Low carbon asphalt - Carbon Labeling shows real environmental impact of highway product selections

Highway engineers will know the exact carbon credentials of the products and materials they specify in road schemes thanks to a carbon labelling project launched by Ringway.

The leading Highway services provider is working with the Carbon Label Company, a subsidiary of the Carbon Trust, to calibrate the embedded carbon impact through the life-cycle of Ringway’s product range.

Carbon labelling requires a detailed analysis for every element that makes up a finished product. Ringway’s collaboration with the Carbon Label Company, a subsidiary of the Carbon Trust, is designed to produce a rigorous, consistent and a clear label for each Highway maintenance solution,  including standard materials and innovative surfacing systems.

“Much as we can see at a glance in a sales showroom how efficient each electrical appliance is, highway engineers will in the not-too-distant future be able to quickly and confidently gauge the carbon impact of their choice of materials for our networks” said Chris Plant, Group Sustainability Manager for Ringway.

“It’s an enormous project involving a big investment of resources and time in software, training, data collection and rigorous analysis. But an accurate and transparent system, fully assessed and externally verified, for labelling the carbon footprint of products will be a valuable tool for us a company and for customers committed to a low-carbon future.”

The project – which has been backed by the Ringway Client Forum – is one of a series of initiatives now being directed by the company’s Low Carbon Steering Committee. These include investment in carbon reduction and development of new low-carbon products and services: -

• The carbon footprint of the UK highways sector could be significantly reduced by Tempera warm asphalt. Using Eurovia’s global experience as they lead in the warm mix sector, we have adopted this in the UK and laid  more than 3,000 tonnes successfully so far in seven English Highway Authorities. Tempera uses dispersal asphalt technology (DAT) requires less heating than conventional methods, delivering energy savings of around 20% on average when laid, rising to 40% at the coating plant depending on the material.
• Ecolvia – a cold-mix asphaltic concrete – is the latest product of Ringway’s close collaboration on technology and development with parent EUROVIA. Designed for surface courses, Ecolvia uses a dense-grade aggregate coated in a special bitumen emulsion to achieve high cohesion and excellent water resistance. Like Tempera, it offers the bonus that roads can be quickly re-trafficked, minimising disruption to road users.
• Foambase is the premium cold-recycling solution evolved for the UK market by Ringway. The foam bitumen technology provides consistent quality and durability. Cold-mixed and cold-laid, Foambase re-uses asphalt plannings, crushed concrete and other ‘waste materials’, such as pulverised fuel ash. A fully mobile Wirtgen KMA mixing plant delivers further benefits by minimising truck movements, congestion and pollution as the plant comes to the job site.
• Ringway Roadstone is this year putting some £450,000 into captial expenditure investment projects that will shrink its carbon footprint and boost the efficiency of three wholly owned asphalt plants. Last year the division achieved energy efficiency savings of a similar magnitude through new equipment, better calibration, improved programming, warm asphalt and alternative fuels. The Carbon Trust is also advising on some of this work.