CERCOM - Development of an Analytic Software Tool for the Evaluation of Innovative Infrastructure Maintenance Methods in the Move Towards Circularity

Abstract

Implementation of the circular economy and resource efficiency has the potential to significantly tackle the root causes of global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution whilst at the same time providing regenerative design for generations to come. The CEDR funded CERCOM project facilitates a move towards circular public procurement of national road infrastructure. A flexible and stable approach using ranked interpolation is used to generate KPI values for various criterion, where the user can specify the desired level of complexity based on scheme requirements and data available. The framework considers technical, economic, environmental and social criteria, as well as circularity, while assessing the change in risks in moving from a linear to a circular economy. National Road Authorities (NRAs) are at different maturity levels in relation to circularity. The developed framework caters for this, allowing flexibility for NRAs to tailor their application of the framework to suit their maturity level and the scheme under consideration. The outcome is a user-friendly intuitive tool with a step-by-step approach to enable informed decision making around adoption of the principles of circular economy in the maintenance of highway infrastructure.