Environmental life cycle assessment of road pavements using life cycle assessment

In Vietnam, the rapid development of the road transportation networks has caused many concerns regarding environmental issues. According to some researchers, road pavements produce about 24% of total greenhouse gas emissions over the last century. Therefore, identifying and quantifying the life cycle environmental impacts of road pavements must be properly studied. In this paper, the environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted using a “cradle-to-grave” approach to assess the potential environmental impacts of the road pavements in Vietnam. A Microsoft Excel workbook-based pavement construction decision support tool was used for modelling all the life cycle phases analyzed in the case study. The results obtained from this work can increase awareness about the importance of the life cycle assessment approach in road construction in Vietnam. The obtained results can provide the reference basis for future decision-making processes in order to reduce environmental impacts and contribute to the sustainable development of road construction projects.