Lowering greenhouse gas emissions in local roads and footpaths

Outcomes

This project delivered:

• a GHG emissions calculator for the South Australian Councils, to allow decisions to be made about carbon requirements for road construction
• guidance material, case studies and detailed advice on carbon processes for councils to implement with the calculator.

The decision tool and supporting documents will help councils:

• measure greenhouse gas emissions involved in road and footpath designs, materials and construction
• create a benchmark of standard emission outputs involved in road and footpaths
• determine strategies to lower these emissions
• develop a standard method to design and build low-emission roads and footpaths, with standardised reporting
• engage industry groups and key stakeholders to move toward an eco-friendly economy.

Carbon calculator and documentation

The outputs of this project have been shared with councils through the LGA Climate Change Resource Hub, see emissions reduction.

These include:

• carbon calculator tool for road and footpath designs
• supporting documents (ZIP 7.1 MB) such as the user guide and relevant case studies.

Background

The project was led by the City of Charles, which collaborated with a range of councils to engage consultants to determine an appropriate tool or approach and guidance material for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions associated with roads and footpaths.

The project identified and evaluated various existing carbon calculation tools and determined that a new tool was required to meet Local Government needs.

While many carbon calculation tools are available, many are too complex or time-consuming to be effective.

In response, the project developed a web interface tool to enhance decision-making early in project conception by quantifying the greenhouse gas emissions associated with standard designs and material selection of local roads and footpaths and identifying and quantifying lower GHG emissions options.

The estimates seek to provide helpful knowledge early in the design phase to enable emission reduction options to be realised and implemented in projects. The project was delivered with the metropolitan and regional councils, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA), and industry.