Highways construction and maintenance firm Roadways is investing in a new research and development centre in Brighton.
According to the company, its centre aims to help specifiers and end users embrace the idea of environmentally friendly road construction materials.
James Bailey, Roadways chief executive, said: “This centre will take our innovative environmental work to the next level and help our business to scale up. Not many people know that the concrete carried in a single drum mixer truck typically involves as much CO₂ as driving 17,000km by car.
“Some construction professionals and much of the wider public are simply not aware how the carbon footprint of concrete and other construction materials can be an order of magnitude greater than other everyday items.
“As a result, they are unlikely to consider it a priority to cut down on concrete consumption. This would make a massively bigger difference to global warming than just focusing on the things we see in the headlines everyday – like flying, low energy lightbulbs or electric cars.
“Just ten wheelbarrows of concrete has the same carbon footprint as a flight ticket from London to Madrid. Looking at it another way: it would take a football stadium full of mature trees two years to absorb the CO₂ of that single concrete mixer truck.”
The new centre hopes to address the wider ethical impact of road construction materials. It will research, develop, launch and grow Roadways’ own low carbon materials and solutions business.
Roadways said if successful this will help the company’s own concrete supply service to cut their carbon footprint in half. It intends to identify, develop and launch digital construction technologies, improving the safety, quality and productivity of contracting works.
Additionally, the centre will promote Roadways’ highways contracting, civil engineering and asphalt surfacing services.
Bailey added: “We know what’s possible as we’ve already developed and launched asphalt that saves 40% CO₂. For each lorry load, that’s a CO₂ saving equivalent to driving 3,500 kilometres by car.
“We’re actively looking to collaborate with civil and structural engineers, architects, and anyone with an interest in the industry who has the same ethical and environmentally-focused goals as ourselves.”
Read more: Multi-million pound upgrade project announced for England’s concrete roads
