Research Project SABINA

The recently completed project SABINA (Straßenbauweisen Bilanzierung Nachhaltigkeit – Road Construction Methods Sustainability Assessment) addressed the development of a sustainability assessment tool specific for road pavement construction methods across the German-speaking region, also referred to as: D-A-CH: Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Sustainability assessment has gained considerable importance in the transportation and pavement sector, as it enables an objective and comprehensive evaluation of the ecological, economic, and social impacts across the entire life cycle of road infrastructure. This life cycle covers construction, the use phase with maintenance and rehabilitation measures, and possible dismantling and reuse, while quantifying global warming potential and energy consumption.

The unification of those calculations in a single tool enables deeper understanding of the results and easier comparison of alternative scenarios. The tool was developed in a Web-based structure, very user friendly and provides a database for the impacts from the corresponding countries.

The aim of SABINA include:

• developing a holistic assessment framework for road structures (superstructure and substructure, all construction methods) based on the three pillars of sustainability – ecology, economy, and social aspects,
• covering the entire construction life cycle in accordance with ISO 14040/14044 and EN 15643, including construction, maintenance, renewal, dismantling, and reuse,
• quantifying key sustainability indicators, in particular global warming potential (GWP), energy consumption, and durability,
• using national and international data sets, supplemented by the project team’s own data from earlier projects,
• developing the SABINA online calculation tool as a database-driven, modular, and continuously updatable decision-making tool,
• and creating a best-practice catalogue for sustainable construction methods.

Among the project’s outcomes is the SABINA calculation tool, a web-based tool for calculating the environmental and cost effects of different construction methods and energy sources, integrating indicators such as CO₂ emissions, energy input, resource use, and life cycle costs.

Funding programme: D-A-CH Transport Infrastructure Research Cooperation – Mobility of the Future, Transnational (DACH 2022)

Project title: Road construction methods – Sustainability assessment

German title: Straßenbauweisen Bilanzierung Nachhaltigkeit

Acronym: SABINA

Duration: 37 months (03 October 2022 – 02 October 2025)

Status: Completed

Project coordination: Umtec Technologie AG

Project partners:

• Technische Universität Braunschweig – Braunschweig Pavement Engineering Centre (ISBS)
• FH Campus Wien (Hochschule Campus Wien Forschungs- und Entwicklungs GmbH)