Analysing the Economic Impacts of a Material Efficiency Strategy

Nathani, Carsten

doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-5737-3_10

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Additional data gathering is also required to establish suitable benchmarks for design teams. Industry or regulatory strategies that focus on material efficiency or substitution can also result in unforeseen macroeconomic impacts and affect significant structural change in an economy [40,119]. Such potential secondary impacts have yet to be evaluated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options for materials used in UK construction

Giesekam

Barrett

Taylor

et al. 2014

Energy and Buildings

152

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The UK construction industry faces the daunting task of replacing and extending a significant proportion of UK infrastructure, meeting a growing housing shortage and retrofitting millions of homes whilst achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions compatible with the UK's legally binding target of an 80% reduction by 2050. This paper presents a detailed time series of embodied GHG emissions from the construction sector for 1997-2011. This data is used to demonstrate that strategies which focus solely on improving operational performance of buildings and the production efficiencies of domestic material producers will be insufficient to meet sector emission reduction targets.Reductions in the order of 80% will require a substantial decline in the use of materials with carbon-intensive supply chains. A variety of alternative materials, technologies and practices are available and the common barriers to their use are presented based upon an extensive literature survey. Key gaps in qualitative research, data and modelling approaches are also identified. Subsequent discussion highlights the lack of client and regulatory drivers for uptake of alternatives and the ineffective allocation of responsibility for emissions reduction within the industry. Only by addressing and overcoming all these challenges in combination can the construction sector achieve drastic emissions reduction.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options for materials used in UK construction

Giesekam

Barrett

Taylor

et al. 2014

Energy and Buildings

152

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“…The changes in demand implied by a partial shift to alternative materials and an absolute reduction in the use of carbon-intensive materials may necessitate a rebalancing of the UK materials market, which is likely to have profound impacts on employment (Cooper et al, 2016). Few attempts have been made to quantify the structural changes or employment impacts of greater material efficiency on economies, and this area requires additional research urgently (Nathani, 2010). Ultimately, a coherent long-term vision for material production within a low Engineering Sustainability Scenario analysis of embodied greenhouse gas emissions in UK construction Giesekam, Barrett and Taylor carbon economy must be established such that the transition can be managed carefully.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scenario analysis of embodied greenhouse gas emissions in UK construction

Giesekam

Barrett

Taylor

2018

Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering

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Motivated by national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions budgets, the UK construction industry is pursuing reductions in emissions embodied in buildings and infrastructure. The current embodied GHG emissions benchmarks allow design teams to make a relative comparison between buildings and infrastructure but are not linked to sector or national GHG emissions reduction targets. This paper describes a novel model that links sector-level embodied GHG emissions estimates with project calculations. This provides a framework to consistently translate international, national and sector reduction targets into project targets. The required level of long-term GHG emissions reduction from improvements in building design and material manufacture is heavily dependent on external factors that the industry does not control, such as demand for new stock and the rate of electrical grid 'decarbonisation'. A scenario analysis using the model suggests that, even if external factors progress along the better end of UK government projections, current practices will be insufficient to meet sector targets.

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“…Moreover, enterprise input-output model can be useful to understand import and export activities taking into account delivery process of goods. It can also be utilized to understand the dematerialization policies in productive processes [28] considering the use of different materials and creating different production coefficients. Innovation impacts can also be analyzed through EIO model resulting in different labour and production coefficients.…”

Section: Enterprise Input-output Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%