1. Highways Agency
Carbon (Ac)counting
Tony Sangwine
Lead Environmental Policy Advisor
Dean Kerwick-Chrisp
Head of Sustainable Development and Climate Change
sustainability@highways.gsi.gov.uk

2. Highways Agency
• Consists of 7,000km of
motorways and all
purpose trunk roads
• Largest government
owned asset valued at
over £85 Billion
• It carries one-third of all
traffic and two-thirds of
all freight on just 3% of
all roads in England

3. Climate Change and the
Highways Agency
• Mitigation: reduce
our contribution to
the causes of
climate change
Adaptation: adapts
to continue to
provide a robust
strategic road
network in a
changing climate

4. Climate Change Mitigation and
the Highways Agency
• UK Government’s
commitment to the
reduction of
greenhouse gases
• Highways Agency
obligation to manage
and contribute to
reduction targets
• Business Plan 08-09
commitment to report
carbon footprint

5. Carbon Accounting - Process
Overview
“You can’t manage what you can’t Step 1
measure” Establish Organisational
Boundaries
• September 2008 - Interim Advice Step 2
Note 114/08 (standard) requirement Establish Operational
Boundaries
for all major suppliers to report on
Step 3
carbon emissions associated with Emission Sources
delivering our work
• Excel based system that asks for Step 4
quantities of resources used, and Data Collection and
Calculations
calculates CO2 based on standard
Step 5
conversion factors Roll-up to Organisational
Level
www.ha-partnernet.org/sustainability

6. Carbon Accounting – What’s in?
• Construction
• Maintenance
• Operations
• Administrative
business

7. Carbon Accounting - Boundaries
“Reasonable control”:
• Financial & Contractual
Commitments
• Includes Supply Chain
• Excludes Network Users
Core Areas of Business:
Operational, construction, mainten
ance, & business activities:
• HA Internal
• Network Operations
• Major Projects (£5m+)
• Managing Area Contractors
• Design-Build-Finance-Operate
Schemes

8. Highways Agency Tier 1
Carbon Account (Final Account)
Internal Network Major DBFO Tier 2
MACs
Operations Operations Projects Contracts (Reporting Areas)
Energy
Materials Energy Energy Energy
Energy
Transport Materials Materials Materials
Waste Disposal
Materials
Transport Transport Transport Tier 3
Transport
Major Waste Disposal Waste Disposal Waste Disposal (Emission Categories)
Refurbishment
Key Emission Key Emission Key Emission Key Emission Key Emission Tier 4
Sources Sources Sources Sources Sources (Emission Sources)

9. Climate Change - Emissions
Sources Electricity
Energy
Gas
Operational Plant
Transport Business Travel
Cars
Air
Public
Transport
Staff Commuting
Materials Metals
Mortars
Quarried Materials
Plastics
Concrete
Waste Disposal
Transportation

10. Highways Agency –
Carbon footprint 2008-09
• In region of 550,000
tonnes/CO2 associated with:
• Major construction
• Maintenance and improvement
• HA office and business travel
• Network energy consumption
Published in our annual report for
the first time

12. Mitigation: CO2 reductions -
Midnight switch off
• At current energy rates the project is
expected to pay for itself within four
years
• No evidence of an increase in accident
rates. Evidence has suggested the
accident rate may have dropped while
the sites have been active.
• The site selection of additional Phase
2 deployment has begun, which will
probably increase the anticipated 400
tonnes of CO2 savings already
expected by the end of this year.

13. Mitigation - manage traffic
flows to reduce congestion
• Enhance capacity where
necessary
• Use technology to help
traffic flow more smoothly
• Deploy demand
management measures:
- High Occupancy lanes
- Ramp Metering
- Travel Plans
• Influence land use
development

14. Mitigation: better information
to improve user decisions
• Most road traffic
decisions made by
users & CO2 produced
from users actions
• Better information about
options and route
condition
• Internet tools
• Traffic Radio
• Telephone enquiry
• On route electronic message
signs

15. Day After Tomorrow…
• Business Plan targets 2009-
10
• Reduce emissions from main
HA offices and
administrative business
travel
• Reduce emissions from
energy supply for network
lighting
• Factor climatic changes into
standards and specifications
• Apply procurement strategy