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The construction industry has focused on operational and embodied energy of buildings as a way of becoming more sustainable, however, with more emphasis on the former. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the impact that embodied energy of construction materials can have on the decision making when designing buildings, and ultimately on the environment. This is an important aspect that has often been overlooked when calculating a building's carbon footprint; and its inclusion this approach presents a more holistic life cycle assessment.

A building project was chosen that is currently being designed; the design team for the project have been tasked by the client to make the facility exemplary in terms of its sustainability. This building has a limited construction palette; therefore the embodied energy component can be accurately calculated. The authors of this paper are also part of the design team for the building so they have full access to Building Information Modelling (BIM) models and production information. An inventory of materials was obtained for the building and embodied energy coefficients applied to assess the key building components. The total operational energy was identified using benchmarking to produce a carbon footprint for the facility.

The results indicate that while operational energy is more significant over the long term, the embodied energy of key materials should not be ignored, and is likely to be a bigger proportion of the total carbon in a low carbon building. The components with high embodied energy have also been identified. The design team have responded to this by altering the design to significantly reduce the embodied energy within these key components – and thus make the building far more sustainable in this regard.

It may be is a challenge to create components inventories for whole buildings or for refurbishments. However, a potential future approach for is application may be to use a BIM model to simplify this process by imbedding embodied energy inventories within the software, as part of the BIM menus.

This case study identifies the importance of considering carbon use during the whole-life cycle of buildings, as well as highlighting the use of carbon offsetting. The paper presents an original approach to the research by using a “live” building as a case study with a focus on the embodied energy of each component of the scheme. The operational energy is also being calculated, the combined data are currently informing the design approach for the building. As part of the analysis, the building was modelled in BIM software.

Sustainability encapsulates economic, environmental and societal domains. In order to conform to these domains, the efficiency of maintenance and repair of heritage buildings is no exception. Emergently, environmental considerations for sustainable heritage buildings repair have become increasingly important. The purpose of this paper is to present a decision-making process based on “Green Maintenance Model” – an appraisal approach based on life cycle assessment (LCA) of paint repair options for heritage buildings.

Calculation procedures of Green Maintenance model within selected boundaries of LCA enable evaluation of carbon emissions, in terms of embodied carbon expenditure, expended from paint repair for heritage buildings during maintenance phase.

“Green Maintenance” model could be understood as a carbon LCA of paint repair and has been recognized in reducing carbon emissions. Significantly, the model underpins decision-making for repair options for heritage buildings.

It must be emphasized that the calculation procedures of Green Maintenance model is not limited to heritage buildings and can be applied to any repair types, materials used and building forms. More importantly, this model practically supports environmentally focused conservation and promotes sustainable repair approach.

The implementation of Green Maintenance model highlights the efficiency of repairs options that may be adopted.

Green Maintenance shows that generated environmental maintenance impact from repair options relays the “true” embodied carbon expenditure contextualized within the longevity of repair and its embodied carbon. This will consequently allow rationale in appraisal of repair options.

Buildings are responsible for the consumption of around 40% of energy in the world and account for one-third of greenhouses gas emissions. In Saudi Arabia, residential buildings consume half of total energy among other building sectors. This study aims to explore the impact of sixteen envelope variables on the operational and embodied carbon of a typical Saudi house with over 20 years of operation.

A simulation approach has been adopted to examine the effects of envelope variables including external wall type, roof type, glazing type, window to wall ratio (WWR) and shading device. To model the building and define the envelope materials and quantify the annual energy consumption, DesignBuilder software was used. Following modelling, operational carbon was calculated. A “cradle-to-gate” approach was adopted to assess embodied carbon during the production of materials for the envelope variables based on the Inventory of Carbon Energy database.

The results showed that operational carbon represented 90% of total life cycle carbon, whilst embodied carbon accounted for 10%. The sensitivity analysis revealed that 25% WWR contributes to a significant increase in operational carbon by 47.4%. Additionally, the efficient block wall with marble has a major embodiment of carbon greater than the base case by 10.7%.

This study is a contribution to the field of calculating the embodied and operational carbon emissions of a residential unit. Besides, it provides an examination of the impact of each envelope variable on both embodied and operational carbon. This study is limited by the impact of sixteen envelope variables on the embodied as well as operational carbon.

This study is the first attempt on investigating the effects of envelop variables on carbon footprint for residential buildings in Saudi Arabia.

Sustainability is well understood to encapsulate economic, environmental and societal parameters. The efficiency of maintenance interventions for historic buildings is no exception and also conforms to these broad factors. Recently, environmental considerations for masonry repair have become increasingly important and this work supports this growing area. The purpose of this paper is to give insight on how an option appraisal approach of “Green Maintenance” modelling for historic masonry buildings repair practically determine and ultimately substantiate the decision-making process using a calculation procedures of life cycle assessment, within delineated boundaries.

Calculation procedures of the model enables an assessment of embodied carbon that is expended from different stone masonry wall repair techniques and scenarios for historic masonry buildings during the maintenance phase.

It recognises the importance roles Green Maintenance model can play in reducing carbon emissions and underpins rational decision making for repair selection.

It must be emphasised that the calculation procedures presented here, is not confined to historic masonry buildings and can be applied to any repair types and building form. The decisions made as a result of the utilisation of this model practically support environmentally focused conservation decisions.

The implementation of the model highlights the efficacy of repairs that may be adopted.

The paper is a rigorous application and testing of the Green Maintenance model. The model relays the “true” carbon cost of repairs contextualised within the longevity of the materials and its embodied carbon that consequently allows rational appraisal of repair and maintenance options.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a more carbon efficient alternative design using engineered timber components over reinforced concrete elements to a recently completed non-residential building located in Tallinn, Estonia. Also to promote building materials that have proved to have lower embodied carbon and energy.

The paper is based on data collected from the original project drawings, embodied carbon and embodied energy values of construction materials under comparison which are based on Inventory of Carbon & Energy database and on the research conducted in Finland that focussed on wooden building products. The engineered timber solution is designed in accordance with relevant regulations and laws including requirements for fire safety and sound insulation.

Buildings embodied carbon and embodied energy can be reduced by using proposed engineered timber materials.

The outcome of current research is limited and applies only to the reference building and its proposed alternative, therefore it should be taken into consideration before any use. Still it provides clear information that using more carbon efficient materials can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a building.

The outcome can be used as a tool promoting materials with a lower embodied carbon and energy in public procurements.

This study comparing buildings enclosure system alternatives as a whole by allowing to choose more environmentally friendly solution is the first in Estonia.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the carbon emissions emitted by two different typical apartment units representative of two different construction periods in Kosovo due to main construction materials as a consequence of embodied energy.

The present study uses a three-step (bottom-up) process-based life cycle analysis of the construction material set for two different apartment units. The current study uses material analysis. Embodied CO₂ is estimated by multiplying material masses with the corresponding ECO₂ coefficients (kg CO₂/kg). Due to the lack of a comprehensive Kosovo database, data from an international database are utilized. The results provide practical baseline indicators for the contribution of each material in terms of mass and embodied CO₂.

Results of quantitative research find that apartment unit representative of the old communist-era construction produces 50 percent more embodied CO₂ emissions than an apartment unit that is representative of modern construction in Kosovo. The study finds that this difference comes mainly because of the utilization of larger quantities of steel, concrete, and precast fabricated concrete in the apartment unit that is representative of the old communist era.

The calculation of embodied CO₂ emissions for major construction materials in typical apartments in Kosovo can help in the development of national databases in the future. The availability of such databases could help the construction industry in Kosovo to open up to new sustainable design approaches since such databases and evaluations performed in the national context in Kosovo could help the builders in selecting, assessing and using environmentally friendly materials during the design or refurbishment stage of a building.

This paper is the first investigation of the embodied carbon emission in two different typical apartment building structures in Kosovo.

Heritage buildings are consistently impacted by technical and pathological issues associated with their maintenance and conservation such as diminish of building's authenticity and damaging environmental impact. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental maintenance impact (EMI) of the Singgora roof tiles repair in heritage buildings. The EMI is an evaluation upon embodied carbon expenditure during maintenance phase, thus important in repair efficiency appraisal.

Calculation procedures within selected boundaries of life cycle assessment (LCA) and arbitrary period enabled evaluation of the EMI of Singgora roof tiles repair in heritage buildings during the maintenance phase.

Evaluation of the EMI could be appreciated as a carbon LCA of Singgora roof tiles repair and has been recognised in embodied carbon expenditure reduction in the form of CO₂ emissions mitigation. Importantly, the evaluation underpins decision-making for heritage buildings repair.

EMI evaluation encompasses all building types and forms, thus comprehends the associated applied methodologies. Moreover, the evaluation reflects the emerging environmental challenges of sustaining resilient buildings globally.

EMI evaluation highlights options that may be adopted in repair. Indirectly, this implicates heritage building preservation and place's identity protection. Significantly, the evaluation supports environmentally focused conservation and promotes a sustainable repair approach.

EMI evaluation of this paper may devoted to the holistic understanding of the complex relations between Singgora roof materials and their environmental performance. Meanwhile, the application of a carbon LCA had dictated integration of multidisciplinary of heritage buildings maintenance and conservation.

While most efforts to combat climate change are focussed on energy efficiency and substitution of fossil fuels, growth in the built environment remains largely unquestioned. Given the current climate emergency and increasing scarcity of global resources, it is imperative that we address this “blind spot” by finding ways to support required services with less resource consumption.

There is now long overdue recognition to greenhouse gas emissions “embodied” in the production of building materials and construction, and its importance in reaching targets of net zero carbon by 2050. However, there is a widespread belief that we can continue to “build big”, provided we incorporate energy saving measures and select “low carbon materials” – ignoring the fact that excessive volume and area of buildings may outweigh any carbon savings. This is especially the case with commercial real estate.

As the inception and planning phases of projects offer most potential for reduction in both operational and embodied carbon, we must turn our attention to previously overlooked options such as “build nothing” or “build less”. This involves challenging the root cause of the need, exploring alternative approaches to meet desired outcomes, and maximising the use of existing assets. If new build is required, this should be designed for adaptability, with increased stewardship, so the building stock of the future will be a more valuable and useable resource.

This points to the need for increased understanding and application of the principles of strategic asset management, hitherto largely ignored in sustainability circles, which emphasize a close alignment of assets with the services they support.

Arguably, as the built environment consumes more material resources and energy than any other sector, its future configuration may be critical to the future of people and the planet. In this regard, this paper seeks to break new ground for deeper exploration.

It is a well-known fact that global warming is the extraordinary threat facing the world. The main reasons of these are human activities. Human beings have been contributing to the global warming in different ways for many years. Right material and product selection are some of the most important factors in the process of eliminating the negative effects of constructions on the natural environment and users. The life cycle of building materials involves the processes in which the products are extracted from the source. These processes are the stages of production, transportation, construction, use, demolition and destruction. Making wrong decisions in the selection and use of building materials may cause negative effects in the environment. The major purpose of this study is to to examine the embodied energy of of the traditional and comtemporary building materials according to the characteristics of the local climate. It will answer the question of; “What the embodied energy of a house was in the past and now” in Northern Cyprus. It will help to find out building materials with low embodied energy. There is no published database prepared for or in Northern Cyprus. In order to measure and evaluate the embodied energy of buildings and construction products in the world, there are no integrated systems in the Northern Cyprus at this point, while different countries have unique systems depending on the environmental, economic and social conditions of those countries. Measuring and controlling the environmental performance of environmental development is essential for the sustainable development of the Northern Cyprus.

By using the The Inventory of Carbon & Energy (ICE) program the embodied carbon statuses, embodied energy and transport energy and manufacture energy were discussed for each building material. As a result of this research it was found that locally produced or locally existing materials do not always give the best result in terms of embodied energy all the time. The energy consumption of building materials used in buildings and their associated carbon emissions will assist in the selection of environmentally friendly materials.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the sustainability conditions of primary schools in Turkey within the scope of the life cycle assessment (LCA). It is aimed to develop optimum alternatives to reduce the environmental impact of primary schools and reach environmental sustainability targets of the sustainable development goals in Turkey.

From the construction project of 103 buildings located in Istanbul, 10 case buildings with various typical plans were chosen for analysis. The results regarding their life cycle energy and carbon emission for material production, operation and maintenance stages were calculated for a lifespan of 50 years. Results were evaluated and compared within the scope of environmental sustainability. Optimum alternatives for improving the environmental sustainability and performances of selected case buildings’ facades were developed, and the life cycle energy and carbon emission for proposed conditions were calculated. The obtained results were evaluated for current and proposed conditions.

Results showed that reinforced concrete material contributes the most to the life cycle-embodied energy and CO₂ emission of buildings. Cooling load increases the life cycle operational energy (LCOE) and CO₂ emission of buildings. Using high-performance glazing significantly reduces LCOE and CO₂ emission. Recycled and fiber-based materials have significant potential for reducing life cycle-embodied energy and CO₂ emission.

This study has been developed in response to achieving sustainable development targets on public buildings in Turkey. In this regard, external walls of primary schools were analyzed within the scope of LCA and recommendations were made to contribute to the policies and regulations requested by the Government of Turkey. This study proves that alternative and novel materials have great potential for achieving sustainable public buildings. The study answers to questions about reducing the environmental impact of primary school buildings by using LCA approach with a holistic point of view.