EMBODIED CARBON EMISSIONS OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS: A CASE STUDY OF BUILDINGS IN THAILAND

Abstract

With respect to moving towards development without threat to our future generations, the overwhelming unsustainable consumption of natural resources is the dominant energy and environmental concerns discussed in both international and national conferences. In particular, to find potential solutions to minimize environmental impacts, the building sector should priorly be considered since it is responsible for almost forty percent of both global energy and materials consumption and contributes around one-third of the global greenhouse gases emission. This research, therefore, aimed at evaluating the level of embodied carbon emissions derived from building construction materials, using four buildings located in an educational institute as a case study to represent the environmental performance of construction materials based on reinforce concrete structure in a tropical climate. The results revealed that on weighted average, the mass intensity and embodied carbon intensity of construction materials were 1,627 kg/m2 and 322 kgCO2/m2. In addition, the taller the building height the more likely it was to help improve such intensities. Almost 90% and 69% of the mass intensity and embodied carbon intensity derived from structural component materials whereas 24% of the embodied carbon emissions attributed to decorating component materials. The results also indicated that improvement in building with reinforce concrete structure could focus only on six materials namely concrete, steel, aluminium, cement, paint, and ceramic tile since these materials contributed 94% of embodied carbon emission. The findings will be useful for planning proactive strategies in mitigating embodied carbon in building to cope with the challenges of global warming in the future.