WWW.ACPA.ORG 15 FALL // 2022 continues on page 16 » Measuring Pavement Sustainability: The Importance of Use Phase Impacts By Sheryl S. Jackson As the focus on sustainability at federal and state levels continues, the concrete pavement industry is poised to continue sharing the sustainable benefits of concrete pavements over alternative solutions. The entire cement-concrete industry has committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, as detailed in Portland Cement Association's Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality, and has already made great strides in reducing CO2 emissions in the creation of concrete and the construction of pavements. As the industry works toward this goal, it remains increasingly important to consider CO2 emissions throughout the pavement’s life—not just during the initial construction. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state Departments of Transportation have been considering sustainability in pavements over the past ten years, but the challenge has been how to determine what data is needed and how to gather and measure it, says Jim Mack, P.E., Director of Market Development at CEMEX. “We are getting closer to developing tools we need, but most life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of environmental impacts miss the use phase of the pavement,” Mack says. “We can more easily quantify embodied emissions—those emissions associated with materials, initial construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation—rather than emissions that are increased, or decreased, during use of the pavement over its life.” “Including use phase in any life cycle assessment is critical because the concrete pavements are assets that will last 30, 50 or more years,” says Eric Ferrebee, P.E., Senior Director of Technical Services at the American Concrete Pavement Association. “We know the importance of measuring greenhouse gas emissions in the manufacture of cement and can quantify that amount, but agencies are just starting to become interested in capturing data on what happens over the pavement’s lifetime.” Two important use phase factors identified by researchers at the Concrete Sustainability Hub at Even after a concrete pavement’s service life, it provides an environmental benefit by sequestering and storing carbon dioxide.
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