Carbon Footprint Associated with Construction Industry and Determination of its Theoretical Amount

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse carbon footprint associated with construction industry, to identify its sources in the construction processes and to determine its theoretical amount in connection with its liquidation. In recent years, great emphasis has been put on the ecology issue and human impact on the environment, as the existence of global warming and the greenhouse effect due to human activity has been evident. The worst greenhouse gas affecting the mentioned situation is carbon dioxide. In this paper, the calculation of the carbon footprint is processed during the production phase of the house construction, in terms of material demand, in both low-energy and standard design. Furthermore, a calculation is made to calculate the carbon footprint equivalent. Subsequently, the economic demandingness of the investment in the construction of the above mentioned houses is evaluated, depending on the cost of material and the disposal of carbon dioxide. The obtained results imply that the amount of the carbon footprint, e.g. its environmental impact by the production of low-energy and standard houses in the construction phase is comparable, therefore the motivation for implementation of more ecological buildings is currently missing.