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Murphy breaks new ground with carbon-negative car park

by Richard Cosgrove  |  Fri 12 Jun 2026

Murphy breaks new ground with carbon-negative car park

Murphy has demonstrated its green credentials and commitment to sustainability with the first application of ACLA in North West England. The addition of ACLA into asphalt has been used to construct a carbon-negative carpark at Murphy’s new One Murphy Hub depot in Golborne.

Designed to reduce the carbon footprint, ACLA is an innovative, carbon negative aggregate used as a partial replacement for traditional components in asphalt. It works by capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide, enabling meaningful decarbonisation at the material level while contributing to improved environmental outcomes.

This milestone reflects the strength of collaboration across Murphy’s supply chain and follows Huyton Asphalt’s introduction of the ACLA solution, developed over the past 18 months through close collaboration between Huyton Asphalt, Tarmac and Low Carbon Materials.

Rob Burgess, Project Director at Murphy, said; “This innovation positions Murphy at the forefront of low carbon infrastructure delivery. We were very pleased to be able to incorporate ACLA into our new office and depot project in Golborne - we are not only reducing embodied carbon, but actively removing it, helping create more sustainable assets and leaving a positive environmental legacy as we seek to improve life by delivering world-class infrastructure.”

Lian Hutchings, Head of Growth at Low Carbon Materials, said; “The use of ACLA delivers significant and measurable carbon benefits. For every tonne of ACLA produced, approximately 800kg of CO₂e is permanently removed. Since its launch in March 2024, the material has already contributed to the removal of around 820,000kg of CO₂e. At Golborne, its application has gone a step further, enabling the delivery of a carbon negative car park surface – a tangible example of how innovative materials can transform project outcomes.”

Sophie Colleran, Sustainability Manager at Huyton Asphalt, said; “Huyton Asphalt has been providing clients with lower-carbon surfacing solutions since 2020 and continues to invest in innovative materials that support decarbonisation across the highways sector.  Having proactively introduced ACLA to the project team, we are proud to have worked collaboratively with Murphy, Tarmac and Low Carbon Materials to successfully bring this innovative material into live project delivery.  This project demonstrates how supply chain collaboration can accelerate the adoption of practical, scalable low-carbon solutions that deliver measurable environmental benefits.”

Megan Thompson, Technical Product Support Manager North, Tarmac, said; “Tarmac's sustainability journey is ever evolving, and it is critical that collaboration continues across the supply chain to ensure scalable and industry-wide adoption of sustainable materials. At Tarmac we are always exploring how we can use our supply chain to support our customers - a collaborative approach is vital to ensure that the targets we have as businesses as well as those that are set by the government for net zero, are achieved.”

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