Life-Cycle Assessment Modeling of Construction Processes for Buildings

Abstract

This research examined the environmental impacts due to the construction phase of commercial buildings. Previous building research has often overlooked the construction phase and focused on the material and use phases, discounting the significant environmental impacts of construction. The research was conducted using life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, which is a systematic environmental management tool that holistically analyzes and assesses the environmental impacts of a product or process. Life-cycle inventory results focused on particulate matter, global warming potential, SOx, NOx, CO, Pb, nonmethane volatile organic compounds, energy usage, and solid and liquid wastes. Results over the entire building life cycle indicate that construction, while not as significant as the use phase, is as important as other life-cycle stages. This research used augmented process-based hybrid LCA to model the construction phase; this modeling approach effectively combined process and input-output (IO) LCA. One contribution was the development of a hybrid LCA model for construction, which can be extended to other sectors, such as building products. Including IO results, especially construction service sectors, is critical in construction LCA modeling. Results of a case study demonstrated that services had the highest level of methane emissions and were a significant contributor to CO2 emissions.