The PROCEEDR Tool to Assess Environmental Impacts, Circularity and Life Cycle Costs of Roadside Equipment

Book chapter, 2025

Road transport was responsible for 24% of all carbon dioxide emissions in the EU in 2020. The majority of the transport sector's carbon emissions is related to the operation of vehicles, followed by infrastructure construction and rehabilitation. Roadside equipment, such as noise and safety barriers make a small contribution. Nevertheless, road infrastructure requires extensive use of natural resources and is a major generator of waste, as well as comprising assets with a lifespan of up to 100 years. The PROCEEDR project, funded by the CEDR Transnational Road Research Programme Call 2020 Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy created a software tool to enable National Road Administrations as well as roadside equipment manufacturers to find innovative and sustainable solutions to ease the transition from linear to circular economy in the field of roadside infrastructure. This paper presents a unique software tool that closes a research and knowledge gap and has been tested and validated in several case studies. The work is also based on a state-of-the-art inventory and analyses performed during the first part of the project. We describe the tool development process, benchmark the tool against other available tools and conclude with a critical discussion on points for improvement.