The objective of Working Group 3 (WG3) of The World Road Association (PIARC) Technical Committee (TC) 4.1 was to establish a global perspective on how environmental aspects are considered and addressed in the road asset management process compared with traditional engineering oriented road asset management.

There are established environmental legal frameworks in many developed countries that create a statutory obligation on road authorities and their suppliers. Some agencies also adopt guidelines for sustainable maintenance under the legal framework. In developing countries, the legal framework is less established.

Environmental impacts are considered in the design and maintenance processes in many countries; however, environmental aspects are not necessarily given high priority. Furthermore, most agencies use only engineering judgement and economic indicators such as life-cycle costs (LCC) to prioritize projects.

Although no explicit guidance on how to incorporate environmental aspects in asset management was identified, there are a few good examples of asset management practices that take environmental considerations into account. For example, value management in the UK and risk-based management in the US consider environmental aspects as part of the decision-making criteria.