Cradle-to-gate embodied carbon assessment of green office building using life cycle analysis: A case study from Sri Lanka

Abstract

One of the most significant contributors to the economies of many nations is the building and construction sector. However, this industry is one of the world's most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Hence, the concept of green building (GB) has emerged as the cornerstone of sustainable development. Even though GBs have a variety of advantages, the use of low-carbon materials is still lacking for both traditional buildings and green buildings in the Sri Lankan context, and energy-intensive building materials are responsible for 80% of the carbon emissions of the construction industry in the world. In Sri Lanka, buildings make up more than 70.9% of contracts and consume a significant amount of raw materials, and office buildings use 33% of the raw materials. Therefore, this research aimed to assess the embodied carbon (EC) of green office buildings and to provide potential measures to reduce the EC of buildings in Sri Lanka. Following the case study research strategy, the EC emission was calculated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method for an eight-storey Platinum-rated green office building in Sri Lanka. The results showed that the green office building had an EC 583.82 kgCO2e/m2 of the gross floor area. Reinforcement steel was found to be the significant EC material, contributing 47.88% of the total EC. In addition to that, ready-mixed concrete, cement block, plywood, and aluminium are the other highly intensive EC materials in this study. The findings showed that the use of low-carbon materials, materials minimising design, utilisation of reusable or recycled materials, utilisation of local or regional materials, and utilisation of eco-labelling materials are potential measures to reduce cradle-to-gate EC in the building construction industry in Sri Lanka.