Abstract
With the growing trend of incorporating waste and industrial by-products in infrastructure, airport pavements built with sustainable materials are of increasing interest. For rigid airport pavements, the greatest opportunity lies in low-carbon concrete mixtures, which can also reduce financial costs and social burdens on future generations. This research developed six theoretical concrete mixtures for airport pavement construction and calculated financial cost, social burden, and embodied carbon, combined in a triple bottom line analysis. The mixtures included a conventional benchmark, four sustainable options permitted within current specifications, and an aspirational mixture based on emerging research. Results showed that up to 63% triple bottom line cost savings are possible within current specifications, with 69% savings available using geopolymer technology that is not yet widely adopted. These findings demonstrate the importance of specifications that allow waste and recycled materials and their contribution to sustainable airport pavement practice.