THE USE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT TO ACHIEVE SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

This study assesses the benefit of sustainable construction and the use of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the South African construction industry to achieve sustainable construction. The data used in this was derived from both primary and secondary resources. The primary data was collected through a questionnaire approach. The study revealed that LCA could be used for product comparison, product development, formulating of product eco-labels, evaluating construction processes and decision-making processes in the construction industry concerning materials. Furthermore, the study revealed that LCA has various strengths, challenges and weakness, this is due to the fact that there is a requirement of the high quality of knowledge and data when conducting a detailed LCA study. However, this study revealed that life cycle thinking is a cornerstone for developing policies and programs, which meet sustainability criteria and there is a great room for the development and use of LCA in the South African construction industry. Therefore, it is recommended that the South African Construction industry invest more in environmental tools such as LCA.