In the present work, environmental impacts of building materials used in the construction of a housing project in the city of São Gonçalo, state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have been assessed through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in order not only to assist the decision-making of private and public nature, but also to promote life cycle thinking in the construction industry. Based on the guidelines set by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, the LCA methodology has been applied with available databases and SimaPro program. The results show a considerable consumption of non-renewable energy, intensification of global warming and toxicity to human health. Moreover, this study exposes a necessity of action on the chain of production of steel, cement and ceramic materials mainly. Ceramic materials usage is also a factor the must be observed in detail due its elevated consumption.Keywords: life cycle assessment; building materials; civil construction; environmental impacts, sustainability. ResumenEn el presente trabajo, los impactos ambientales de los materiales de construcción utilizados en la ejecución de un proyecto de vivienda en la ciudad de São Gonçalo, estado de Río de Janeiro, Brasil, se han evaluado a través de la metodología del Evaluación de Ciclo de Vida (ECV) con el fin de, no sólo ayudar a la toma de decisiones de carácter privado y público, sino también para promover el concepto de pensamiento ciclo de vida en la industria de la construcción. Teniendo como base las directrices de la normativa ISO 14040 e ISO 14044, la metodología del ACV se ha aplicado utilizando las bases de datos disponibles y el programa SimaPro. Los resultados muestran un consumo considerable de energía no renovable, la intensificación del calentamiento global y de la toxicidad para la salud humana. Por otra parte, este estudio expone la necesidad de la acción en la cadena de producción de acero, cemento y materiales cerámicos, principalmente. Utilización de materiales cerámicos también debe ser observada teniendo en cuenta su elevado consumo.Palabras Claves: evaluación de ciclo de vida, materiales de construcción; construcción civil; impactos medioambientales, sostenibilidad.

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The world is moving towards a low-carbon economy through renewable energy sources. In this context, concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies can exploit the rich solar resource in Brazil, diversifying the national electricity mix. The aim of this paper is to support the insertion of CSP generation in the Brazilian bottom-up model MATRIZ by analyzing the environmental performance of three CSP technologies: (i) solar tower power (STP) with a thermal storage system (TSS) of 7.5 h; (ii) solar thermal parabolic trough (STPT) with a TSS of 6 h; and (iii) STPT without TSS. From a life cycle perspective, their freshwater consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are addressed by employing the software SimaPro, the Ecoinvent database, and the ReCiPe 2016 method, as well as information from the system advisory model (SAM) and the literature. As a result, STP is the most environmentally sound CSP alternative, presenting lower GHG emissions and water consumption than the two STPT technologies. In general, CSP generation proves to be more environmentally attractive than some fossil-fired power plants and renewable energy sources. Moreover, moving the manufacturing of CSP technologies to Brazil has the potential to reduce GHG emissions from the upstream processes of their value chain.

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