Giles Perkins – Reflections on the first Live Labs 2 Decarbonisation Pledge Webinar
The ADEPT Live Labs 2 Decarbonisation Pledge represents a collective commitment to action by organisations, practitioners and delivery partners who have the ability to implement real change, laying the groundwork for the continued evolution of sustainable highways and infrastructure.
One of the benefits of signing the Pledge is gaining access to a dedicated online community, with a series of webinars arranged by ADEPT allowing signatories exclusive insight into industry progress. Giles Perkins, Live Labs 2 Programme Director, reflects on the first webinar which took place in December, and looks ahead to the second which will be taking place on Wednesday 28th January 2026. To join, simply sign the Pledge and you will receive an invitation.
With Live Labs 2 nearing the end of the 3-year programme, now is the time to begin articulating our findings. The decarbonisation Pledge has opened up the conversation, with the long-term hope of embedding low carbon practices explored in the Live Labs across the industry. Our series of pledge webinars have been introduced to encourage knowledge-sharing, reflection and cross-sector dissemination. These are closed sessions for Pledge signatories only, but the themes will resonate with all involved in the industry.
The first webinar took place on Wednesday 3rd December 2025, and focused on the outcomes and outputs from two Live Labs – Greenprint and Wessex. Their discussions centred on the circular economy and doughnut economics, providing insight into their respective programmes and prompting thoughtful discussion. Their contributions set the benchmark for the following webinars.
Decarbonisation narratives and evolving programme benefits
We opened the first webinar with an overview of the programme from Neil Gibson, Chair of the Live Labs 2 Commissioning Board. Alongside an outline of the programme successes, Neil aptly highlighted a narrative shift in terms of attitudes to decarbonisation and the role it plays in local and national politics.
What has been made increasingly evident after almost three years of the programme is that the benefits of implementing low carbon innovations extend beyond the carbon reductions – community benefits, wider environmental impact and financial efficiencies and savings are all up for grabs. It is these broader, more tangible benefits that can be disseminated across the industry, with the pledge webinars providing that opportunity.
Circular Economy and Doughnut Economics – industry insight
The first of two presentations in this webinar demonstrated the development and application of the Highways Doughnut Toolkit, developed originally by economist Kate Raworth and adapted for the highways sector. This was followed by a presentation on the Greenprint Live Lab, a partnership between South Gloucestershire Council and West Sussex County Council.
Both presentations offered fascinating insight to their respective projects. The carbon benefits were evident, with each project demonstrating crucial outputs related to carbon savings, but both presentations also drew attention to the broader outcomes as outlined above.
The Highways Doughnut Toolkit requires input from various departments across an organisation, a collaborative assessment process that creates a shared language to understand barriers and opportunities for change at policy and operational levels. The comprehensive nature of the toolkit means that any areas for improvement across many departments are identified as part of one streamlined process.
Similarly, outputs of the Greenprint project highlighted the need for collaborative work and extensive engagement across different councils and stakeholders. As a project led by a partnership between two councils, with two different ways of working, thought and consideration was needed to acquire necessary data and present findings with clarity. While the carbon savings and financial benefits illustrated by the project are important, perhaps the collaborative journey to gain such data is the key output here. As with the Highways Doughnut Toolkit, through the process of developing a streamlined way of working between two local authorities, individual areas of improvement can be identified to ensure greater efficiency in various departments moving forward.
Looking ahead to the second webinar
We are now looking forward to presenting the second webinar in this exclusive series. The second webinar will outline the outputs and outcomes from the East Riding and Centre of Excellence for Decarbonising Roads (CEDR) and how the findings from each can be implemented into the work of other organisations. As with the first webinar, this session is an exclusive opportunity for open discussion open to all Pledge signatories across multiple sectors.
Claim your place at the next two webinars by signing the Pledge: https://www.adeptnet.org.uk/sign-pledge-industry-decarbonisation-pledge
ADEPT Live Labs 2 Decarbonisation Pledge – Webinar 2
Wednesday 28th January, 9-10am
Microsoft Teams – Please sign the Pledge to receive your invitation