The VIALOW Zero product was selected by the council for Cop Lane in Penwortham, Preston - a stretch of road with approximately 60 houses on it - and supplied by CEMEX’s Liverpool Docklands asphalt plant.
Alongside the reduced carbon in the mix, the council chose to offset the residual CO2e to make it a carbon neutral product, in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. By offsetting the residual CO2e from the 310 tonnes of asphalt used for the project, 18 tonnes of CO2e was offset - the equivalent of the emissions generated by the annual electricity use for 25 homes.
VIALOW is a range of low temperature, low carbon asphalts from CEMEX. CEMEX says they use a specially formulated bitumen additive to enable manufacture at up to 40°C lower than standard asphalt mixes with no compromise in performance, with the added benefit of achieving up to 20% reduction in embodied carbon emissions.
Leslie Luxon, CEMEX’s asphalt area manager, commented: “Lancashire County Council and CEMEX have been partnered for some time, and the council have been early converts to the benefits of low temperature asphalts, which reduce their carbon footprint, improve durability, and pave the way to a greener Britain.
“CEMEX’s VIALOW range is leading the market for making infrastructure projects part of the government’s low-carbon economy by 2050. They are an ideal choice for councils and other customers looking to meet sustainability targets for their developments, while also offering many other benefits including improved safety, reduced downtime and easy application.”
Terry Johnson, highways operation manager at Lancashire County Council, commented: “It was important for Lancashire County Council to use this CarbonNeutral product as we are continuously striving to make more sustainable choices when developing our county’s infrastructure. We’re very pleased with the finished product and CEMEX’s resourceful and supportive work throughout this project and keen to see how VIALOW can be utilised elsewhere.”
VIALOW is part of the Vertua family of sustainable building materials now offered by CEMEX as part of its commitment to enhancing the environmental credentials of its operations. This product group also includes low carbon concrete and admixtures offerings. CEMEX has announced a dedicated ‘Future in Action – Committed to Net Zero CO2’ strategy, which pledges to reduce its global CO2 emissions by 35% by 2025 and 40% by 2030.
