Abstract
Energy saving is one of the strategic challenges facing our civilization today. Without decisive actions to reduce energy consumption, it is impossible to maintain the current standard of living. Energy consumption for heating and cooling purposes is one of the primary energy consumption sources in many countries. The external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS), which is today the most widely used solution in EU countries, increases buildings’ energy efficiency. This article investigates the impact of producing cementitious adhesives, as part of ETICS with expanded polystyrene (EPS) or mineral wool (MW), on the natural environment using the cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Cementitious adhesives have a relatively low impact on most of the environmental indicators analyzed in the paper concerning other ETICS components. The paper aims to raise awareness of the importance of the environmental impact related to the production of cementitious adhesives. Knowledge of the construction products’ environmental impact is fundamental for creating reliable databases, based on which, in the future, their environmental requirements will be determined. The environmental performance of building elements is essential for the correct determination of the buildings’ sustainability.
Highlights
Climate change and environmental degradation pose a threat to the entire world
Because the subject of the work is, above all, the analysis of the environmental impact of cementitious adhesives, it is worth noting that the global warming potential (GWP) for 1 ton of the Portland cement CEM I produced under EN 197-1 [61] in 2017 in Poland amounted to 0.889 t CO2 equations, while in the EU countries it was 0.898 t CO2 equations [62]
Cementitious adhesives have a relatively low impact on most of the environmental indicators analyzed in this paper, except for ODP and PERT, when compared to other external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) components
Summary
Climate change and environmental degradation pose a threat to the entire world. Since the Sithu U Thant report [1], which shook the world and made people aware of the danger, each year, the need to stop the rapidly progressing environmental degradation has been increasingly recognized. Since the 1980s, an essential role in shaping the way of thinking about mutual relations between society, economy, and natural environment resources has been played by the concept of sustainable development. It assumes that sustainable development is possible at the current level of civilization; i.e., one in which the needs of the present generation can be satisfied without diminishing the chances of future generations to meet them [2]. The European Union formulated a new growth strategy [3] in December 2019, intending to transform the Union into a modern, resource-efficient, and competitive economy. In line with this new strategy’s assumptions, all EU countries will reach zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, there will be a decoupling of economic growth from resource use, and no person or region of the Union will be left behind
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
