Eurobitume expert delivers sustainability assessment presentation at AfPA 2021 Symposium

Europe |

Mike Southern, Senior Technical Advisor for Eurobitume, was an expert speaker at the recent Australian Flexible Pavement Association (AfPA) International Symposium 2021, ‘Roads going full circle’, which was held online between August 3 and 5.

Mike’s presentation, ‘Sustainability assessment in the bitumen and asphalt industry’, began by outlining the main drivers for environmental impact assessment in Europe and highlighting the regulatory framework.

He then explained how Eurobitume has contributed to this assessment by developing an , easy-to-use Eurobitume Life-Cycle Inventory (LCI) database which draws upon the most reliable, publicly available foreground data sources for the four main life-cycle stages.

The Eurobitume LCI contains important life-cycle data for the paving grade bitumens most widely used in Europe and is available in Excel format, which enables the environmental impact of manufacturing products that incorporate bitumen to be calculated using LCI software, such as SimaPro.

In his summary, Mike stated that construction products only represent one small part of the whole sustainability equation. The majority of the environmental impact of road pavements comes from the in-use stage.

He added that a key determinant in road pavement sustainability is pavement durability, so smooth, well-maintained pavements play an important part in reducing the life-cycle impact of highways.

Back