Advancing Sustainable Road Infrastructure: ERF Contributes Key Insights at Eurobitume Autumn Meeting

16 October 2025 | Brussels

The Eurobitume Autumn Meeting on Sustainability, held in Brussels on 16 October 2025, brought together leading stakeholders from Europe’s road and bitumen sectors to reflect on how the industry can accelerate its environmental transition. This year’s discussions focused strongly on lifecycle thinking, material innovation and the broader systemic changes required to adapt mobility networks to climate, economic and social pressures. In this context, the ERF Director General delivered an in-depth assessment of the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of Europe’s road infrastructure.

The intervention opened by reaffirming the central role of Europe’s five-million-kilometre road network in connecting regions, enabling trade and supporting local economies. However, the ERF Director General stressed that this indispensable asset is increasingly confronted with environmental, social and financial pressures that demand a comprehensive and forward-looking approach. Sustainability, he noted, must cover the entire lifecycle—from design and construction to operation, maintenance and end-of-life management—while accounting for climate impacts, biodiversity, social equity and system resilience.

A key focus of the presentation was the sector’s environmental footprint. Road infrastructure is linked to significant greenhouse-gas emissions not only through traffic but also through construction practices and material use. Progress in low-emission construction techniques and surface technologies was highlighted as essential. The ERF Director General also drew attention to the widespread ageing of Europe’s road assets. Years of underinvestment have resulted in a growing maintenance backlog, further aggravated by extreme weather events and the accelerated degradation of certain materials due to climate change. Design choices made today, he emphasised, will strongly influence the resilience and longevity of tomorrow’s infrastructure.

Resource consumption and circularity formed another important theme. Road construction still relies heavily on extraction, transport and land use, yet EU policy increasingly calls for reduced waste, wider uptake of recycled materials and infrastructure designed for reuse and durability. The intervention also highlighted the social dimension of sustainability: roads must be safe and accessible for all users. Particular attention was given to the needs of vulnerable road users and to the specific accessibility challenges in sparsely populated regions, illustrated through an example drawn from Finland’s Lapland.

From a policy perspective, ERF Director General noted that although the European Green Deal, TEN-T and the Connecting Europe Facility provide strong foundations, their implementation remains inconsistent across Member States. Fragmented planning, uneven technical standards and slow permitting processes continue to delay progress. A structural imbalance between investment in new projects and funding for the maintenance of existing infrastructure further complicates efforts to ensure long-term network performance.

Despite these challenges, the presentation showcased encouraging developments taking place across Europe. Innovative initiatives such as SustainEuroRoad, alongside advancements in smart technologies, automation, intelligent traffic management and multimodal integration, demonstrate that the tools needed for a more sustainable network are already emerging. However, financial constraints, differing national practices and behavioural trends—such as rising vehicle ownership and increased freight demand—still limit their widespread deployment.

The ERF Director General concluded with a call for a deeper shift towards lifecycle thinking. Broader use of lifecycle assessment and cost-benefit methodologies, reinforced investment in maintenance, accelerated material innovation and stronger integration with other transport modes were identified as essential elements of a sustainable strategy. Improved monitoring, data availability and climate-resilient design, supported by efficient regulatory and funding mechanisms, will be critical to aligning Europe’s road network with environmental and societal expectations.

He emphasised that Europe now stands at turning point. Connectivity, mobility and economic cohesion will remain core objectives, but must evolve alongside rising demands for climate action, safety and social fairness. Europe already possesses strong policy frameworks and promising innovations; what is needed now is consistent implementation and a renewed vision for how roads are planned, used and maintained. Only through such an approach can Europe’s road network meet the sustainability challenges of the years ahead.