Embodied Carbon of Buildings: Tools, Methods and Strategies

Farhan, Syed Ahmad; Shafiq, Nasir; Azizli, Khairun Azizi Mohd; Umar, Usman Aminu; Gardezi, Syed Shujaa Safdar

doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.567.565

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…lack of policy and mandatory measures; lack of comparable data; and lack of a consistent assessment method. These barriers have been well documented in the literature (Menzies, Banfill, & Turan 2007;Dixit et al 2012;Farhan et al 2014;Ariyarante & Moncaster 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Integrating life-cycle GHG emissions into a building’s economic evaluation

Schmidt¹,

Crawford²,

Warren‐Myers

2020

Buildings and Cities

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Buildings contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout their life-from material extraction and production to building demolition and disposal. Current GHG emission reduction efforts largely focus on building operation, typically ignoring embodied emissions. One of the main barriers affecting the uptake of embodied GHG emissions considerations is the uncertainty related to the economic value of a building with reduced life-cycle GHG emissions. A conceptual approach is presented for integrating the life-cycle GHG emissions of a building into an economic evaluation. A case study detached residential dwelling located in Melbourne, Australia, is used to demonstrate the approach using a range of economic valuation approaches. One approach, using a carbon tax, shows that the effective cost for a single household would be over A$2000 for the first year, rising to almost A$5000 in 10 years. Across the range of evaluation approaches considered, the total cost to the householder is found to be between A$4600 and A$7860. With the embodied GHG emissions accounting for over 66% of the case study's life-cycle GHG emissions, the majority of the economic liability for the householder relates to the initial construction and ongoing material replacement of the building. Policy relevance This research provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to GHG emissions and economic assessment of residential buildings. This could be used to drive better decisions in building construction and operation through policy improvement, generating greater understanding of the GHG emissions of buildings and the economic value of GHG emissions. By quantifying the total GHG emissions over a building's life-cycle and examining ecological and financial implications, new data can provide the basis for policy measures that transform the value of GHG emissions in property. The total life-cycle approach to GHG emissions can be used by developers or builders, for example, to demonstrate the potential financial implications of their choices. However, given its current format, there is a need to improve policy measures such as improved carbon tax strategies and the generation of an annual tax for the economic value implications to be realised.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Integrating life-cycle GHG emissions into a building’s economic evaluation

Schmidt¹,

Crawford²,

Warren‐Myers

2020

Buildings and Cities

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“…An LCB typically includes energy-efficient features. However, a building with energy-efficient features does not necessarily mean that the building is an LCB [23]. The low-carbon concept covers a wide spectrum that transcends being just energy efficient.…”

Section: Low-carbon Buildings (Lcbs)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Accelerating the Delivery of Low-Carbon Buildings by Addressing Common Constraints: Perspectives from High-Rise, High-Density Cities

2023

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The delivery of low-carbon buildings (LCBs) in high-rise, high-density cities is still hindered by various common and interdependent constraints. However, a study that developed innovative strategies to address the common constraints to delivering LCBs focusing on traditional high-rise, high-density cities could not be identified in the previous literature. Therefore, this study aimed to identify potential strategies for accelerating the delivery of LCBs in high-rise, high-density cities by addressing relevant common constraints that were identified in recent studies. Accordingly, potentially relevant strategies were identified through eight semi-structured interviews with well-experienced experts in industry and academia. Consequently, 71 strategies were identified under six categories, i.e., policy implementation, building energy/carbon data utilisation, awareness raising/training, technology advancement, incentives, and organisational level commitments. This also required closer collaboration with different stakeholders/stakeholder classes in implementing these strategies, who were, therefore, also identified. An SNA-based analysis was also conducted to explore the connections between constraints and strategies. The strategies related to energy/carbon policy development, standardisation, codes and certifications, mandatory regulations, financial incentives, and technology adoption showed the ability to address a majority of the driving constraints related to policies and technologies. These study findings will assist policymakers and other relevant stakeholders in the arena of the project and asset management in accelerating the delivery of LCBs by adopting an innovative approach to prioritise potential strategies in order to suitably address and synergise the complex interdependencies among the constraints.

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