Assessing environmental impacts of road projects : the recent development of specialized eco-comparators in France

XXVth World Road Congress , Seoul, COREE, REPUBLIQUE POPULAIRE DEMOCRATIQUE DE, 02-/11/2015 - 06/11/2015; This article focuses on the recent evolution of environmental criteria and their assessment, thus the role of eco-comparators in the French road construction sector since the ecological transition officially marked by the Grenelle Environmental Roundtable in 2007. It shows how the need in robust tools to assess the environmental performance of road projects led to the establishment of an institutionalized public-private process to evaluate eco-comparators, developed in accordance with thepro-environmental road sector agreement signed after the Grenelle. The results of these evaluations, conducted on three tools based on a truncated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology - ECORCE, SEVE et VARIWAYS - are presented. An overview on sustainable practices in road construction and the role of these eco-comparators in France between 2009 and 2014 is given. Finally, the article discusses the future of road eco-comparators and road LCA development, in the perspective of enhancing road efficiency.