Meon’s Project Highway Zero campaign attended  The LGTAG silver jubilee Greening the Black Conference in London on 8^th June, 2022, focusing on tackling the practical issues of decarbonising our highways and public infrastructure. The conference’s objective was to help attendees gain insight into how we can boost nature, trees and habitat on our highways across the industry to support the natural recovery of our ecosystem, as well as community wellbeing and carbon reduction.

The conference gave everyone a better understanding of what we can do to reach net-zero in a cost-effective way. There were discussions on how we can put nature back into our streets and communities without burdening maintenance. The presenters looked at unlocking the industry perspectives on nature and carbon reduction at a practical level, but most importantly, discovering the latest in low carbon and natural solutions for the future of highways across the UK.

The Meon team were privileged to be included in the LGTAG Conference this week. The event theme was ‘Greening the Black’ which provided a natural opportunity to present Meon’s model of the 3 Principles of project Highways Zero. The event had a clear message to attendees from a good cross-section of presenters and offered great networking opportunities.

A very brief overview of the conference is summarised in the following three points:

1. Reduction of reliance on carbon should take priority with offset strategies used as a last resort.
2. The industry needs to embrace ‘greener’ technologies at an accelerated rate.
3. Being prepared to listen to stakeholders helps shape a sustainable future.

The day was fascinating, with a wide range of topics covered. Those who attended heard about ways to develop our highways and verges in line with the drive to reduce carbon net-zero. Russell Smallridge from Meon and Head of Project Highway Zero had this to say about the event.

“‘It was great to have the opportunity to network with industry colleagues last week at the LGTAG Conference last week. Two key takeaways for me We’re at the beginning of the carbon journey with a lot of work yet to be done, but also the staff wellbeing requires a different focus following the pandemic.”

What stood out for us was the importance of taking a whole life cycle approach to decarbonisation. In addition to decarbonising transport, delegates heard about why we must use more sustainable materials, implement active travel, use environmentally friendly construction equipment, recycle, have extreme weather resilience, etc. All are equally as important as each other as they battle to combat climate change intensifies across the UK.