北京市居民食物消费碳足迹

碳足迹作为一种评价碳排放影响的全新测度方法,已被用来衡量人类活动对大气环境和气候变化的影响。食物是人类的首要消费品,其消费的碳足迹反应维持一个区域人口的基本食物需求的碳排放以及对气候变化的影响。在碳足迹理论和模型的基础上,根据北京市食物的供应和消费现状情况,利用生命周期法(Life cycle analysis LCA),计算和分析了北京市居民食物消费的碳足迹。得到北京市居民食消费碳足迹为476.8×104t,约占北京市总碳足迹的6%,人均碳足迹为310.0kgCO2/人,占北京市家庭消费碳排放的23.3%,只占北京市能源消费人均碳排放量的5.96%,反映了居民食物消费对全球气候变化造成的影响有限。食物消费碳足迹最大的为粮食,其次为瓜果蔬菜豆类,总共占到65%以上,而在食物生命周期过程中,食物的再加工炊事过程碳排放最大,超过50%,合理减少食物加工炊事过程中碳排放将是减少食物消费碳排放的重要途径之一。其次为化肥农药施用,占到23.23%,减少食物生产过程中化肥农药使用,提高化肥农药的使用效率,或者进行生态农业尽量不使用化肥农药,北京市每年可减少135.1×104t CO2排放,人均87.84kgCO2/人,是有效的减排途径之一。     

旅游风景区旅游交通系统碳足迹评估——以南岳衡山为例

随着全国各地旅游业的蓬勃发展,旅游风景区内碳排放总量不断攀升,严重影响了旅游业的可持续发展。选择南岳衡山旅游风景区为典型案例区,运用生命周期评价理论,构建了南岳风景区旅游交通系统碳足迹计算模型。结果表明:①从总量来看,不同类型交通方式的碳足迹情况相差甚远。公路旅游交通对旅游景区的环境威胁最大,碳足迹总量是索道旅游交通的2.6倍,人行道旅游交通的46.1倍;②从阶段构成来看,公路和索道旅游交通系统运营使用阶段碳足迹占整个生命周期的大部分,所占比率分别为79%和96%.而人行道旅游交通系统中建造施工和运营后期阶段能源消耗比较大;③从来源构成来看,在使用期内公路旅游交通的碳足迹比重最大,约占碳足迹总量的71%,其次是索道旅游交通占27%,人行道旅游交通仅占2%。研究结果有利于实现旅游风景区低碳旅游发展目标,为旅游风景区节能减排提供理论支撑。     

有机与常规培肥模式生产水稻的碳足迹

为明确不同施肥模式对水稻生产碳足迹的影响,采取田间动态监测与室内分析相结合的方式,应用生命周期碳足迹的评价方法,研究了施用化肥(CF)、猪粪(ZM)、牛粪(NM)、鸡粪(JM)对稻田系统碳排放、碳增汇、水稻生产碳足迹及单位产量碳足迹的影响。结果表明:水稻种植过程中温室气体的排放是水稻生产碳排放的主要来源,与CF处理相比,施用有机肥可增加稻田碳排放,ZM、NM和JM处理分别增加34%、30%和65%,各处理均以稻田CO₂排放贡献最大;施用有机肥处理的环境正效应高于施用化肥处理,ZM、NM和JM处理碳增汇分别是CF处理的3.3、3.8和2.9倍,可相应抵消76%、92%和55%的碳排放;施用不同有机肥对水稻生产碳足迹影响不一,但与CF处理相比均可降低单位产量的碳足迹,ZM、NM和JM处理分别降低了55%、83%和22%。综合考虑畜禽粪污处理、肥料生产与管理以及水稻种植各环节的碳排放与稻谷产量情况,有机培肥有利于降低水稻单位产量碳足迹,其中以施用牛粪处理效果最佳。     

城市餐饮业食物浪费碳足迹——以北京市为例

食物浪费及其造成的环境影响已成为全球广泛关注的热点。无论从生命周期还是碳足迹的视角来看,食物浪费意味着生产、运输、加工与储存这些被浪费掉的食物过程中所投入的各种资源的浪费以及不必要的温室气体排放。以北京市餐饮食物浪费问题为切入点,在通过问卷调查和称重方法对餐饮食物浪费状况进行调查的基础上,将整个食物生命周期各供应链环节相应的温室气体排放纳入考量,估算了北京市餐饮食物浪费的碳排放量。研究结果表明:北京市餐饮食物浪费总量为39.86×10~4t/a。其中,蔬菜类浪费量最高,约占浪费总量的43.16%,其次为肉类和主食类,分别占食物浪费总量的20.59%和16.66%。北京市餐饮食物浪费所产生的总碳足迹为192.51×10~4—208.52×10~4t CO_2eq。其中,农业生产阶段的碳排放量最大为99.34×10~4t CO2eq,占食物浪费总碳足迹的47.64%。其次是消费阶段的碳足迹77.96×10~4t CO_2eq,占食物浪费总碳足迹的37.39%,再次是餐厨垃圾处理阶段的碳足迹28.54×104tCO2eq,占食物浪费总碳足迹的13.68%。这些不同供应链环节的碳排放比例,为透视食物浪费所带来的环境影响提供了新的认知,也为遏制食物浪费提供了科学的理论依据。     

可持续消费的内涵及研究进展——产业生态学视角

生产和消费是产生诸多环境问题的根本原因,而可持续生产和消费则是实现可持续发展的根本途径。基于产业生态学视角,界定了可持续消费的定义及内涵,认为可持续消费首先须符合代内公平、代际公平和资源能源永续合理利用等可持续理念;其次辨识了可持续消费研究依次经历关注消费者行为直接环境影响、关注产品和服务生命周期环境影响到关注消费者责任3个阶段;最后结合我国城市化、工业化背景,提出我国可持续消费研究应该以城市居民为重点、加强生命周期数据库建设和内注重可持续生产等建议。     

减氮施肥对春玉米-晚稻生产系统碳足迹的影响

随着对气候变化和粮食安全的的日益认识,低碳农业引起了人们的广泛关注.低碳农业的研究需要综合考虑作物产量和温室气体排放,改进氮肥管理可能有助于减缓作物生产系统的温室气体排放,同时实现对作物稳产甚至高产的需求.本试验利用生命周期法研究了不同施氮量(150、225、300 kg N·hm^-2)对春玉米-晚稻轮作系统碳足迹的影响.结果表明: 随着氮肥用量增加,两季作物生产过程中温室气体和碳足迹增加.在春玉米生产过程中,氮肥生产和施用引起的温室气体排放对碳足迹贡献最大,占36.2%～50.2%;而在晚稻生产中,甲烷的排放贡献最大,占42.8%～48.0%,并且随氮肥用量增加甲烷排放增加.当氮肥施用量减少25%(225 kg N·hm^-2)和50%(150 kg N·hm^-2)时,春玉米生产的温室气体排放分别下降了21.9%和44.3%,碳足迹分别下降了20.3%和39.1%;晚稻生产的温室气体排放分别下降了12.3%和20.4%,碳足迹分别降低了13.7%和16.7%.氮肥减量对春玉米产量无显著影响,而晚稻产量在225 kg N·hm^-2施肥量下最高.因此,春玉米氮肥用量降低至150 kg N·hm^-2和晚稻氮肥用量降低至225 kg N·hm^-2不仅能够保持作物高产,而且还能大幅度降低作物系统的碳足迹.     

2004—2014年南方稻区双季稻生产碳足迹动态及其构成

南方稻作区是我国重要的粮食生产区,在国家粮食安全保障中起着至关重要的作用,探明南方不同省份双季稻生产的碳足迹差异,对促进低碳稻作农业发展具有重要意义.本研究采用2004—2014年农作物种植面积、农资投入等统计数据,运用碳足迹理论和生命周期法系统评价我国南方双季稻生产碳足迹时空分布状况及其构成.结果表明: 南方稻区各个省份早晚稻生产碳足迹大部分表现为增加趋势,早稻生产碳足迹较晚稻大.2004—2014年,安徽省双季稻平均碳足迹最高(1000 kg CO₂-eq·hm^-2),而福建、湖北和湖南省相对较小(750 kg CO₂-eq·hm^-2).碳足迹构成中以肥料的生产、运输及使用占比最大,占水稻生产总碳足迹的60%;柴油投入碳足迹贡献量次之,为26%左右.逐步回归分析表明,双季稻生产碳足迹大小与柴油、复混肥和钾肥的投入呈正相关.净利润收益纳入分析表明,湖北省为低排放-高收益省份,有利于农业低碳可持续性发展.随着农村劳动力非农化和作物生产机械化的快速递增,未来水稻生产中柴油等机械化碳投入将快速增长.因此,提升化肥利用效率、灌溉效率和机械化作业效率将是发展南方稻作区低碳农业的关键途径.     

碳足迹核算的国际标准概述与解析

各种层面上的碳足迹核算在全球气候变化控制领域得到了越来越多的关注。但是,这些关于碳足迹核算的相关国际标准繁多,彼此之间的关系复杂,不利于研究领域和工业界对这些标准进行应用与交流,限制了碳足迹核算的发展进度与深度。对目前已有的国际主要碳足迹核算标准及生命周期评价标准进行了整理,梳理出这些国际标准的一些基本特征,绘制了国际标准之间的关系图;并进一步从生命周期评价步骤的角度出发,解析了各种国际标准在这些阶段上的相关内容,以及每一个阶段上各标准相关规定中的不同特点及逻辑关系。对促进我国碳足迹核算相关研究与实践工作具有一定的理论与现实参考意义。     

基于碳足迹研究的中国地区工业低碳转型——以山东省为例

行业的低碳发展是工业低碳转型的目标,以工业部门为对象,应用脱钩效应和面板模型分析行业能源消费的碳足迹,对深入研究地区工业低碳转型具有重要现实意义。以山东省为例,分析工业能源消费碳足迹的1997年至2012年样本数据,将工业部门分为高耗能行业、其他行业、战略性新兴行业,展开研究,结果表明:(1)自20世纪90年末代开始节能降耗,山东省工业呈现强负"脱钩"、强"脱钩"、扩张负"脱钩"和弱"脱钩"交替发生,表明对工业节能降耗调控波动大,不利于工业部门均衡有序发展;(2)高耗能行业是能耗大户,高耗能行业与工业在绝大部分年份的脱钩状态相同,表明高耗能行业主导工业总体脱钩状态,是节能减排的主要对象;随着节能降耗的深入,相关政策趋紧,碳足迹边际成本不断升高,应关注锁定效应大的火电行业和碳足迹边际成本高的化学工业;(3)其他行业包含行业多,但总体能耗水平不高,随着节能减排的开展和行业持续发展,能耗将增加,必将承担更多的节能减排,需要关注锁定效应强的金属制品业发展,推动碳生产力系数高的食品饮料业发展;(4)战略性新兴行业碳锁定效应最弱、碳足迹边际成本最低和碳生产力系数最高,是国家大力倡导发展的行业;由于基数低,对工业碳排放态势影响极其有限,应大力推动碳锁定效应弱的新一代信息技术产业、碳足迹边际成本低的新材料行业、碳生产力系数高的节能环保业和新材料行业。     

玉米秸秆基纤维素乙醇生命周期能耗与温室气体排放分析

生命周期评价是目前分析产品或工艺的环境负荷唯一标准化工具,利用其生命周期分析方法可以有效地研究纤维素乙醇生命周期能耗与温室气体排放问题。为了定量解释以玉米秸秆为原料的纤维素乙醇的节能和温室气体减排潜力,利用生命周期分析方法对以稀酸预处理、酶水解法生产的玉米秸秆基乙醇进行了生命周期能耗与温室气体排放分析,以汽车行驶1 km为功能单位。结果表明：与汽油相比,纤维素乙醇E100 (100％乙醇) 和E10 (乙醇和汽油体积比=1∶9) 生命周期化石能耗分别减少79.63％和6.25％,温室气体排放分别减少53.98％和6.69％;生物质阶段化石能耗占到总化石能耗68.3％,其中氮肥和柴油的生命周期能耗贡献最大,分别占到生物质阶段的45.78％和33.26％;工厂电力生产过程的生命周期温室气体排放最多,占净温室气体排放量的42.06％,提升技术减少排放是降低净排放的有效措施。     

Assessment of the environmental performance of buildings: A critical evaluation of the influence of technical building equipment on residential buildings

Purpose

Sustainability assessments of buildings using the life cycle approach have become more and more common. This includes the assessment of the environmental performance of buildings. However, the influence of the construction products used for the fabric, the finishing, and the technical building equipment of buildings has hardly been described in literature. For this reason, we evaluated the influence of the technical building equipment and its impact on the environment for different residential buildings.

Materials and methods

Five residential buildings were evaluated by applying the methodology of life cycle assessment (LCA) (ISO14040) expressed using quantitative assessment categories according to prEN15978.

Results and discussion

Results show that the optimization of energy performance has already reached a high level in Austria, so that the overall potential for possible improvements is quite low. Especially in low-energy and passive?Chouse-standard residential buildings, the limits for energy optimization in the use phase have mostly been achieved. In contrast to this, the integrated LCA (iLCA) findings attribute a high optimization potential to the construction products used for the technical building equipment as well as to the building fabric and finishing. Additionally, the passive house shows the lowest contribution of the technical building equipment on the overall LCA results.

Conclusions

The iLCA findings suggest that it is recommended to include the technical building equipment for future assessments of the environmental performance of buildings. It is also suggested to use a broad number of environmental indicators for building LCA.     

A Systems Approach to Sustainable Technical Product Design

Many existing methods for sustainable technical product design focus on environmental efficiency while lacking a framework for a holistic, sustainable design approach that includes combined social, technical, economic, and environmental aspects in the whole product life cycle, and that provides guidance on a technical product development level. This research proposes a framework for sustainable technical product design in the case of skis. We developed a ski under the Grown brand, benchmarked according to social, environmental, economic, and technical targets, following an initial sustainability assessment, and delivered the first environmental life cycle assessment (ELCA) and the first social life cycle assessment (SLCA) of skis. The framework applies a virtual development process as a combination of ELCA to calculate the environmental footprint as carbon equivalents of all materials and processes and a technical computer‐aided design (CAD) and computer‐aided engineering (CAE) simulation and virtual optimization using parameter studies for the nearly prototype‐free development of the benchmarked skis. The feedback loops between life cycle assessment (LCA) and virtual simulation led to the elimination of highly energy intensive materials, to the pioneering use of basalt fibers in skis, to the optimization of the use of natural materials using protective coatings from natural resins, and to the optimization of the production process. From an environmental perspective, a minimum 32% reduction in carbon equivalent emissions of materials in relation to other comparably performing skis has been achieved, as well as a pioneering step forward toward transparent communication of the environmental performance by the individual, comparable, and first published ski carbon footprint per volume unit.     

Proposal of a method for allocation in building-related environmental LCA based on economic parameters

Application and development of the LCA methodology to the context of the building sector makes several building specific considerations necessary, as some key characteristics of products in the building sector differ considerably from those of other industrial sectors. The largest difference is that the service life of a building can stretch over centuries, rather than decades or years as seen for consumer products. The result of the long service life is that it is difficult to obtain accurate data and to make relevant assumptions about future conditions regarding, for example, recycling. These problems have implications on the issue of allocation in the building sector, in the way that several allocation procedures ascribe environmental loads to users of recycled or reused products and materials in the future which are unknown today. The long service life for buildings, building materials and building components, is associated with the introduced concept of a virtual parallel time perspective proposed here, which basically substitutes historical and future processes and values with current data. Further, the production and refining of raw material as a parallel to upgrading of recycled material, normally contains several intermediate products. A suggestion is given for how to determine the comparability of intermediate materials. The suggested method for allocation presented is based on three basic assumptions: (1) If environmental loads are to be allocated to a succeeding product life cycle, the studied actual life cycle has to take responsibility for upgrading of the residual material into secondary resources. (2) Material characteristics and design of products are important factors to estimate the recyclable amount of the material. Therefore, a design factor is suggested using information for inherent material properties combined with information of the product context at the building level. (3) The quality reduction between the materials in two following product life cycles is indicated as the ratio between the market value for the material in the products. The presented method can be a good alternative for handling the problem of open-loop recycling allocation in the context of the building sector if a consensus for the use of the fictive parallel time perspective and the use of the design factor can be established. This as the use of the time perspective and design factor is crucial to be able to deal with the problem of long service lives for buildings and building materials and the specific characteristics of the same building materials and components built into different building contexts.     

Environmental life cycle assessment of a commercial office building in Thailand

Background, aim, and scope  To minimize the environmental impacts of construction and simultaneously move closer to sustainable development in the society, the life cycle assessment of buildings is essential. This article provides an environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) of a typical commercial office building in Thailand. Almost all commercial office buildings in Thailand follow a similar structural, envelope pattern as well as usage patterns. Likewise, almost every office building in Thailand operates on electricity, which is obtained from the national grid which limits variability. Therefore, the results of the single case study building are representative of commercial office buildings in Thailand. Target audiences are architects, building construction managers and environmental policy makers who are interested in the environmental impact of buildings. Materials and methods  In this work, a combination of input–output and process analysis was used in assessing the potential environmental impact associated with the system under study according to the ISO14040 methodology. The study covered the whole life cycle including material production, construction, occupation, maintenance, demolition, and disposal. The inventory data was simulated in an LCA model and the environmental impacts for each stage computed. Three environmental impact categories considered relevant to the Thailand context were evaluated, namely, global warming potential, acidification potential, and photo-oxidant formation potential. A 50-year service time was assumed for the building. Results  The results obtained showed that steel and concrete are the most significant materials both in terms of quantities used, and also for their associated environmental impacts at the manufacturing stage. They accounted for 24% and 47% of the global warming potential, respectively. In addition, of the total photo-oxidant formation potential, they accounted for approximately 41% and 30%; and, of the total acidification potential, 37% and 42%, respectively. Analysis also revealed that the life cycle environmental impacts of commercial buildings are dominated by the operation stage, which accounted for approximately 52% of the total global warming potential, about 66% of the total acidification potential, and about 71% of the total photo-oxidant formation potential, respectively. The results indicate that the principal contributor to the impact categories during the operation phase were emissions related to fossil fuel combustion, particularly for electricity production. Discussion  The life cycle environmental impacts of commercial buildings are dominated by the operation stage, especially electricity consumption. Significant reductions in the environmental impacts of buildings at this stage can be achieved through reducing their operating energy. The results obtained show that increasing the indoor set-point temperature of the building by 2°C, as well as the practice of load shedding, reduces the environmental burdens of buildings at the operation stage. On a national scale, the implementation of these simple no-cost energy conservation measures have the potential to achieve estimated reductions of 10.2% global warming potential, 5.3% acidification potential, and 0.21% photo-oxidant formation potential per year, respectively, in emissions from the power generation sector. Overall, the measures could reduce approximately 4% per year from the projected global warming potential of 211.51 Tg for the economy of Thailand. Conclusions  Operation phase has the highest energy and environmental impacts, followed by the manufacturing phase. At the operation phase, significant reductions in the energy consumption and environmental impacts can be achieved through the implementation of simple no-cost energy conservation as well as energy efficiency strategies. No-cost energy conservation policies, which minimize energy consumption in commercial buildings, should be encouraged in combination with already existing energy efficiency measures of the government. Recommendations and perspectives  In the long run, the environmental impacts of buildings will need to be addressed. Incorporation of environmental life cycle assessment into the current building code is proposed. It is difficult to conduct a full and rigorous life cycle assessment of an office building. A building consists of many materials and components. This study made an effort to access reliable data on all the life cycle stages considered. Nevertheless, there were a number of assumptions made in the study due to the unavailability of adequate data. In order for life cycle modeling to fulfill its potential, there is a need for detailed data on specific building systems and components in Thailand. This will enable designers to construct and customize LCAs during the design phase to enable the evaluation of performance and material tradeoffs across life cycles without the excessive burden of compiling an inventory. Further studies with more detailed, reliable, and Thailand-specific inventories for building materials are recommended.     

Transforming the Norwegian Dwelling Stock to Reach the 2 Degrees Celsius Climate Target

Residential buildings account for about one‐third of the final energy demand in Norway. Many cost‐effective measures for reducing heat losses in buildings are known, and their implementation may make the building sector one of the largest contributors to climate change mitigation. To determine the sectoral emission reduction potential, we model a complete transformation of the dwelling stock by 2050 by applying both renovation and reconstruction with different energy standards. We propose a new dynamic stock model with an optimization routine to identify and prioritize buildings with the highest energy saving potential. We combine material flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques to extend the sectoral boundary beyond direct household emissions. Despite an expected population growth of almost 50% between 2000 and 2050, sectoral carbon emissions in that period may drop between 30% and 40% for scenarios where the stock is completely transformed by either reconstruction or renovation to the passive house standard. Due to its lower upstream impact, renovation leads to a lower sectoral carbon footprint than reconstruction. Full transformation, however, is not sufficient to achieve an emissions reduction of 50% or more, as required on average to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius, because hot water generation, appliances, and lighting will dominate the sectoral footprint once the stock has been transformed. A first estimate of the additional impact of realistic energy efficiency and lifestyle changes in the nonheating part of the sector reveals a maximal total reduction potential of about 75%.     

辽宁中部城市群建筑碳足迹

随着我国城市化进程的不断深入,建筑消费大量的材料和能源,如何计算建筑碳足迹具有重要意义.本文应用碳足迹的方法,结合地理信息系统和高分遥感手段对辽宁中部城市群进行碳足迹评估.结果表明: 辽宁中部城市群的建筑相关碳足迹系数为269.16 kg·m^-2.基于遥感影像提取建筑面积的方法能够有效提取建筑面积总量和空间分布,提取精度达到89%,对累积碳足迹计算和空间分布评估起到重要作用.辽宁中部7个城市建筑面积和累积碳足迹由高到低依次为沈阳、鞍山、抚顺、辽阳、营口、铁岭和本溪;2011—2013年,年均碳足迹增长由高到低依次为沈阳、本溪、抚顺、鞍山、铁岭、营口和辽阳.准确计算建筑碳足迹总量并分析其空间分布,对于碳减排和空间格局优化或规划具有重要意义.     

Estimating Materials Stocked by Land‐Use Type in Historic Urban Buildings Using Spatio‐Temporal Analytical Tools

The construction industry is an important contributor to urban economic development and consumes large volumes of building material that are stocked in cities over long periods. Those stocked spaces store valuable materials that may be available for recovery in the future. Thus quantifying the urban building stock is important for managing construction materials across the building life cycle. This article develops a new approach to urban building material stock analysis (MSA) using land‐use heuristics. Our objective is to characterize buildings to understand materials stocked in place by: (1) developing, validating, and testing a new method for characterizing building stock by land‐use type and (2) quantifying building stock and determining material fractions. We conduct a spatial MSA to quantify materials within a 2.6‐square‐kilometer section of Philadelphia from 2004 to 2012. Data were collected for buildings classified by land‐use type from many sources to create maps of material stock and spatial material intensity. In the spatial MSA, the land‐use type that returned the largest footprint (by percentage) and greatest (number) of buildings were civic/institutional (42%; 147) and residential (23%; 275), respectively. The model was validated for total floor space and the absolute overall error (n = 46; 20%) in 2004 and (n = 47; 24%) in 2012. Typically, commercial and residential land‐use types returned the lowest overall error and weighted error. We present a promising alternative method for characterizing buildings in urban MSA that leverages multiple tools (geographical information systems [GIS], design codes, and building models) and test the method in historic Philadelphia.     

Life cycle assessment and cost analysis of residential buildings in south east of Turkey: part 1—review and methodology

Purpose

Buildings are responsible for more than 40 % of global energy used, and as much as 30 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. In order to quantify the energy and material inputs and environmental releases associated with each stage of construction sector, life cycle energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost analysis of contemporary residential buildings have been conducted within two parts.

Methods

This paper is the first part of the study which includes the literature review and methodology used for such a comprehensive analysis. It was determined that there are three basic methods used in life cycle analysis: process analysis, input–output (I–O) analysis, and hybrid analysis. In this study, Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) is used for the calculation of primary energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. The second part of this study is about the application of the methodology which considers two actual buildings constructed in Gaziantep, Turkey.

Results and discussion

The proposed research focused on building construction, operating, and demolition phases. Energy efficiency, emission parameters, and costs are defined for the building per square meter basis. It is seen that the primary energy use and emissions of residential buildings around the world falls in the range of about 10 to 40 GJ/m² and 1–10 t CO₂/m² respectively.

Conclusions

The literature survey demonstrates that there are limited number of studies about life cycle cost assessment (LCCA) of residential buildings in the world. It was decided to use the ICE database as it is one of the most comprehensive databases for building materials, globally. The results of the study show that minimizing energy, material, and land use by considering potential impacts to the environment on a life cycle basis are the basic steps in designing an energy-efficient and environmental-friendly building.

     

Tracking Construction Material over Space and Time: Prospective and Geo‐referenced Modeling of Building Stocks and Construction Material Flows

Construction material plays an increasingly important role in the environmental impacts of buildings. In order to investigate impacts of materials on a building level, we present a bottom‐up building stock model that uses three‐dimensional and geo‐referenced building data to determine volumetric information of material stocks in Swiss residential buildings. We used a probabilistic modeling approach to calculate future material flows for the individual buildings. We investigated six scenarios with different assumptions concerning per‐capita floor area, building stock turnover, and construction material. The Swiss building stock will undergo important structural changes by 2035. While this will lead to a reduced number in new constructions, material flows will increase. Total material inflow decreases by almost half while outflows double. In 2055, the total amount of material in‐ and outflows are almost equal, which represents an important opportunity to close construction material cycles. Total environmental impacts due to production and disposal of construction material remain relatively stable over time. The cumulated impact is slightly reduced for the wood‐based scenario. The scenario with more insulation material leads to slightly higher material‐related emissions. An increase in per‐capita floor area or material turnover will lead to a considerable increase in impacts. The new modeling approach overcomes the limitations of previous bottom‐up building models and allows for investigating building material flows and stocks in space and time. This supports the development of tailored strategies to reduce the material footprint and environmental impacts of buildings and settlements.     

Integrating triple bottom line input–output analysis into life cycle sustainability assessment framework: the case for US buildings

Purpose

With the increasing concerns related to integration of social and economic dimensions of the sustainability into life cycle assessment (LCA), traditional LCA approach has been transformed into a new concept, which is called as life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This study aims to contribute the existing LCSA framework by integrating several social and economic indicators to demonstrate the usefulness of input–output modeling on quantifying sustainability impacts. Additionally, inclusion of all indirect supply chain-related impacts provides an economy-wide analysis and a macro-level LCSA. Current research also aims to identify and outline economic, social, and environmental impacts, termed as triple bottom line (TBL), of the US residential and commercial buildings encompassing building construction, operation, and disposal phases.

Methods

To achieve this goal, TBL economic input–output based hybrid LCA model is utilized for assessing building sustainability of the US residential and commercial buildings. Residential buildings include single and multi-family structures, while medical buildings, hospitals, special care buildings, office buildings, including financial buildings, multi-merchandise shopping, beverage and food establishments, warehouses, and other commercial structures are classified as commercial buildings according to the US Department of Commerce. In this analysis, 16 macro-level sustainability assessment indicators were chosen and divided into three main categories, namely environmental, social, and economic indicators.

Results and discussion

Analysis results revealed that construction phase, electricity use, and commuting played a crucial role in much of the sustainability impact categories. The electricity use was the most dominant component of the environmental impacts with more than 50 % of greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption through all life cycle stages of the US buildings. In addition, construction phase has the largest share in income category with 60 % of the total income generated through residential building’s life cycle. Residential buildings have higher shares in all of the sustainability impact categories due to their relatively higher economic activity and different supply chain characteristics.

Conclusions

This paper is an important attempt toward integrating the TBL perspective into LCSA framework. Policymakers can benefit from such approach and quantify macro-level environmental, economic, and social impacts of their policy implications simultaneously. Another important outcome of this study is that focusing only environmental impacts may misguide decision-makers and compromise social and economic benefits while trying to reduce environmental impacts. Hence, instead of focusing on environmental impacts only, this study filled the gap about analyzing sustainability impacts of buildings from a holistic perspective.