Estimation of environmental emissions and impacts of building construction – A decision making tool for contractors

Abstract

Building construction sites are responsible for significant energy consumption and emission production. The emissions at building construction stage vary from greenhouse gases (GHG) such as carbon dioxides (CO2) to non-GHG emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM) and sulphur dioxides (SO2). The construction emissions are often neglected due to the low amounts of emissions compared to high use phase emissions over the building life cycle. However studies have shown that these impacts from building construction can be significant at national and local level. Several difficulties and complications in estimation have restrained the possibility of effective decision making to minimise these emissions. Stakeholders in the construction industry seek the necessity of an emission calculation tool that enables the decision making in construction related emissions with minimum effort. The Construction Emission Evaluation Tool (CEET) presented in the study allows designers and contractors to estimate and compare emissions from the major emission sources in building construction. Emission analyses at project, equipment and activity levels provide in-depth scrutiny of emissions in minimising emissions and assisting the decision making for effective resource planning. Foundation construction corresponding to a case study is presented to demonstrate the functions and the capabilities of the developed calculation tool. The tool can provide a strong basis for the construction industry stakeholders and related researchers to make better decisions in maintaining a sustainable work environment. The study is also the initial step towards developing a sustainable decision making tool that can optimise cost, emissions and other construction related issues.