Abstract
Over the last couple of years, research related to fossil free and emission free construction sites has developed rapidly in Norway, with an ambition to contribute towards global, national and regional emission reduction targets. Major public players are already demanding fossil free construction sites through public procurement, whilst requirements for emission free construction sites are on the way. Even though the Norwegian construction industry is a forerunner, there is a lack of knowledge or common understanding among different stakeholders on the definition, scope and strategies needed for fossil free and emission free construction sites. The aim of this paper is to present the main challenges and opportunities from the construction phase of two Norwegian zero emission construction sites, namely Campus Evenstad in Hedmark and Lia nursery school in Oslo. Construction activities considered include transportation and installation of building materials, construction machinery, temporary works, energy use, waste management and person transport. This paper presents and discusses the lessons learnt from the design, ambition levels, inputs from stakeholders, emission reduction solutions of these two construction sites, and evaluates methods considered to address conceptual and practical issues. In conclusion, this paper suggests lessons learnt for reducing GHG emissions from Norwegian zero emission construction sites.
Highlights
The Norwegian construction industry is responsible for approximately 1.2% of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which corresponds to around 660,000 tCO2eq [1]
The significance of construction phase emissions becomes clear when one considers that these emissions occur over a short period of time during the early stages of a building's life cycle [2]
Emissions from the construction site may be high enough to question whether new construction hinders ambitions in reaching GHG mitigation goals, no matter how energy efficient buildings are during operation [3]
Summary
The Norwegian construction industry is responsible for approximately 1.2% of national GHG emissions, which corresponds to around 660,000 tCO2eq [1]. When the terms fossil free or emission free are used, it is important to clearly define the system boundary for both what is included and what is not included in the assessment This should include, among other things, construction site activities, construction method (e.g. on-site or off-site), type of emissions considered (e.g. direct and / or indirect GHG emissions), emission factors used, as well as a clear description of construction solutions, implementation model and choice of technologies used. Lia nursery school is described as the first fossil free construction site and Norway's most environmentally friendly nursery, with a very ambitious level of BREEAM Very Good [2] Both case studies document the same construction activities, namely: transport of building materials, transport and operation of construction machinery, energy use, temporary works, transport of waste, waste treatment and disposal and person transport. 1600 Prefabricated timber elements with timber interior and exterior cladding, hollow concrete slab flooring for the first-floor construction, and light weight concrete roof elements Water-based ground source heat pump and photovoltaic panels on the roof Omsorgsbygg Oslo 10th April 2016 27th November 2017 (166 days) Plus energy building (produces more energy than it uses), BREEAM-NOR Very Good; fossil free construction site
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