Development of a tool which measures the amount of carbon used in road maintenance works has progressed to the next level, with it being presented to the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee (HAUC UK), and National Highways, as well as two local authorities’ highways operations teams.
The carbon counting tool has been in development between technology company Connected Enviro Net and publicly-owned highways maintenance business NYHighways. It is believed this will be a first for the highways industry.
The tool takes live data from an asset management system and calculates the carbon (CO2e) for the high volume, low value works carried out in routine maintenance programmes, producing a report that will provide local authorities with the information required to make informed decisions when choosing carbon saving over cost.
Richard Whitaker, Innovation Manager at NYHighways, has led on the development of the carbon counting tool alongside Paul Richardson from Connected Enviro Net and Emma Pye from Pye Management, a specialist environmental consultancy.
Mr Whitaker said: “We’re looking to work with other local authorities to establish whether this new product would fit with their ways of working. I firmly believe we will have a carbon budget as well as a financial budget to meet in the future and this will help establish the parameters.”
Paul Richardson from Connected Enviro Net explained: “Developing the carbon counting tool is more than just creating an app; it’s about empowering others to take action towards a more sustainable future. By contributing to this project, we are working towards shaping a better world for generations to come.”
The development of the carbon counting tool began when the project received £20,000 of funding from the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG)’s Steve Berry ‘Think Exceptional’ Innovation Fund in 2021.
North Yorkshire Council, which owns NYHighways as a separate commercial highways operations business, has also contributed towards the completion of a website that will allow the carbon counting tool to be used for its routine maintenance works.
Jamie Crumlish, Managing Director of NYHighways, said: “The development of the carbon counting tool demonstrates how we put innovation at the forefront of the business. We are always looking for and adopting new technology, materials or services into the business to drive continuous improvement in maintaining infrastructure.”
