A Blueprint for Change

ROUNDTABLE WRITE UPS

Author: Stephanie Byrne, Associate Director, Camargue Working Together to Hit the Target: Why UK Roads Need a Shared Sustainability Standard PLANET

FM Conway invited a cross-section of network operators and supply chain partners to explore how the infrastructure industry could pull together in the same direction. Inspired by the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, the group asked: should the infrastructure industry develop its own voluntary standard for net zero roads and public realm? If yes, how can we make this a reality quickly as targets loom large?

The clock is ticking for the UK’s roads and public realm to hit net zero carbon. London boroughs have declared climate emergencies, setting their own deadlines for becoming carbon neutral, while National Highways has committed to achieve net zero emissions for maintenance and construction work no later than 2040. The end goal is the same, but is there agreement about precisely how to get there? At a discussion co-hosted by FM Conway and the City of London Corporation at the capital’s historic Guildhall, the resounding answer was no, not right now. But there can be in future.

This is their blueprint for change.