NAPA unveils climate action plan for asphalt pavement industry

The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) has introduced its climate action plan to help curb the effects of climate change.

The member-driven and expert-defined research and implementation roadmap—"The Road Forward: A Vision for Net Zero Carbon Emissions for the Asphalt Pavement Industry”—calls on the U.S. asphalt community to advance technologies, products and processes to achieve Scope 1, 2 and 3 net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The plan was unveiled at NAPA’s annual meeting, which also included two climate-focused educational workshops and two general sessions on corporate sustainability.

“This is one mission and one vision for the entire industry to point us where we need to go to proactively lower emissions and accelerate beyond the industry’s past efforts in environmental stewardship and sustainability,” says NAPA Vice President for Engineering, Research and Technology J. Richard Willis.

Over the past year, NAPA’s 21-member Climate Stewardship Task Force has studied issues surrounding the asphalt industry to create the climate action plan, which focuses on the direction the industry needs to take over the next two decades to reach net zero carbon emissions in the production of asphalt pavements. It also includes four goals, 19 tactics and eight research and implementation gaps.

“We as an industry need to take it upon ourselves to be responsible, to make these changes, and, where we can get help. But we need to take ownership and start today,” says Willis.

While research is underway, NAPA says it will begin engaging the asphalt community to further educate them on what, for many, is an “unfamiliar landscape filled with new concepts and terminology.”

“NAPA has a plan and now it’s up to the individual companies to pick up the ball and run with it,” says Ron Sines, vice president for asphalt performance at Atlanta-based CRH Americas Materials and chair of NAPA’s Climate Stewardship Task Force. He adds, “The first thing you can do is get educated on this topic–and educate your employees. Before we can move forward as an industry, everyone needs to develop a shared understanding of what net zero is and why we are pursuing it. We only have one planet, and we better take care of it.”