asPECT - Asphalt Pavement Embodied Carbon Tool

This website provides the updates and deliverables for asPECT which has been produced as a result of the 2008-11 Collaborative Research Programme. Collaborative research is a joint initiative of the Highways Agency, Mineral Products Association, Refined Bitumen Association and TRL Limited. The project was further endorsed by the Waste & Resources Action Programme and the County Surveyor’s Society.

asPECT provides a methodology to calculate the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions or ‘carbon footprint’ of asphalt used in highways. The project has the following deliverables:

Documentation – a protocol and accompanying further guidance document which specify how to calculate the GHG emissions associated with asphalt and its use in highway applications. The Publically Available Specification for the Assessment of the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Goods and Services (PAS 2050) has been followed in writing these documents.
Calculator Tool – a downloadable spreadsheet-based calculator guides the user through the methodology of the protocol and makes the necessary calculations using up-to-date emissions factors on the user’s behalf.