Background
A scoping exercise completed as part of the ‘Development of Guidance for Local Authorities on Climate Adaptation of Regional & Local Roads Project’ identified key technical concepts and methodologies for future projects in carbon management.
The scoping outlined that Local Authority (LA) Roads Departments need the capability to measure, optimise and report on carbon emitted from road construction or maintenance projects. The tools and knowledge to assess the carbon emitting potential of construction materials and construction methodologies to assist in making informed decisions on appropriate low-carbon solutions in the maintenance and improvement of our Regional & Local Road networks is a key factor now and going forward.
Solution
Recommendations in the scoping report identified projects including the development of a Carbon Measuring Tool for Local Authorities. The project entitled ‘Carbon Tool Development’ commenced with the objective of:
'Developing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Tool (or Carbon Emissions Measurement Tool) and user manual to assist the LA Roads Sector in quantifying and reducing carbon emissions while delivering their regional and local· roads functions’.
Following an initial desktop study of carbon management, it was agreed by the project working group that Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s (TII) Carbon Tool would be trialled in the context of LA road projects. Offaly County Council were one of a group of LAs that trialled the Carbon Tool in a pilot project managed by ASBS CARO.
Benefits of Solution
The benefits derived from the pilot project include:
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verification that the TII Carbon Tool is suitable for use by Local Authorities enabling quantifiable measurement, benchmarking, and assistance with carbon reduction planning across road maintenance activities.
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the pilot conducted in the live environment of LA delivery of the annual roads programme cautions that data gathering should be standardised, aligning it with the calculation process e.g. in a structured or tabular format like that of a bill of quantity document.
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identified that in the future development of carbon measurement standardised data gathering should be integrated into LA green public procurement processes.
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with the availability of verified product/manufacturer EPDs, greater efficiencies and data accuracy will be achieved in measuring carbon emissions in roadworks projects.
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the tool can assist with annual benchmarking of carbon performance and supports climate action planning through quantifiable emissions data
For further information on this case study, the full report can be viewed here.