Delivering sustainable bridges to help tackle climate change

To tackle climate change, the UK government has set a national goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 34% by 2020 based on the 1990 level. The construction industry is a major contributor to such emissions and has great potential to play a significant role. Much attention to date, however, has focused on reducing carbon dioxide emissions of buildings while the environmental impact of civil infrastructure has been far less well documented. This paper intends to contribute to bridging this knowledge shortfall by considering the environmental impact of bridges. The major sources of carbon dioxide emissions throughout the life cycle of a bridge are first identified and discussed in detail. Based on these discussions, major areas for improvement are identified to enable bridge designers to move towards sustainable bridge delivery. The slow adoption of sustainable principles is highlighted within the bridge engineering sector and measures to mobilise practical actions are proposed. Finally, the paper presents some conclusions and makes recommendations for further research.