Methodology for Improving the Sustainability of Industrial Buildings via Matrix of Combinations Water and Carbon Footprint Assessment

Abstract

In Spain, 90% of companies are small- or medium-sized and are usually located in industrial areas, in warehouses with particular characteristics. This paper presents a methodology for the environmental assessment of this type of construction with water and carbon footprint indicators. A database was developed for the identification of typologies and common construction elements based on a sample of 87 projects in the province of Seville. Based on this, the paper proposes a methodology for comparative analysis that merges the data obtained from the research survey with environmental and economic data. The work proposes a systematic classification of the construction units of industrial buildings in order to improve the sustainability of the decision-making process by introducing environmental information on construction materials and machinery. First, the most impactful elements were identified, and then the technical solutions were adjusted using solutions already in the sample of 87 industrial projects. Reductions of up to 74% in the carbon footprint and 54% of the water footprint were found, as well as 14% reduction in construction costs in the most favorable case.

Sustainability Evaluation of Residential Buildings Based on the Footprint Family: Application to Case Studies in Andalusia

“…Regarding the influence of the foundation, with the results obtained, it cannot be concluded which type of impact is the greatest. This is not the same result as found in warehouse construction, where this element is of major importance [28]. By analysing the budget chapters, the structures have the highest CF, EF, and CDW in all projects, and the structures, and foundations have the highest WF in all projects.…”

“…The results of WF impacts (Table 2) lie in the range of 10-16 m 3 /m 2 . The studies of Lopes et al [28] for the analysis of the WF of the construction of warehouse buildings show slightly lower values due to the simplicity of those buildings, 6-12 m 3 /m 2 . Other studies in Iran reveal higher values in the construction of residential buildings, 20.80 m 3 /m 2 [56].…”

“…Rivero-Camacho and Marrero [59] studied the WF indicator in the complete life cycle of buildings, and Ruiz-Pérez et al [60] assessed urban renewal projects in Andalusia. Lopes et al [28] studied 87 industrial projects to determine the CF and WF and have established a systematic classification to enable these impacts to be evaluated.…”

“…Rivero-Camacho and Ferreira-Sánchez also studied the footprint family for the assessment of public buildings for educational use [25], as did Rivero-Camacho et al [26] in the analysis of the building life cycle of a residential building. These studies enable us to affirm that the analysis of the impact of the building through the use of the footprint family is useful, and although the joint use of these indicators may generate controversy, they do enable impacts from the use of materials, machinery, and labour to be evaluated simultaneously [27,28]. Regarding the analysis of the footprint family in environmental methods, the use of CF stands out in all tools.…”