Comparative life-cycle impact assessment of concrete manufacturing in Singapore

Abstract

Purpose For countries like Singapore that is highly dependent on imported goods, it is essential to consider the consequences of consumption of imported cement and other concrete constituents for a fair carbon trading at global and regional levels. Recently, as a result of reduction in trade barriers and costs of materials and fuels, Singapore does not have much incentive in reducing environmental impacts of these imported goods. However, Singapore has set high environmental targets nationally to reduce impacts from building and construction. In addition to its national efforts, Singapore also needs to take action in trade-related consequences of importing energy-intensive products like cement and aggregates to Singapore. The purpose of this study is to quantify and suggest alternatives for reducing the embodied energy and life-cycle impacts of concrete consumption in Singapore on the basis of current trading volumes of these materials from Singapore’s importers.