Sustainability of Highway Infrastructure Projects in Brazil

Abstract

The concept of sustainability grows in importance with innovation and adaption being fundamental to preserving environmental, economic, and social resources, in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This study analyzes the current stage of the adoption of sustainable practices in procurement processes for highway infrastructure projects in Brazil. So as to identify the level of promotion of sustainability practices in highway projects, the methodology consists of (1) an evaluation of well-established sustainability rating systems for highway projects (CEEQUAL, Envision, GreenLITES, Greenroads, and I-LAST), identifying the most relevant and common sustainability requirements included in these systems and (2) assessing which of them are already utilized (based on a keyword search) in the National Department of Transport Infrastructure (DNIT) procurement database in Brazil, where all government investments in the interstate highway system must be published for transparency. Out of a total of 2,400 procurement notices, 63 that refer to highway projects were selected and evaluated, covering a total road length of 4,175 km distributed across the five regions of Brazil, representing almost 6 billion reais (1.1 billion USD) of investments in the sector. Many sustainability practices were identified, while other important sustainability requirements were not considered. Based on the percentage of compliance with sustainability criteria, the items found in the procurement notices with the highest frequency were construction practices to maintain water quality (76%), improved traffic flow (68%), and improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities (57%). On the other hand, land use (19%), route selection (19%), energy use (13%), and soil permeability (10%) were the items least referenced in the procurements analyzed. The results show that the overall level of sustainability adoption by DNIT is low, on the order of 38%. There is, however, a clear trend of growth in the adoption of sustainable practices in the environmental, social, and economic aspects, identified through a year-to-year comparison. The results from this study can be used by public agencies in the transportation sector to develop effective and efficient processes to identify the level at which sustainability is promoted in their highway projects. The model presented herein could be used by public owners to proactively drive sustainability in highway projects by assessing the inclusion of specific sustainability-related requirements/terms in public procurement notices. The model could also be used to refine existing technical specifications, guidelines, or manuals concerning the use of sustainable highway infrastructure rating systems in public projects.