Donna James
Technical Director and AtkinsRéalis Fellow, AtkinsRéalisDonna is a Technical Director at AtkinsRéalis with 30 years’ experience in pavement engineering, specialising in solutions for roads, airports and ports. She has worked in government, research and consultancy, implementing innovative technology to deliver sustainable outcomes. Donna is an active member of many British Standards committees, a Fellow of the Institute of Asphalt Technology, a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and an AtkinsRéalis Fellow. Donna is passionate about reducing embodied carbon in pavements, designing resilient assets and promoting careers for women in civil engineering.
My Speaker Sessions
Wednesday 25 November 2026
10-Minute Tech Talk: Pavements Moonshot — Net Zero Asphalt Surfacing
A 10-minute case study from Atkins Realis on trialling low-carbon asphalt surfacing technologies for both trunk roads and local highway networks with a focus on real installations, real carbon savings, and what's transferable to Scotland's local roads.
- Five low-carbon surfacing technologies trialled on the network, including bio-based binders, warm-mix asphalt, reclaimed asphalt and graphene-enhanced surfacing
- Evaluating CO2 savings, reduction in asphalt carbon footprint and potential savings if scaled
- What it took to get there: collaboration across 10 partners spanning contractors, materials suppliers and academia, and what local highway networks can take from it now
