Construction Carbon Emissions Research Articles

Coupling coordination between digital village construction and agricultural carbon emissions in China.

Exploring the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between digital village construction (DVC) and agricultural carbon emissions (ACE) is crucial for promoting village revitalization and sustainable agricultural development. Analyzing data from 30 provinces in China in 2011-2020, this paper employs the CCD model, the Dagum Gini coefficient, and the geographic detector for in-depth analysis. The results show that the overall level of CCD gradually increases over time, but the national CCD still remains in a state of "low coordination," and there are apparent spatial differences in the CCD among provinces. In addition, the overall difference in CCD shows a decreasing trend, and the contribution of inter-regional differences has gradually become the most critical source of CCD's regional difference. Finally, the spatial differences of CCD are the result of two-factor interaction, among which the innovation level is the most core driving factor. The above findings provide important implications for China and other developing countries to fully leverage the interaction between village digitalization and agricultural decarbonization to promote sustainable agricultural development.

Optimization and Modelling of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Grass Fiber Reinforced with Slag-Based Composites Using Response Surface Methodology.

The construction industry's high energy consumption and carbon emissions negatively impact the ecological environment; large-scale construction projects consume much energy and emit a significant amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. Statistics show that 30% of energy loss and 40% of solid waste in the construction industry are generated during construction. Therefore, reducing emissions during construction has significant research potential and value. Many scholars have recently studied eco-friendly building materials to facilitate the use of high-carbon emission materials like cement. Adding fibers to composite materials has become a research hotspot among these studies. Although adding fibers to composite materials has many advantages, it mainly reduces the compressive strength of the composite material. This research used the response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the raw material ratios and thus improve the performance of plant fiber composite materials. Single-factor experiments were conducted to analyze the effects of grass size, grass content, and quicklime content on the composite materials' compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption. The influencing factors and levels for the response surface experiment were determined based on the results of the single-factor analysis. Using the response surface methodology (RSM), a second-order polynomial regression model was established to analyze the interaction effects of the three factors on the composite materials' compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption rate. The optimal ratio was determined: the optimized options for grass size, grass content, and quicklime content are 2.0 mm, 8.2 g, and 38 g, respectively. The actual values of compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption rate of the composite materials made according to the predicted ratio are 11.425 MPa, 2.145 MPa, and 21.89%, respectively, with a relative error of 8% between the actual and predicted values. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were also used to reveal the factors contributing to the relatively high strength of the optimized samples.

Digital economy's role in shaping carbon emissions in the construction field: Insights from Chinese cities

Achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector is essential to sustainable development policy. Previous studies have ignored the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions in the construction industry. Using relevant city-level data from China from 2011 to 2021 and employing ArcGIS and Stata software, this study examines the current status of carbon emissions from the construction industry and investigates the impact of the digital economy on these emissions. The findings reveal that (1) from 2011 to 2021, carbon emissions of the construction industry have a pattern of decreasing-increasing-decreasing-increasing across the country. There is an increasing concentration of areas with high and relatively high carbon discharges in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Guangxi, and Guizhou. (2) The standard deviation ellipse indicates the core area of carbon emissions in China's construction industry is moving northeast and becoming more decentralized. (3) Through a series of robustness tests, the digital economy has been proven to effectively reduce carbon emissions from the construction sector in municipal areas. (4) In severely cold regions, mild regions, and high-population-density cities, the digital economy reduces building sector's carbon output. However, it stimulates carbon emissions in the hot summer and cold winter regions. (5) Mechanism tests show that the digital economy reduces China's urban construction carbon emissions by fostering technological progress and green innovation. Urban resilience further strengthens the contribution of the digital economy to reducing carbon discharges in the urban construction sector of China. This article presents empirical evidence demonstrating how the digital economy empowers the construction industry to curtail emissions.

Balancing construction and operational carbon emissions: Evaluating neighbourhood renovation strategies

Compliance with the global decarbonisation commitments set out in Horizon 2050 undoubtedly involves optimising the conditions of the housing stock. In this respect, the massive energy renovation of obsolete housing blocks in southern EU countries holds the key for the achievement of such compliance.This research strives to demonstrate the suitability of intervention strategies at district scale. For this purpose, an innovative methodology that combines open data, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Urban Energy Modelling (UBEM), and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is proposed and tested in a case study, whilst considering several renovation and new-building hypotheses.As an innovative approach, this study concurrently analyses greenhouse gas emissions arising from both use-related energy consumption (operational carbon footprint) and the construction process (embodied carbon footprint). This dual perspective provides added value to the results obtained, since it offers a more comprehensive representation of reality. Based on the results from the LCA and UBEM models, this study unveils the entire impact of residential energy use combined with either the carbon footprint of energy renovation or that of new buildings.The case study analysis reveals that total emissions, encompassing both embodied and operational aspects, are lower for retrofitting existing buildings when compared to new construction, up to Horizon 2050. Remarkably, this preference for renovation persists even as far as 2100. The study underscores the critical importance of upgrading the existing residential stock in order to achieve the ambitious goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Construction Land Transfer Scale and Carbon Emission Intensity: Empirical Evidence Based on County-Level Land Transactions in Jiangsu Province, China

The expansion of the construction land scale has been vital in supporting rapid economic development and meeting social needs. However, the spatial heterogeneity in the effect of construction land scale on carbon emission intensity at the county level remains underexplored. Therefore, comprehensively investigating the relation between the construction land transfer scale and carbon emission intensity holds substantial research value. Using panel data from 2007 to 2021, this study analyzes the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of carbon emission intensity and the effect of construction land scale on carbon emission intensity at the county level in Jiangsu Province, China. The findings reveal that carbon emission intensity at the county level in Jiangsu Province generally exhibits a continuous downward trend over time and a spatial distribution characterized by a gradual decrease from the southern counties to the central and northern counties. Moreover, there is a significant positive relation between the construction land transfer scale and carbon emission intensity, a conclusion supported by robustness tests. Furthermore, mediating analysis indicates that reduction of the construction land transfer scale exhibits a significant promoting effect on green technology innovation and industrial structure upgrading, which, in turn, has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity. The impact of the construction land transfer scale from different sources, supply methods, types, and of county economic strength on carbon emission intensity has significant heterogeneity.

Efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry: based on improved three stage SBM-DEA model in China

PurposeReducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry is crucial for the “dual carbon” goal. Evaluating the efficiency of reducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry at the regional level is an important evaluation basis for the sustainable development of the construction industry. It provides a basis for formulating construction waste and carbon reduction policies tailored to local conditions and comprehensively promote the sustainable development of the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachA three stage SBM-DEA model based on non-expected outputs is proposed by combining the SBM-DEA model with the SFA method. The proposed model is used to evaluate the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry in 30 regions of China from 2010 to 2020. Moreover, the study explores the impact of environmental variables such as urbanization level, proportion of construction industry employees, resident consumption level, and technological progress.FindingsFrom 2010 to 2020, the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in China’s construction industry has been increasing year by year. Provinces with higher efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry are mainly concentrated in the eastern coastal areas, showing an overall pattern of “East>West>Northeast>Middle”. There is a clear correlation between the level of urbanization, the proportion of construction industry employees, residents’ consumption level, technological progress, labor input, machinery input, and capital investment. The construction waste and carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry in various provinces is greatly influenced by environmental factors.Practical implicationsThe research results provide policy makers and business managers with effective policies for reducing construction waste generation and carbon emission in the construction industry, especially circular economy policies. To provide empirical support for further understanding the connotation of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, to create innovative models for construction waste and carbon reduction, and to promote the multiple benefits of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, and to provide empirical support for countries and enterprises with similar development backgrounds in China to formulate relevant policies and decision-making.Originality/valueThe construction industry is a high investment, high energy consumption, and high pollution industry. This study uses the three stage SBM-DEA model to explore the efficiency of construction waste and carbon reduction in the construction industry, providing a new perspective for the evaluation of sustainable development in the construction industry, enriching and improving the theory of sustainable development.

The effect of green supply chain management practices in reduction of construction wastes and carbon emission in Bangladesh

The effect of green supply chain management practices in reduction of construction wastes and carbon emission in Bangladesh

The synergistic decarbonization potential from construction industry and upstream sectors with a city-scale: A case study of hangzhou, China

How to reduce Carbon Emissions from the Construction Industry (CECI) is one of the key issues in China's efforts to achieve its “dual-carbon target”. The Carbon Emission of the building Materialization Process (CEMP) is the main source of CECI, originating from both the upstream sector and the construction industry itself. Researching the synergistic decarbonization potential and reduction pathways of the construction industry and upstream sectors can help guide sustainable development. Focusing on the city scale, this study establishes a bottom-up framework based on system dynamics and carbon intensity methods to explore the possibilities of CEMP. The framework comprises a dynamic material flow analysis module and a carbon emission accounting module. The Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method is employed to elucidate the emission reduction potentials of various factors. The results show that in the case of Hangzhou: (1) Without control measures, CEMP will reach a maximum of 25.1 million tons, and a substantial scale of 14.9 million tons remaining in 2060. (2) Through synergistic decarbonization, the cumulative emission reduction over the next 40 years could reach 323.4 million tons, and by 2060, CEMP could decrease to 3.7 million tons of CO2. Achieving carbon neutrality in the construction industry still requires carbon offsets from other sectors. (3) The decarbonization potential mainly comes from controlling the new construction area and carbon emission reduction in material production process, contributing 45.4% and 36.9%, respectively. This study reveals the significant pressure faced by the construction industry in achieving carbon neutrality. It also underscores that further controlling material demand and reducing the carbon intensity of materials is a prerequisite for Hangzhou's construction industry to achieve carbon neutrality.

Research on carbon emission quantification and evaluation for prefabricated inverted arch construction in drill and blast tunnels

Drill and blast methods cannot meet the requirements of modern tunnel construction in terms of efficiency and carbon emissions. This study proposes a prefabricated inverted arch construction technology and carbon emission calculation method applicable to drill and blast tunnels. The carbon emissions during prefabricated inverted arch construction were calculated, and the carbon emission model for on-site transportation was optimized. The indirect impact of improved construction efficiency on carbon emissions was discussed, further refining the carbon emission evaluation system for drill and blast tunnels. The results show that (1) The new technology of prefabricated inverted arch significantly improves construction efficiency and has promising application prospects; (2) Carbon emissions during prefabricated inverted arch construction are 9051.67 tCO2eq less than those during cast-in-place construction, with a reduction of over 15%, mainly due to reduced cement and steel usage resulting from optimized arch structure; (3) Considering the limitations of material transportation due to tunnel excavation distance, the carbon emission model for on-site transportation is optimized, resulting in a reduction of 35%–56% in on-site transportation emissions; (4) Incorporating the indirect impact of improved construction efficiency on carbon emissions into the calculation model, this indirect effect accounts for approximately 70% of the total emission reduction achieved by the prefabricated inverted arch technology.

Towards a sustainable construction: A newly proposed Tapio-global meta-frontier DEA framework for decoupling China's construction economy from its carbon emissions

Uncovering the decoupling degree and its influencing factors is an important work to look for the carbon abatement and sustainable development in China's construction industry (CCI). To arrive at a solution, we proposed a research framework by taking into account the Tapio decoupling model and biased directional distance function based on global meta-frontier DEA, so as to reveal out the motive force and resistance that can help decouple construction industry economy from its carbon emissions. Discussion results indicate that during the sample period: (1) China's construction economy and carbon emissions exhibited weak decoupling. The advances of energy/production technology were two dominant factors in helping construction economy decoupled from carbon emissions, while construction economic activity exerted the largest effects in impeding decoupling process. (2) The decoupling degree and driving effects differed significantly in three regions. Regional energy/production technology disparity narrowed in central and western region, and further contributed to their decoupling. Energy-biased and output-biased scale change exerted impeding effects on the decoupling in eastern and central region, while exerted diametrically opposite effects on western region's decoupling. Besides, the change of energy/production resource allocation efficiency in eastern and western region acted motivating effects in their decoupling, while formed restriction in central region's decoupling.

Stackelberg game-based method towards carbon-economy equilibrium for the prefabricated construction supply planning: A case study from China

Prefabricated building systems that take advantage of modern manufacturing, transportation, and assembly approach have attracted great attention as solutions for sustainable cities and urban construction carbon emissions mitigation, especially under the 30% prefabrication of new buildings target in China’s development plan of the construction industry. Nevertheless, few research has focused on the carbon reduction/economic costs equilibrium for the integrated traditional and prefabricated construction supply planning (PCSP). Aiming at the sustainable construction for urbanization, this study develops a Stackelberg game-based method for economic and environmental equilibrium under the carbon allocation scheme in an integrated prefabricated construction supply planning. In the bi-level model, the regional authority on the upper level determines the carbon allocations and the enterprises on the lower level develop plans to maximize revenue under the prefabricated rate targets and construction supply logistics limitations. The superiority and practicality of the proposed methodology are then validated through a case study from China. The scenario analyses under different policy control levels indicate that the proposed methodology is capable of systematically controlling the integrated PCSP carbon emissions and promoting the low-carbon transformation and sustainable development of construction industry. Valuable managerial implications are also provided for the policymakers and relevant practitioners.

Spatio-temporal patterns and impact mechanisms of CO2 emissions from China's construction industry under urbanization

The construction industry fuels China's rapid urbanization, which also escalates carbon emissions. This study aims to investigate the spatio-temporal patterns and impact mechanisms of construction carbon emissions (CCE) under urbanization to inform low-carbon policies. We investigate the spatial heterogeneity and temporal trends of China's CCE employing the carbon emission coefficient method and the backpropagation neural network, identify various development patterns of CCE under urbanization using the K-means clustering method, and further comprehensively explore the key influencing factors through the logarithmic mean Divisia index decomposition method. Our findings indicate that: (1) CCE presents a notable spatio-temporal polarization and aggregation effect during 2009–2018 in China. Compared with rough development scenario, the green development scenario is predicted to effectively reduce CCE by 5.17 % in 2030. (2) The relationship between urbanization and CCE is revealed to be an “inverted U-shape” and four different development patterns are identified. (3) Overall, the output intensity and structural effect of fixed asset inputs are critical factors contributing to CCE. Importantly, the impact mechanisms of CCE vary under different development patterns. This study provides essential evidence-based information and scientific support for CCE reduction in China, which highlights targeted and tailored strategies for reducing CCE considering different patterns under urbanization.

Evolution and Influencing Factors of Spatial Correlation Network of Construction Carbon Emission in China from the Perspective of Whole Life Cycle

Based on the whole life cycle perspective, the carbon emissions of the provincial construction industry in China from 2011 to 2019 were calculated from the production, construction, operation, and demolition stages of building materials. A spatial correlation network matrix of the carbon emissions in the construction industry was constructed by using the modified gravity model, and the structural characteristics of the correlation network were described by introducing social network analysis. Through the quadratic assignment program, the spatial correlation matrix of carbon emissions in the construction industry and its influencing factors were regressed and analyzed. The conclusions were as follows:① the spatial correlation network of carbon emissions in China's construction industry clearly existed. The network density and network correlation numbers were gradually rising, and the network tightness and stability were gradually improving. ② Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, and Jiangsu had a higher degree centrality and closeness centrality, which are the core and dominant positions of the spatial correlation network of carbon emissions in the construction industry. Zhejiang replaced Shanghai in the top four from 2013 to 2018, and the betweenness centrality of each province had unbalanced characteristics. ③ Beijing, Tianjin, Jiangsu, Inner Mongolia, Shanghai, and Shandong were "net beneficiaries" blocks, receiving the carbon emissions from other regions. Four provinces, Guangdong, Chongqing, Fujian, and Shandong, belonged to the "broker" sector, achieving a dynamic balance between the production and consumption sides of building carbon emissions. The remaining 20 provinces played a "net spillovers" role, actively sending carbon emissions from the construction industry to other provinces. The correlation between blocks was much greater than the correlation relationship within the blocks. ④ Industrial structure, urban population, spatial adjacency, consumption level, and construction industry process structure had a significant influence on the spatial correlation of carbon emissions in the construction industry. The greater the inter-provincial differences in industrial structure, urban population, spatial adjacency, and consumption level, the greater the similarity of inter-provincial construction industry process structure, and the stronger the spatial correlation and spatial spillover of the construction industry carbon emissions. Finally, according to the evolution characteristics and influencing factors of the spatial correlation network of building carbon emissions, relevant countermeasures and suggestions were provided for the collaborative carbon reduction development of the construction industry region.

Reducing embodied carbon emissions of buildings – a key consideration to meet the net zero target

The prevalence of modern techniques and industrialized materials has resulted in environmental contamination. Therefore, prioritizing the use of sustainable materials with minimal CO2 emissions should be the fundamental principle guiding future developments in construction projects. Rammed earth construction, a traditional method in Latin America, is valued for its sustainable, environmentally friendly properties. The research examines integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in Colombia, a region with limited exploration of BIM-LCA interoperability on earth-based materials. This study applies LCA (Cradle-to-Gate) to assess material use, and transportation, aiming to reduce construction carbon emissions. This study compares the traditional and Sustainable building environmental impacts through the BIM (using Autodesk Revit) and carbon footpring. Findings show that BIM-based models with traditional materials have significantly higher carbon footprints (171.93 kg CO2 eq per square meter) than sustainable models (62.25 kg CO2 eq per square meter). This research highlights the importance of low carbon materials for the carbon reduction to meet net zero target in construction industry.

Development of an ontology for construction carbon emission tracking and evaluation

Significant carbon emissions from construction sites necessitate improved management through integrating diverse data sources. Ontologies are widely employed for data integration but there is an absence of domain-specific ontologies for carbon emissions management during construction. We developed a Carbon Emission Management Ontology (CEMO) utilizing a hybrid development approach. CEMO comprises eight modules, namely Project, Quantity of Works, Environment Parameters, Agents, Equipment, Observation, KPI, and Calculation. To assess its efficacy, CEMO was evaluated by experts based on criteria such as clarity, coverage, consistency, and extensibility. The feasibility and effectiveness of CEMO were demonstrated through a case study, showcasing its utility in carbon intensity calculation and evaluation of earned carbon value. CEMO facilitates seamless integration of data from disparate sources, enabling real-time and automated management of onsite carbon emissions as well as disclosure of carbon-related information.

Real-Time Monitoring Technology for Carbon Emissions in Mountain Expressway Tunnel Construction

The complexity of tunnel construction places it in a position of great importance in the overall construction of highways, and the carbon emissions generated during its construction also account for a large portion. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out the need to "actively and steadily promote carbon peaking and carbon neutrality." As one of the main contributors of carbon emissions, the transportation industry needs to actively increase its efforts to reduce emissions, innovate ways to reduce emissions, and not overlook any sources of carbon emissions. This article relies on the Linshuang Expressway project, which combines theoretical calculation logic with information and Internet of Things technology to complete the construction of a real-time monitoring system for carbon emissions during tunnel construction in mountainous areas. Through this system, construction carbon emissions can be visualized and monitored in real-time, providing reliable data support for emission reduction in tunnel construction, and providing technical references for promoting low-carbon, clean, and green highway tunnel construction, in order to further support the development of a strong transportation country.

Research on Process-Based Carbon Emissions of Floor Construction of Prefabricated Steel Structures

Research on Process-Based Carbon Emissions of Floor Construction of Prefabricated Steel Structures

The dynamic impact of regional construction industry economy, energy and carbon emissions based on HMM

The dynamic impact of regional construction industry economy, energy and carbon emissions based on HMM

Avaliação probabilística da carga variável de projeto para garagens brasileiras de veículos leves

Abstract Design loads for parking garages should be reviewed every few years due to changes in fleet characteristics and the impact of design loads on carbon emissions by the built environment. Specifically for Brazil, the authors are unaware of existing studies to justify the design values and corresponding exceedance probabilities stated in NBR 6120:2019 - Design Loads for Structures. In this paper, a simplified probabilistic model for live loads in parking garages is presented. A set of updated statistics characterizing the gross curb weight of the fleet in circulation was obtained based on technical specifications and sales reports between 2003 and 2022. These statistics and the probabilistic load model are employed to derive the equivalent uniform design load corresponding to a 30% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, according to the definition stated in NBR 6120:2019 and NBR 8681:2003. The results provide support for a significant reduction of the current design load for light-duty vehicle parking garages, from the current 3.0 kN/m2 to at least 2.5 kN/m2. Such a reduction has a significant impact on new building construction costs and carbon emissions and would not compromise the structural safety of parking garages built in Brazil.

The dynamic impact of regional construction industry economy, energy and carbon emissions based on HMM

The dynamic impact of regional construction industry economy, energy and carbon emissions based on HMM