Potential Application of Blockchain Technology for Embodied Carbon Estimating in Construction Supply Chains

Abstract

Carbon emissions are categorised as Embodied Carbon (EC) occurring in the production phase and Operational Carbon (OC) occurring in the operational phase of buildings. The current focus on producing zero-carbon buildings, emphasises reducing OC and ignores the importance of reducing EC emissions. This study focuses on EC. Methods available in EC estimating currently produce estimates that often do not complement each other. This makes it important to develop a robust and accurate methodology for estimating EC. Blockchain is an emerging technology that has significant potential for transaction processing in supply chains. The construction industry being the second least digitalised industry, the adoption of innovative technologies is predominantly important. This paper explores the potential application of blockchain for accurate estimation of EC in construction supply chains. A detailed literature review and expert interviews revealed that, compared to traditional information systems, blockchain systems could eliminate issues in EC estimating highlighting its potential credible application for EC estimating. Scalability was identified as a feature that was lacking in a blockchain system, however, for EC estimating, its impact was identified as minimal. It will be difficult to generalise the findings of the study due to interview based qualitative methodology adopted in this study along with the fact that blockchain is an emerging and fairly new technology. However, a similar process could be followed by other studies to compare blockchain with traditional information systems, to evaluate the suitability of blockchain technology to develop prototype systems.

Review of Supply Chain Based Embodied Carbon Estimating Method: A Case Study Based Analysis

“…The EC transactions stored in the blockchain cannot be tampered with due to its peer-to-peer network, consensus mechanism and hashing algorithm, which makes it a more secure system. The suitability of using a blockchain-based system instead of a traditional information system has been identified by Rodrigo et al [53], emphasising the salient features in blockchain technology.…”

The Influence of Government’s Economic Management Strategies on the Prefabricated Buildings Promoting Policies: Analysis of Quadripartite Evolutionary Game

“…If the relevant departments desire large investments in prefabricated buildings, in addition to the government's tax reduction and exemption policies for developers, they also need to mobilize the people's purchasing intention. Subsidies to the customers will accelerate the cycle of the entire interest chain [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Therefore, only by treating the government, construction units, developers, and the public as four independent strategic individuals in an overall cycle can we analyze how to promote policies more effectively [37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

“…Subsidies to the customers will accelerate the cycle of the entire interest chain [37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Therefore, only by treating the government, construction units, developers, and the public as four independent strategic individuals in an overall cycle can we analyze how to promote policies more effectively [37][38][39][40][41][42][43].…”

BLogCHAIN: proof-of-concept and pilot testing of a blockchain application prototype for construction logistics in Sweden

“…Ma (2020) identified three key legal issues when implementing blockchain in construction supply chains, namely the restricted use of smart contracts to solely prescribed outcomes, the shared data access and ownership, and multijurisdiction concerns related to governing laws. Rodrigo et al (2020) described using blockchain to make data transactions transparent and immutable in estimating the embodied carbon emissions along construction supply chains. Tezel et al (2020) conducted a SWOT analysis showing that developing operational processes aligning with the supply chain actors and their roles, is a crucial step for embedding blockchain in construction supply chains.…”