Investigating the role of emissions deriving from user transport in sustainable refurbishment strategies for buildings relying on low-carbon energy.

Abstract

Refurbishing existing buildings constitutes a significant role in reducing emissions from the built environment. Their optimization demands time simultaneously to the urgency to fulfill the sustainable development goals 9,11, 12, and 13. Therefore, actions taken at the municipal level are deterministic for future outcomes as many municipalities manage large building portfolios and thus hold significant mitigation potential. This paper investigates the role existing institutional buildings have for greenhouse gas abatement when the scope is expanded from building scale to include the urban environment. The aim is to determine the importance of considering the location of buildings when evaluating refurbishment strategies. There is a potential for a more significant reduction of emissions when including user transportation. The role of travel-induced emissions from users, visitors, and employees in institutional buildings is potentially more critical than refurbishment for buildings already operating on low-carbon energy. Parts of a previously developed theoretical framework are tested to aid a Norwegian municipality in its emissions abatement strategy. The study assesses the carbon emissions deriving from refurbishment and the location of an institutional building. Inventory data from building, transport routes, and transport modes are assessed with a case study approach, while generic data derives from literature. The result indicates the importance of addressing locations of institutional buildings within the urban form rather than optimizing separate entities. Truncation errors can offset the benefit of building optimization in areas dependent on low-carbon electricity if travel-induced emissions are omitted from the assessment. The framework reveals that it is better to build a new building at another location in some instances when transport-related emissions are reduced.