals such as net zero maintenance and construction emissions by 2040.
The plan, as well as other resources like its "Zero Carbon Roadmap for Concrete Steel and Asphalt", detail methods from industry experts that can reduce emissions across the road network.
ADEPT Live Labs 2 is a three-year £30 million programme to decarbonise local roads in the UK and is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT).
LCM's solution to support local authorities and the construction sector
Low Carbon Materials (LCM) has launched a new product that enables the creation of net zero asphalt.
ACLA® is a carbon-negative aggregate that, when incorporated into asphalt, lowers its carbon footprint.
ACLA® utilises the carbon removal technology of sequestration to permanently remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
To achieve net zero, only 5-7% of ACLA® by weight of the total asphalt mix is required. Although, the precise amount of ACLA® required for net-zero asphalt will depend on the embodied carbon of the asphalt mix.
LCM’s innovative new product is also a 'drop-in' decarbonisation solution that requires no changes to existing asphalt production or deployment methods.
Request a datasheet for ACLA®: https://www.lowcarbonmaterials.com/acla
An example of an effective road decarbonisation project delivered by a local authority and Low Carbon Materials.
Following a rigorous trialling period, ACLA® has been used in a road resurfacing project at Elvet Hill, Durham.
ACLA® was used in the binder course of the resurfacing alongside other circular carbon-saving materials sourced within the county.
The work was undertaken in partnership with Durham County Council and the council's road surfacing and planning partner, Rainton Construction, which is part of MGL Group.
The Elvet Hill Road project used ACLA® for the production of 220 tonnes of net-zero binder course asphalt and contributed to a significantly reduced carbon footprint for the project.
More information on this project here: https://www.lowcarbonmaterials.com/blog/new-road-material-paves-the-way-to-net-zero
Live Labs 2 is helping to support local authorities to decarbonise roads
Live Labs 2 is a £30 million program run by ADEPT, the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport, and funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) (https://www.adeptnet.org.uk/livelabs2).
The program concentrates on how to decarbonise local highways infrastructure and assets. Seven projects, grouped by four interconnected themes, are being led by local authorities working alongside commercial and academic partners.
Live Labs 2 acts as a platform for local authorities to share their experiences and learnings from low-carbon projects. This allows for knowledge transfer and avoids duplication of effort.
