Direct and Indirect Carbon Footprint Assessment in The Construction Stage of Residential Buildings

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

2 Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, Arak University, Arak, Iran

Abstract

The construction industry, the leading cause of global greenhouse gas emissions, is responsible for at least 37 percent of global emissions. In Iran, greenhouse emissions in the construction sector between 1990 and 2020 have increased from 0.73 to 1.44 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per person per year. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the direct and indirect carbon footprints for one square meter of the residential building built-area. The system boundary is “gate to gate,” and its functional unit is “one square meter of the residential building built-area.” Data selection was carried out using the checklist and literature review methods. The carbon footprint assessment was conducted using the IPCC 2013 model and the ReCiPe method. Concrete is the most substantial contributor to carbon footprint among all building materials. The results show that the total, direct, and indirect carbon footprint for one square meter of the residential building built-area is 445, 436, and 9 kgCO2e/m2, respectively. The building’s “excavation, foundation, and framing” phase mainly contribute to the indirect carbon footprint among building construction phases. The carbon footprint for each square meter of the residential building construction is related to different factors, such as total building area, type of buildings, material transportation distance, and type of building materials used.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ayob, A., Razali, N., Hassan, Z., Rahim, M.A. & bin Mohd Zahid, M.Z.A., 2021. Carbon footprint assessment of hostel building construction using the industrialized building system in Pauh Putra, Perlis. Journal of Physics: Conference Series.
Chen, C.X., Pierobon, F., Jones, S., Maples, I., Gong, Y. & Ganguly, I., 2021. Comparative life cycle assessment of mass timber and concrete residential buildings: A case study in China. Sustainability, 14(1), 144.
Curran, M.A., 2008. Development of life cycle assessment methodology: a focus on co-product allocation.
Ezema, I., Opoko, A. & Oluwatayo, A., 2016. De-carbonizing the Nigerian housing sector: the role of life cycle CO2 assessment. International Journal of Applied Environmental Sciences, 11(1), 325-349.
Global, B., 2018. BRE Global Methodology for the Environmental Assessment of Buildings Using EN 15978: 2011.
Guo, C., Zhang, X., Zhao, L., Wu, W., Zhou, H. & Wang, Q., 2024. Building a Life Cycle Carbon Emission Estimation Model Based on an Early Design: 68 Case Studies from China. Sustainability, 16(2), 744.
Hong, J., Shen, G. Q., Feng, Y., Lau, W. S.-t. & Mao, C., 2015. Greenhouse gas emissions during the construction phase of a building: A case study in China. Journal of cleaner production, 103, 249-259.
Huang, W., Li, F., Cui, S.-h., Huang, L. & Lin, J.-y., 2017. Carbon footprint and carbon emission reduction of urban buildings: a case in Xiamen City, China. Procedia Engineering, 198, 1007-1017.
Illankoon, C., Vithanage, S.C. & Pilanawithana, N.M., 2023. Embodied Carbon in Australian Residential Houses: A Preliminary Study. Buildings, 13(10), 2559.
Iran Statistical Center., 2023. Statistical Yearbook of Iran (2021-2022).Tehran: Iran Statistical Center.
ISO, I., 2006. 14040. Environmental management—life cycle assessment—principles and framework, 235-248.
Izaola, B., Akizu-Gardoki, O. & Oregi, X., 2023. Setting baselines of the embodied, operational and whole life carbon emissions of the average Spanish residential building. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 40, 252-264.
Kiehle, J., Kopsakangas-Savolainen, M., Hilli, M. & Pongracz, E., 2023. Carbon footprint at institutions of higher education: The case of the University of Oulu. Journal of Environmental Management, 329, 117056.
Lee, H., Calvin, K., Dasgupta, D., Krinner, G., Mukherji, A., Thorne, P., Trisos, C., Romero, J., Aldunce, P. & Barrett, K., 2023. Climate change 2023: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the sixth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change.
Mazandaran Meteorology General Office, Babolsar climate. Available from: https://www.mazmet.ir/en/ (accessed 13 March 2024).
Morales-Vera, R., Felmer, G., Salgado, P., Astroza, R., González, I., Tobar, J., Puettmann, M. & Wishnie, M., 2021. A Life Cycle Assessment of Low Energy Residential Multistory Mass Timber Buildings in Central Chile. Proceedings of the WCTE.
Programme, U.N.E.. 2022. 2022 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction.
Programme, U.N.E., 2023. Building Materials and the Climate: Constructing a New Future.
Ritchie, H., Rosado, P. & Roser, M., 2020. Emissions by sector: where do greenhouse gases come from? 'https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector' [Online Resource]
Sreedhar, S., Jichkar, P. & Biligiri, K.P., 2016. Investigation of carbon footprints of highway construction materials in India. Transportation Research Procedia, 17, 291-300.
Standardization, I.O.F., 2006. Environmental management: life cycle assessment; requirements and guidelines (Vol. 14044). ISO Geneva, Switzerland.
Weber, C.L. & Matthews, H.S., 2008. Quantifying the global and distributional aspects of American household carbon footprint. Ecological economics, 66(2-3), 379-391.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics