IPC 2011-015 Shamir Ghumra Submission.pdf (80.94 kB)
Download fileStakeholder views of materials selection for road pavements
conference contribution
posted on 2011-08-01, 10:56 authored by Shamir Ghumra, Jacqueline Glass, Matthew W. Frost, Matthew Watkins, Jo MundyThe growing prominence of Carbon calculators in the road construction sector has lead to a greater
general awareness of the sustainability issues associated with road pavement materials and their
selection. This paper presents results from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with key
stakeholders from the highways industry, which were used to gain an understanding of industry
perceptions on the use of sustainability assessment in the selection of highway materials for road
construction.
The stakeholders consulted ranged from government bodies and trade associations to contractors and
academics. Analysis of the interviews has shown that there is a clear focus on Carbon/Climate change.
The frequency with which various topics were mentioned has been used in the analysis to produce a
basic hierarchy of sustainability drivers for the highways industry. A comparison is also made against
the existing civil engineering environmental quality assessment and award scheme (Ceequal) categories
to identify gaps and areas of consensus to further enhance Ceequal. The paper concludes that several
factors should be taken forward within any on-going development of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) frameworks or Carbon assessment methodologies for road construction projects including, Carbon
(footprinting)/Climate change, Maintenance phase considerations and broader Environmental Issues.
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