Toward a “Strong and Ecological” Management of Infrastructures
Why Sustainable Infrastructure Management Matters
In June 2020, Emmanuel Macron declared his desire to “rebuild a strong, ecological, sovereign, and united economy.” (1) In May 2020, the French Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, wrote in his book published the same month, that it “[was] up to us to accelerate the ecological transition to make our economy the first decarbonized economy on the planet” (2).
While the European Commission’s “Green Deal” adopted at the end of 2020 aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, France has already experienced 2 heatwaves since the beginning of the year.
The environment is a major societal issue. It must be one of the performance indicators in all fields of activity, including ours: infrastructure. Routes de France, in its 2022 annual report “The State of the Road,” reminds us that according to various studies, “the carbon footprint related to the use of infrastructures is responsible for half of the French CO2 emissions.” “In France, 42% of CO2 emissions are due to road usage.” (3)
Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Road Networks
To reduce this indirect carbon footprint of road networks, we share the vision of MRF – Maintenance des Routes de France – which would be to develop the “sustainable renovation of road infrastructures” (4).
As emphasized in Routes de France’s 2022 annual report, “ensuring regular maintenance of these infrastructures (renewal of road surfacing, refurbishment of waterproofing structures) would allow both to better prevent risks, to achieve significant savings, and to avoid CO2 emissions generated, on the one hand, by poor maintenance of the road surfaces (> 6% more consumption) and, on the other hand, by more substantial curative maintenance interventions.” (3)
NextRoad’s Sustainable Infrastructure Strategy
NextRoad estimates that infrastructure managers can reduce CO2 emissions by at least 25% by following the five steps of an efficient infrastructure management strategy.
Moreover, better maintenance planning helps road operators improve asset performance and extend infrastructure lifespan.
Finally, NextRoad supports its clients in accelerating the ecological transition through sustainable infrastructure management solutions.
Sources :
(1) https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2020/06/14/adresse-aux-francais-14-juin-2020
(3) https://www.routesdefrance.com/wp-content/uploads/RDF_EDLR2022_web.pdf