England sets first national carbon baseline for local roads

The first national baseline of carbon emissions from the maintenance and construction of local roads in England has been published in a new report.

Released today (12 May), the findings come from the Carbon Leadership Programme.

Launched in June 2025, the programme is supported by the Department for Transport and delivered by the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning & Transport (ADEPT), in partnership with Proving Services. 

The report, which can be found in full here, gives the first national picture of the carbon footprint of local roads in England and councils’ efforts to reduce emissions, setting a baseline for tracking progress and identifying cuts.

Around 60 of England’s 153 local highway authorities have engaged with the programme, with 21 completing full assessments.

Angela Jones, president of ADEPT, said: ‘This marks a significant step forward for the sector. For the first time, we have a consistent, national baseline of the carbon footprint of local highways maintenance and construction that will enable the sector to benchmark performance, track progress and plan low carbon futures. 

‘What is particularly encouraging is the clear link between operational efficiency and carbon performance, which shows that reducing emissions and running an efficient highways service are complementary goals, not competing ones.’

The programme, which comes as the government’s Local Transport Plan stresses the importance of measuring emissions from infrastructure, is expected to expand as more councils join.

Simon Wilson, director of Proving Services, added: ‘This programme demonstrates just how much can be achieved when authorities are given the right tools and framework to measure and understand their carbon impact.

‘As more authorities complete the assessments the baseline will become increasingly robust, strengthening the sector’s ability to benchmark performance and identify where the greatest opportunities for improvement lie.’

An updated report is due to be published in Summer 2026 after more authorities have completed assessments. 

Local highway authorities that have not yet taken part can still register to join the next phase.

Image: Ed 259/UnSplash 

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