Abstract
The construction industry is increasingly concerned with improving the social, economic, and environmental indicators of sustainability. More than ever, the growing demand for construction materials reflects increased consumption of raw materials and energy, particularly during the phases of extraction, processing, and transportation of materials. This work aims to help decision-makers and to promote life cycle thinking in the construction industry. For this purpose, the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was chosen to analyze the environmental impacts of building materials used in the construction of a residence project in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The LCA methodology, based on ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 guidelines, is applied with available databases and the SimaPro program. As a result, this work shows that there is a substantial waste of nonrenewable energy, increasing global warming and harm to human health in this type of construction. This study also points out that, for this type of Brazilian construction, ceramic materials account for a high percentage of the mass of a total building and are thus responsible for the majority of environmental impacts.
Highlights
The building construction sector is one of the most dynamic in the Brazilian industry, making significant use of diverse materials in residential, commercial, and industrial construction sites
This study aimed to evaluate the environmental impacts of major construction materials in residential buildings, such as steel, cement, ceramic, and wood
The results of our study show that steel, cement, and ceramic material are the most responsible for environmental impacts
Summary
The building construction sector is one of the most dynamic in the Brazilian industry, making significant use of diverse materials in residential, commercial, and industrial construction sites This construction segment causes environmental, social, and economic impacts on the site and in the region where it takes place, and these impacts reflect from the manufacture and transport of materials, until the execution of a particular construction project [1]. These impacts have caused concern in society, regarding the environment, since they have increased significantly due to growth in the construction sector, which is a major consumer of materials and energy in Brazil. In order to do so, it is important to develop and specialize supply chains of building materials and to seek sustainable materials that are not harmful to human health and that are durable or reusable, renewable, clean, and affordable [4]
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