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Embodied Carbon Mitigation Strategies in the Construction Industry
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The building sector contributes up to 36% of carbon emissions emphasizing the importance of carbon management. Carbon emissions in buildings are classified into two main types; embodied carbon and operational carbon. Operational carbon refers to emissions, which occur during the operational phase of a building. Embodied carbon is the fuel and process related carbon emitted during material extraction, transportation, manufacturing, distribution, construction, disposal and reuse. Creating zero carbon projects, where the operational carbon is reduced to zero, has become a trend, which may intern reduce operational carbon by adding to embodied carbon. Therefore, reducing the overall carbon emissions in construction projects, has become intricately important. Hence, the study aims at identifying embodied carbon mitigation strategies to reduce the embodied carbon emissions in construction projects. Initially, a comprehensive literature review was carried out to identify the embodied carbon mitigation strategies recognised by various researchers. The literature findings and the data gathered from a roundtable expert forum was analysed to derive at conclusions in this regard. 36 experts attended the expert forum, who actively participated in discussion and contributed to the findings. A total of 22 embodied carbon mitigation strategies were identified through literature and the expert forum. These mitigation strategies can be implemented by the industry practitioners to reduce the embodied carbon emissions in the construction projects.
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... Lemieux (2016) mentioned the blockchain system could solve issues related to inaccuracy and availability of data, while smart contracts can solve issues related on-time execution of maintenance tasks to a great extent. Rodrigo et al. (2019) stated that sustainability management is one of the essential sectors of the modern construction industry. The rise of global warming, climate change, and waste increase the demand for better sustainable operations for almost every domain, including manufacturing, construction, food and agriculture, transportation, and many others. ...
... Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali (2012) highlighted that the construction industry makes a significant impact on environmental pollution and stress the importance of addressing it. Rodrigo et al. (2019) stated inaccurate record, loss of data, and unavailability of data are among the key challenges in sustainability management and monitoring. Blockchain-based systems can solve these data-related issues to a significant level. ...
... Sustainability is one of the highest priorities in the built environment today due to the external demand from governments, customers, and the general public (Pitt et al., 2009). Blockchain technology can be used to properly calculate embodied and operation carbon in the construction industry and assist in optimising carbon management or even carbon trading (Rodrigo et al., 2019). Furthermore, blockchain technology can be used for proper energy management in the built environment (Imbault et al., 2017). ...
Blockchain was introduced as the underlying technology to enable cryptocurrency transactions among untrusted parties. Today, its transformative potential is often compared to that of the World Wide Web, and both practitioners and researchers across all domains are exploring how to utilise blockchain technology to address long-standing problems around data integrity, transparency, and trust. A significant number of research and case study findings indicate many industries are already exploring the diverse benefits of blockchain technology. Analysis of how other industries adopt blockchain could help to understand how to solve similar types of problems in the construction industry. This paper critically analyses the potential to use blockchain in the construction industry. Research findings show that the blockchain technology and its capabilities are mature enough to support many use cases in the construction industry, and the industry's inertia in adopting new technologies seems to be the only hurdle. Two major sectors where blockchain technology could have a greater and immediate impact include the building information modelling and supply chain management.
... The World Green Building Council defines the embodied carbon of a building as the carbon emissions associated with the materials and construction processes throughout the whole life cycle of a building (World Green Building Council, 2021). Relative contribution of operating carbon and embodied carbon to the total life cycle carbon in buildings do considerably vary (Victoria and Perera, 2018;Rodrigo et al., 2019). This is dependent on function and type of building (Nebel et al., 2011); location, massing of building, type of fuel used, building orientation, climate, etc. (Akbarnezhad and Xiao, 2017). ...
... As one of the most important sources of carbon emissions in the world, the construction industry is facing a great challenge in encouraging countries and firms to achieve carbon emission reduction targets (Rodrigo et al., 2019;Akomea-Frimpong et al., 2021). Thereby, there is the urgent need to apply carbon policies/carbon trading to the construction industry to control its carbon emission (Lin and Jia, 2019). ...
The need to control and reduce greenhouse gases has become urgent throughout the world. Emissions trading has been established to be a reasonable panacea in curbing future levels of emissions. Carbon trading systems were originally not designed for the construction industry and has little application in the construction sectors. The overall aim of this ongoing study is to develop a construction tailored carbon trading system. However, this paper presents on the first stage which is the development of a conceptual framework for carbon trading in the construction industry. Systematic literature review methodology was adopted to obtain documents from Scopus which were then synthesised. From the findings, the major constructs comprising the conceptual framework are construction market, construction plan, construction strategies and construction policies. This framework aids the construction industry in its climate change mitigation and further proposes to develop trading system unique to the features of the construction industry
... However, the type of building has an impact on the OC and EC ratio. For example, a low specification building such as a warehouse does not require heating and cooling, which will contribute to less OC, resulting in the remaining EC emissions being significantly high [7,9]. The road map published by Green Building Council Australia [10] emphasises the importance of reducing overall net carbon emissions, not OC alone. ...
... The novel trend to produce zero carbon buildings, which are more energy efficient, intends to reduce the OC to zero, making the remaining EC component more significant [9,[15][16][17][18]. Therefore, managing and reducing EC plays an important role. ...
Carbon estimating plays a vital role in the construction industry. The current focus on introducing zero-carbon construction projects reduces operational carbon, at the expense of Embodied Carbon (EC). However, it is important to reduce overall net carbon emissions. There are various methods to estimate carbon, but the accuracy of these estimates is questionable. This paper reviews a novel methodology, the Supply Chain based Embodied carbon Estimating Method (SCEEM), which was introduced recently to accurately estimate EC in construction supply chains. SCEEM is compared against existing EC estimating methods (Blackbook and eToolLCD) using a case study approach. It is also supplemented with a comprehensive literature review of existing EC methods. The EC values calculated using Blackbook and eToolLCD were mostly higher than SCEEM. Since SCEEM uses actual site data and considers first principles-based value addition method to estimate EC, it is considered accurate. The cross-case analysis revealed that SCEEM provided consistent results. Hence, SCEEM is recommended to accurately estimate EC of any type of project.
... This includes the carbon used for the extraction of component resources, as well as the design, construction phases. In addition, embodied carbon relates to the use aspects that are not covered by operational energy consumption -within construction these types of carbon emissions are often associated with the chemical reactions that cause CO2 emissions from concrete as the building [37]. ...
This paper outlines the ethical implications of AI from a climate perspective. So far, much of the discussion around AI ethics have focused on bias, unexplainable outcomes, privacy and other social impacts of such systems. The role and contribution of AI towards climate change and the ethical implications of its contribution to an unjust distribution of impact on the planet, humans and flora and fauna have not yet been covered in detail within the technical community. Within this paper, we aim to raise some of the issues of AI associated with climate justice and we propose a framework that will allow the AI and ICT industries to measure their true impact on the planet, propose an organisational structure to take this work forward and propose future research areas for this important topic.
... Subsequently Swan [15] identified the usage of Blockchain 2.0 for economic, market and financial applications such as stocks, bonds, smart property, and smart contracts, whereas Blockchain 3.0 was used for applications beyond currency, finance, and markets, particularly related to the government, health, science, and art among others. Blockchain has the potential to be considered for various energy related applications such as energy trading [1], energy management, carbon trading [13], and carbon offsets among others. Similarly, a decentralised accounting process used in blockchains, can be applied for the purpose of accounting Embodied Carbon (EC) in CSCs of projects. ...
Carbon emissions are categorised as Embodied Carbon (EC) occurring in the production phase and Operational Carbon (OC) occurring in the operational phase of buildings. The current focus on producing zero-carbon buildings, emphasises reducing OC and ignores the importance of reducing EC emissions. This study focuses on EC. Methods available in EC estimating currently produce estimates that often do not complement each other. This makes it important to develop a robust and accurate methodology for estimating EC. Blockchain is an emerging technology that has significant potential for transaction processing in supply chains. The construction industry being the second least digitalised industry, and the adoption of innovative technologies is predominantly important. This paper explores the potential application of blockchain for accurate estimation of EC in construction supply chains. A detailed literature review and expert interviews revealed that, compared to traditional information systems, blockchain systems could eliminate issues in EC estimating highlighting its potential credible application for EC estimating. Scalability was identified as a feature that was lacking in a blockchain system, however, for EC estimating, its impact was identified as minimal. It will be difficult to generalise the findings of the study due to interview based qualitative methodology adopted in this study along with the fact that blockchain is an emerging and fairly new technology. However, a similar process could be followed by other studies to compare blockchain with traditional information systems, to evaluate the suitability of blockchain technology to develop prototype systems.
... Therefore, an accurate methodology of estimating embodied carbon has become intricately important. The decentralised accounting process used in blockchains can be applied for the purpose of accounting embodied carbon in construction supply chains in an accurate way [176]. ...
The dawn of the 21st century has seen the advent of many technologies targeting commercial and financial sectors. These include Big Data, Internet of Things and FinTechs such as blockchain. Blockchain is a type of a distributed database that is used to replicate, share, and synchronise data spread across different geographical locations such as multiple sites, countries, or organisations. The main property of blockchain is that there is no central administrator or centralised data storage mechanism. Consensus algorithms govern the peer-to-peer decentralised network. Numerous benefits and applications of blockchains have resulted in it becoming popular among a broad spectrum of businesses, but is it the case in the construction industry? Given, the backward nature of the construction industry in digitalisation and its reticence to change, it becomes important to analyse the potential impact of Blockchains as a potential disruptive technology.
Although there exists a significant research gap and the potential possibility to test blockchain in the construction sector, the construction industry is historically reported as the second lowest sector to have adopted information technology. This leads to a conundrum whether blockchain is a pure technological hype or whether there is a real potential application in construction. The paper is aimed at critically analysing the application potential of blockchains in construction through a use case analysis and comprehensive literature review to resolve whether it is pure hype or real. The exploration revealed that due to the exponential uses of blockchain, investments involved, and a number of start-up businesses contributing to Industry 4.0, blockchain indeed has a credible potential in the construction industry.
... Carbon estimating plays an important role in the construction industry as construction related activities contribute to climate change and global warming immensely (Baldasano & Reguart 2014). Therefore, it is quite necessary to estimate carbon, ultimately to reduce construction industry related carbon emissions (Rodrigo et al. 2019). Several studies have been carried out on EC estimating. ...
Building construction contributes up to 40-50% of the global carbon emissions while Australian building sector accounts for about 36% of the overall carbon emissions. Thus, building industry is the key control point to create a low carbon economy thus ensuring a sustainable environment. Lifecycle carbon consists of Operational Carbon (OC) and Embodied Carbon (EC). The latest trend of introducing zero carbon projects focus on reducing OC through usage of various materials such as insulation, triple glazing among others, which contribute to increase of the EC in the building. Hence, focus should be on reducing overall net carbon emission, not OC alone. Thus, the study focuses on reducing the EC of construction projects. EC estimating can be carried out using different databases and tools. However, due to the issues existent in these databases and tools, the accuracy of the EC estimates prepared using these databases and tools is questionable. Therefore, it is intricately important to introduce an accurate methodology of estimating EC. Hence, the study is aimed at identifying the issues existent in carbon estimating and proposing a conceptual model on estimating EC in construction supply chains accurately. The proposed methodology eliminates the existent issues in carbon estimating.
... In Australia, cement production accounts for around 1.3% of greenhouse gas emissions that are released, which is still the biggest contributor in the construction industry but significantly lower compared to the rest of the world (McLellan et al., 2011). Therefore, the need of introducing sustainable methods to reduce these carbon emissions has aroused (Rodrigo et al., 2019). The most common form of sustainable methods being tested in current concrete construction is the introduction of SCMs, which could be one of the means to achieve a significant CO2 reduction. ...
Concrete is one of the most used construction materials; however, it contributes to about 7% of all carbon emissions. Various supplementary cementitious materials such as flyash have been considered to enhance concrete performance. There is a limitation of studies that address the influence of fly-ash on carbon reduction in different grades of concrete. Hence, the aim of this study is to analyse the impacts of fly-ash in concrete on carbon emissions in construction projects. A comparison between carbon emissions of portland cement concrete projects and fly-ash concrete projects was conducted using data collected from 20 construction projects in New South Wales, Australia. The results showed that higher the grade of concrete used, higher the carbon dioxide emissions, due to the increase of portland cement needed to achieve the higher grades of concrete. Introducing fly-ash to the concrete mix showed a significant reduction in carbon emissions. However, from the financial perspective, it was found that the rate per cubic metre of fly-ash concrete is 2.1% more expensive than standard concrete mixes. Therefore, the idea of adopting fly-ash into the concrete mix may not deliver cost savings as expected. Overall, this study provided clear insight into the effects of concrete usage on the environment and ways to reduce carbon emission.
In the present study, M−30 grade Self Compacting Concrete (SCC) was designed using natural fine and coarse aggregates, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and varying percentages of binary admixtures i.e., Fly Ash (FA) and Silica Fume (SF) for part replacement of OPC. Also, the effects of these admixtures in combination (FA + SF) were evaluated on the fresh properties, compressive strength, flexural strength, split tensile strength, cost and CO2 emission. Further, the micro-structural analyses (XRD and SEM) of different samples were carried out.
The strength of different SCCs increases in the range of 4.34–44.88 % depending upon the type of admixture(s) or their combination and number of days. The cost of SCC reduces in the range of 2.77–10.97 %, when OPC is replaced in part by different admixtures or their combination. The reduction of CO2 emission lies in the range of 8.84–22.10 %, when OPC is replaced by admixture. Thus, the results show that the concrete containing either FA or binary admixtures are not only stronger and economical but also helpful in the environmental protection.
Life cycle impacts in buildings includes operational carbon for heating, cooling, hot water, ventilation, lighting, on the one hand, and embodied carbon for material supply, production, transport, construction and disassembly, on the other. Improved operational carbon has increased the percentage of embodied carbon in the total life cycle of buildings. Kuwait is looking at enhancing the sustainability of its built environment, as there is an urgent need to expand and build new cities. This research analyses the sustainability of the Middle Eastern built environment in order to provide the most appropriate strategies to respond to this demand.
Building and construction is responsible for up to 30% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, commonly reported in carbon equivalent unit. Carbon emissions are incurred in all stages of a building’s life cycle and are generally categorised into operating carbon and embodied carbon, each making varying contributions to the life cycle carbon depending on the building’s characteristics. With recent advances in reducing the operating carbon of buildings, the available literature indicates a clear shift in attention towards investigating strategies to minimize embodied carbon. However, minimizing the embodied carbon of buildings is challenging and requires evaluating the effects of embodied carbon reduction strategies on the emissions incurred in different life cycle phases, as well as the operating carbon of the building. In this paper, the available literature on strategies for reducing the embodied carbon of buildings, as well as methods for estimating the embodied carbon of buildings, is reviewed and the strengths and weaknesses of each method are highlighted.
CO2 is emitted throughout the lifespan of buildings—from construction through to operation, and eventually, demolition. Life Cycle Carbon Footprint calculations (LCCF) can be employed to provide useful evaluation metrics for the analysis and comparison of their environmental impact. This paper brings together, for the first time, a systematic review of the LCCF of 251 case study buildings from 19 different countries. This review focuses on the comparison of the LCCF of refurbished and newly constructed buildings, through the synthesis of the overall outcomes of these studies, to identify whether refurbishment or replacement design alternatives achieve better performance.
The results highlight that the average embodied, operational-related and demolition-related CO2 is responsible for 24%, 75% and 1%, respectively, of LCCF. Furthermore, this review indicates that while the type of heating and energy supply system can significantly impact overall LCCF (when normalised to kgCO2/60 years/m² floor area), other factors, such as building floor area or number of storeys, have minimal effect. A comparison between the LCCF of refurbished and new buildings showed that while most refurbishments had lower LCCF than most new buildings, some new buildings performed better than refurbished ones. Thus, findings suggest that on the basis of current evidence, it is still not possible to conclusively determine which of the alternatives is preferred. Finally, the paper highlights the current state of buildings LCCF, in particular in terms of the analysis scope and limitations, illustrating how these terms were interpreted differently in the examined case studies, and subsequently highlighting the need for a unified protocol to be developed for building LCCF analysis.
The building sector is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Over the years, sound tools have been developed to support the life-cycle assessment of building carbon emissions performance. However, most of these tools have been primarily focused on building-scale modelling and evaluation, leaving the emissions related to infrastructure and occupant activities as well as the carbon offsetting from implementing district-scale renewable energy systems, often neglected. The uptake of macro perspective carbon evaluations at the urban precinct level has been slow due to various barriers such as system boundary definition, quantification of complex inter-building effects, availability of comparable data, integrated modelling and uncertainties related to occupants’ life styles. This research developed an integrated life-cycle model to support the precinct-scale evaluation of carbon footprint for a comprehensive understanding of the emission profile. This is expected to further support low carbon planning and (re)development of urban precincts. The model structure is underpinned by four major components at the precinct level, i.e. embodied, operational and travelling associated carbon emissions, as well as the carbon offsetting from solar energy harvesting. The utility of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through preliminary case studies on representative suburban precincts in Adelaide, South Australia. Comparative studies and scenario analysis are also involved to identify the critical elements affecting the overall carbon performance of urban precincts.
Of all industrial sectors, the built environment puts the most pressure on the natural environment, and in spite of significant efforts the International Energy Agency suggests that buildings-related emissions are on track to double by 2050. Whilst operational energy efficiency continues to receive significant attention by researchers, a less well-researched area is the assessment of embodied carbon in the built environment in order to understand where the greatest opportunities for its mitigation and reduction lie. This article approaches the body of academic knowledge on strategies to tackle embodied carbon (EC) and uses a systematic review of the available evidence to answer the following research question: how should we mitigate and reduce EC in the built environment? 102 journal articles have been reviewed systematically in the fields of embodied carbon mitigation and reduction, and life cycle assessment. In total, 17 mitigation strategies have been identified from within the existing literature which have been discussed through a meta-analysis on available data. Results reveal that no single mitigation strategy alone seems able to tackle the problem; rather, a pluralistic approach is necessary. The use of materials with lower EC, better design, an increased reuse of EC-intensive materials, and stronger policy drivers all emerged as key elements for a quicker transition to a low carbon built environment. The meta-analysis on 77 LCAs also shows an extremely incomplete and short-sighted approach to life cycle studies. Most studies only assess the manufacturing stages, often completely overlooking impacts occurring during the occupancy stage and at the end of life of the building. The LCA research community have the responsibility to address such shortcomings and work towards more complete and meaningful assessments.