SCLF Webinar 34 CReDiT Carbon reduction tools to support sustainable remediation | 28 September 2023

Brownfield remediation typically involves major earthwork movements, the use of rapidly reducing resources (topsoil) and the potential reuse or disposal of large quantities of contaminated material. The remediation process and development frameworks are not optimised for achieving sustainability targets, often favouring cost and time-savings over carbon reduction. There is, therefore, a need to optimise brownfield remediation to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of the process.

This issue was addressed through a collaborative project between the University of Surrey and LEAP Environmental to develop a carbon tool to evaluate the carbon dioxide generated from different site remediation options.

The presentation details the developed model and demonstrate its application to a number of case studies. The tool provides a quick evaluation of different remediation options, and the carbon impact of material movement, clearly demonstrating potential carbon savings.

The webinar was be presented by Emma Hellawell, Principal Consultant, LEAP Environmental. Emma is a Chartered Civil Engineer with over 25 years of experience in academia, civil engineering consultancy and local government. Her research in environmental engineering includes modelling contaminant transport, analysis of brownfield contamination and development of carbon tools. She has worked as a local government contaminated land officer and on major civil engineering projects such as the Millennium site. She is now a Principal Geoenvironmental consultant at Leap Environmental, where she is developing tools to evaluate the carbon footprint of foundations for new housing projects, remediation design and earthworks.