Civil infrastructure projects often overlook embodied carbon during procurement and value engineering. While the building sector has integrated Life Cycle Assessments and Environmental Product Declarations into standard workflows, infrastructure projects still prioritize immediate cost and risk over long term carbon savings. To close this gap, agencies must embed carbon metrics directly into bid evaluations and feasibility studies. Examples from the UK and Netherlands show that treating environmental impact as a cost indicator can make low carbon materials competitive without sacrificing budget discipline.
