Carbon Leadership Programme launched to measure and reduce carbon emissions
A new programme has been launched this week by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), which will fund local highway authorities to both measure and identify how to reduce their carbon emissions.
The Carbon Leadership Programme, supported by the Department for Transport, has been developed by Proving Services in partnership with ADEPT and will help local highway authorities to implement practical carbon reduction.
The first-of-its-kind programme provides a simple, standardised way to calculate how much carbon is emitted from local road maintenance activities and where best to direct efforts to reduce this carbon footprint.
Available from June 2025, the Carbon Leadership Programme consists of two modules: a baseline carbon assessment and a best practice carbon assessment module. The aim is to enable all local highway authorities across England to participate.
It will empower local highway authorities to develop and implement practical strategies for carbon reduction that improve operational efficiency and demonstrate environmental leadership. Additionally, it will create a collaborative, knowledge sharing platform and data resource that will help organisations and partners to learn from each other and accelerate sector wide carbon reduction efforts.
It has evolved following research undertaken by Proving Services on behalf of the Future Highways Research Group (FHRG) and was further refined through the Live Labs 2 programme.
The Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: "Smoother roads are our priority, but it's important we also take steps to reduce carbon emissions.
"We're supporting ADEPT's Carbon Leadership Programme to equip local highways authorities with the tools they need to accelerate the sector's transition to net zero.
"We have put record investment into ending Britain’s pothole plague, with a £500m boost to help local authorities fix the equivalent of up to seven million extra potholes this year, delivering our Plan for Change to drive up living standards across the country."
Angela Jones, ADEPT President, said: “The Carbon Leadership Programme represents a significant milestone for local highway authorities in their journey towards net zero. For too long, the sector has lacked the standardised tools needed to accurately measure and tackle carbon emissions from road maintenance activities.
“This programme finally provides that missing piece of the puzzle - giving our members practical, evidence-based methods to understand their carbon footprint and take action to reduce it.
“ADEPT is proud to partner with Proving Services and the DfT to deliver this game changing initiative that will help shape the future of sustainable highways management."
Simon Wilson, Director of Proving Services, said: “The Carbon Leadership Programme is an important next step of the research work of the FHRG.
“A national carbon audit and best practice assessment will enable the sector to benchmark and plan low carbon futures and support DfT in targeting funding on the most successful initiatives.”
You can find more information and register for the webinars here: www.adeptnet.org.uk/carbon-leadership-programme
