2016. 11. 30..
Colas Hungária has always firmly believed that the asphalt-production technologies developed by the company are suitable for achieving excellent quality while thinking in terms of eco-friendliness, and thus reducing the ecological footprint we leave behind. Together with three other countries, we joined the LIFE SustainEuroRoad project, following the recommendation of our French parent company. The goal of the scheme is to update and validate the SEVE Eco-comparateur environmental software developed in France. The software provides us with figures about the carbon-dioxide emissions associated with various asphalt-paving technologies, and is also capable of calculating the environmental impact of road construction and maintenance. Based on the specified data, the programme clearly identifies the construction methods suitable for reducing energy consumption, and thus cutting the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Under the LIFE SustainEuroRoad project, the company undertook to put the software to the test on a given road section, while updating the base data and adapting it to Hungarian climate conditions and construction practices. As CTO Gábor Roszik pointed out, the emphasis is not solely on improving the tool, but on communication as well. Colas Hungária wishes to convince decision makers that such software is suitable for creating real environment-centred competition on the market.
The project is scheduled to close at the end of 2017, but we intend to familiarise wider audiences with its application in the upcoming years. As technology director Zoltán Puchard explained, the development of asphalt-paved road construction should not be sought in the activity itself, the machines, and the associated costs, but in the procedures hidden behind the operations – such as the fulfilment of social demands, the protection of the environment, and the introduction of sustainability to our collective consciousness. Therefore, we trust that the accomplishment of the goals set out by the LIFE SustainEuroRoad project and the prevalence of the eco-conscious road construction paradigm in the sector will take a huge load off the Earth’s chest.
