Global Policy Review on Embodied Flows: Recommendations for Australian Construction Sector

Abstract

There has been a call for the construction industry to become more energy efficient in its planning and activities, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help combat climate change. The Australian Building Codes Board has implemented ‘Energy Efficiency’ standards through the National Construction Codes to direct the industry towards net zero emissions goals. However, the Board has maintained a focus on operational flows considerations despite this only being a part of the total expenditure in a building lifecycle. Embodied flows, the energy output, and emissions from harvesting, manufacturing, transporting, and manufacturing materials for a building have not been included as a part of the current standards despite their growing share in the outputs of construction. A qualitative document analysis using data from academic articles and industry publications was performed to identify the context in embodied policy development. Findings reveal an abundance of different legislations and initiatives globally, recommending techniques that may effectively achieve embodied flow reductions. The results highlighted that Australia needs to capitalize on the potential reductions in overall energy and emissions from construction. Other regions have provided a strategic and legislative basis for the industry to emulate.

A Comprehensive Experimental Study on the Physical Performance and Durability of Bamboo Bio-Concrete

“…The samples were stored in the open air in a drying room (23 ± 2 °C; RH 60 ± 2%). In accordance with ASTM C157 [43], drying shrinkage was calculated according to Equation (2) and the loss of mass was based on Equation (3).…”

“…The cement density was 3170 kg/m 3 and the chemical composition is reported in the following Table 1. A viscosity modifying agent (VMA) of density 0.7 g/cm 3 was used with the purpose of providing the required consistency at the fresh state.…”

“…The construction sector consumes approximately 30% of the planet's energy resources [1][2][3]. In buildings, the greatest consumption is associated with heating in winter, cooling in summer, water heating, and lighting [4].…”

“…In buildings, the greatest consumption is associated with heating in winter, cooling in summer, water heating, and lighting [4]. A significant amount of energy is required to manufacture conventional building materials, along with the release of CO2 into the atmosphere [3][4][5]. Several alternatives worldwide have been investigated to improve the energy efficiency of building materials while at the same time reducing dependence on non-renewable resources and greenhouse gas emissions [1,4,5].…”

“…The results of the density test indicated that the bio-concretes are lightweight, with densities ranging from 693 kg/m 3 to 786 kg/m 3 .…”