North Lanarkshire Council, in partnership with Amey, has introduced the Knowledge Bank, a digital open-source platform designed to help local authorities reduce carbon emissions in road maintenance.

The launch signifies a major milestone for the £30 million UK-wide ADEPT Live Labs 2: Decarbonising Local Roads programme, which is reaching the conclusion of its three-year delivery phase on 31 March 2026.

Funded by the Department for Transport, the programme consists of seven projects focused on four interconnected themes, all aimed at lowering the carbon footprint of local highway networks throughout their entire lifecycle. As part of this initiative, North Lanarkshire Council and Amey led the North Campus of the Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads (CEDR), while the South Campus was managed by Transport for West Midlands and Colas.

Throughout the last three years, the North Lanarkshire project has conducted live trials of low-carbon materials to overcome the technical, market, and behavioural obstacles that have previously hindered their use. Collaborating with industry partners, other local authorities, and SMEs, the project moved from initial research to real-world operational trials.

-- Advertisement --

Data from these comparative assessments revealed carbon savings of as much as 58.12 per cent. This represents an estimated saving of 108.1362 tonnes of $CO_2e$ across the trial sites, covering lifecycle stages A1 to A5—from the extraction of raw materials to final on-site delivery. A new methodology introduced in 2024 provided the robust data needed for authorities to evaluate and adopt these emerging materials with confidence.

The Knowledge Bank itself was developed alongside Microsoft and Transparity, acting as a central hub for shared data and insights. Furthermore, the project utilised the "Barriers to Decarbonising Roads Sandbox" to work with SMEs on regulatory challenges, while behavioural research conducted with Thinks Insight explored the cultural shifts required to adopt low-carbon practices.

The success of the programme has been marked by several industry accolades, including wins at the RSTA Awards 2025 and Highways UK 2024, as well as being named a finalist at the Scottish Transport Awards 2025.

Councillor Loughran, Convener of the Environment and Climate Change Committee, said: "Since declaring a climate emergency in 2019, the impacts of climate change have continued to intensify. This project has reinforced North Lanarkshire's role at the forefront of innovation in the transport sector to address these challenges. By building strong partnerships across Scotland and beyond, we have helped create the foundations for the sector-wide change needed to support net-zero highways."

Kyle Clough, Highways and Waste Collections Sector Director at Amey, added: "Live Labs 2 has shown what's possible when innovation is tested in the real world. By working closely with North Lanarkshire Council and partners across the programme, we have helped turn research and insight into practical delivery. The tools, evidence and networks created through this work will continue to support the highways sector long after the programme concludes."

While the primary delivery phase ends this month, the Department for Transport confirmed in January a one-year extension with up to £300,000 in funding. This period will be dedicated to communicating and disseminating the findings and innovations from the seven Live Labs 2 projects to ensure they are embedded across the UK highways sector.