Environmental and Economic Impact Assessment of Flooring Materials

Abstract

Many materials are used during construction which goes through different manufacturing and transporting process, which may adversely affect the environment. Choosing an environmentally friendly material will reduce the inimical environmental effect caused due to construction material. But for the proper selection of sustainable building material, it must be balanced against the economic performance also. So proper decision-making criteria have to be developed. This study analyses and compare five flooring materials (terrazzo, linoleum, ceramic, and marble and vinyl composition tiles) on their environmental and economic performance. The environmental impact analysis was done using the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) software. The Life cycle cost of the materials was found with the help of data from various journals and from National Building estimator and Indian context. The result obtained was then analyzed using VIKOR (VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje, that means: Multicriteria Optimization and Compromise Solution) to develop a combined performance score for the selection of a best suitable material. Then the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) is utilized to estimate the environmental cost associated with the selected alternative flooring materials. The method will provide improved decision-making criteria for the selection of suitable flooring material.