A review of emissions on pavement materials and sustainability rating systems

Abstract

Since 2000 sustainability has become one of the main criteria for assessing and constructing road infrastructure projects. Several methodologies proposed measurements on the pavement's environmental impacts. One of the most relevant is the life cycle assessment (LCA), which estimates emissions generated by each life-cycle stage. A rating system is a tool for decision-making through an environmental rating of a project obtained by applying the best practices in sustainability that could generate impact reductions. This study makes a literature review of methodologies reported in the last years and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses.