Partnering with LCRIG to Accelerate Sustainability Across the Highways Sector
“We are proud to be LCRIG’s Sustainability Partner for 2025. At Tarmac, we recognise the important role we have in enabling the transition to a more sustainable and resilient built environment.”
Emma Hines, Sustainability Director - Tarmac
In 2025, Tarmac was announced as the official Sustainability Partner of the Local Council Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG), marking a significant milestone in a relationship that has strengthened over six years. The partnership represents a
shared commitment to helping local authorities make real progress on sustainability. This has been supported by the products, knowledge and technical expertise required to meet the growing expectations of a low carbon future.
Working Together for Long Term Impact
The partnership focuses on three core aims that reflect the needs of local authorities:
supporting the transition to low carbon highways materials
sharing practical knowledge that helps improve resilience and reduce emissions
building collaborative approaches that enable long term value
Emma Hines, Sustainability Director at Tarmac, highlighted the importance of this collaboration:
“We are proud to be LCRIG’s Sustainability Partner for 2025. At Tarmac, we recognise the important role we have in enabling the transition to a more sustainable and resilient built environment. As one of the UK’s leading construction businesses, we have set ourselves challenging commitments. We also recognise the importance of partnership, collaborative working and supporting our local authority clients on their journey towards a more sustainable future. This means understanding their future requirements and providing the products and services that they will need. We are now working to develop a new generation of low carbon, biogenic and long-life asphalts. This technology will help our clients to reduce carbon footprints, capture carbon and significantly extend pavement life compared to current materials.”
From LCRIG’s perspective, the partnership strengthens their mission to drive
meaningful change across the sector:
“We’re delighted to be working in collaboration with Tarmac to help drive improvements in sustainability within the highways and transport technology sector. Our commitment to decarbonising the highways sector and facilitating positive change underpins everything we do. This collaboration will help us continue to make a difference to the sector.”
Keely Metcalfe, Relationship Manager at LCRIG
Strengthening Knowledge Through Technical Training
As part of the 2025 partnership, Tarmac delivered a series of technical training sessions designed specifically for local authority teams and sector partners. These sessions helped expand understanding of sustainable materials, lifecycle planning, and carbon‑efficient road maintenance. The training covered three key areas:
challenges and opportunities linked to decarbonising asphalt
emerging materials including biogenic binders and long-life asphalts
the role of materials technology in extending pavement life and preventing early failure
The sessions also explored how paving technology and surface smoothness can unlock long term reductions in vehicle emissions, connecting materials performance with wider climate impacts.
Contributing to Sector Knowledge and Innovation
Throughout 2025, Tarmac played an active role at LCRIG’s flagship national events such as the Innovation and Learning Festival, Strictly Highways, and Sustainability cross‑industry forums. These platforms enabled local authorities, contractors and industry partners to explore low carbon solutions, discuss whole life asset planning and share lessons from the latest trials and technologies.
The partnership also aligned closely with Tarmac’s own sustainability strategy, built around People, Planet, and Solutions. This alignment ensures that the innovations shared with LCRIG members reflect the same ambitions that shape Tarmac’s wider commitments. This includes developing biogenic materials, expanding circular approaches and improving resilience across the construction value chain.
Looking Ahead
The collaboration between Tarmac and LCRIG sets a strong foundation for accelerated progress in more sustainable highways delivery. The partnership aims to provide local authorities with the tools, knowledge and confidence they need to plan and deliver lower carbon, longer lasting and more resilient networks. This is achieved by combining technical insight, new material technologies, and shared learning across the sector.
Tarmac looks forward to continuing this work, supporting local authorities to adopt more sustainable solutions and helping to shape a more efficient and future‑ready highways sector.
