scholarly journals Environmental and Economic Life Cycle Analysis of Primary Construction Materials Sourcing Under Geopolitical Uncertainties: A Case Study of Qatar

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 6000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Al-Nuaimi ◽  
Banawi ◽  
Al-Ghamdi
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Economic Impacts ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Unit Price

Environmental and economic cycles under varying geopolitical uncertainties can lead to unsustainable patterns that significantly and negatively affect the welfare of nations. With the ever-increasing negative environmental and economic impacts, the ability to achieve sustainability is hindered if the implications are not properly assessed in challenging geopolitical crises. The infrequent and fluctuating nature of these challenging geopolitical settings causes disregard and neglect for exploration within this issue. In this study, a comparative life cycle assessment was conducted as a method to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of construction material flow across country boundaries. Based on the results found from the life cycle assessment, an environmental forecast and sensitivity analysis were established. Considering the State of Qatar as a case study, asphalt and bitumen, cement, limestone, sand, and steel were analyzed from gate-to-gate depending on transportation mode and distances used within both the pre-crisis and post-crisis sub-periods, comparing carbon emissions and costs. The results showed that the mode of transport plays a significant role in terms of carbon dioxide emissions as opposed to distance traveled. However, the increase in distance coupled to the majority shift from land to sea-based transport resulted in an overall increase in carbon emissions and costs post-crisis. In addition, the analysis of the environmental and economic impact assessment using the average CO2 equivalent (CO2-e) per kilogram and the unit price of the five primary construction materials has shown a significant, 70.68% increase in global warming potentials (GWP) after the crisis, coupled with an increase in the overall cost. An assessment of environmental and economic impacts during geopolitical uncertainties allows for the significant ability to realize sustainable measures to greatly reduce economic and environmental degradation.

scholarly journals Comparing Three Building Life Cycle Assessment Tools for the Canadian Construction Industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Cormick
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Life Cycle Assessments ◽  
Bill Of Materials ◽  
Building Life Cycle

This research aims to contribute to quantifying whole building life cycle assessment using various software tools to determine how they can aid the construction industry in reducing carbon emissions, and in particular embodied emissions, through analysis and reporting. The conducted research seeks to examine and compare three whole building life cycle assessment tools; Athena Impact Estimator, Tally and One-Click LCA to relate the input variability to the outputs of the three programs. The three whole building life-cycle assessments were conducted using a case study building with an identical bill of materials and compared to determine the applicability and strengths of one program over another. The research confirmed that the three programs output significantly different results given the variability in scope, allowable program inputs and generated “black-box” back-end calculations, where the outputted whole building life cycle carbon equivalents of One-Click LCA is less than half than of Tally meaning the programs outputs cannot be simply compared side-by-side.

scholarly journals Comparing Three Building Life Cycle Assessment Tools for the Canadian Construction Industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayley Cormick
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Black Box ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Life Cycle Assessments ◽  
Bill Of Materials ◽  
Building Life Cycle

This research aims to contribute to quantifying whole building life cycle assessment using various software tools to determine how they can aid the construction industry in reducing carbon emissions, and in particular embodied emissions, through analysis and reporting. The conducted research seeks to examine and compare three whole building life cycle assessment tools; Athena Impact Estimator, Tally and One-Click LCA to relate the input variability to the outputs of the three programs. The three whole building life-cycle assessments were conducted using a case study building with an identical bill of materials and compared to determine the applicability and strengths of one program over another. The research confirmed that the three programs output significantly different results given the variability in scope, allowable program inputs and generated “black-box” back-end calculations, where the outputted whole building life cycle carbon equivalents of One-Click LCA is less than half than of Tally meaning the programs outputs cannot be simply compared side-by-side.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES OF REFURBISHMENT VERSUS DEMOLITION AND RECONSTRUCTION: A COMPARATIVE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF AN ITALIAN CASE STUDY

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 155-172
Author(s):  
Francesco Pittau ◽  
Dayana Giacomel ◽  
Giuliana Iannaccone ◽  
Laura Malighetti
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Demolition Waste ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Italian Case

ABSTRACT In the building sector, new standards for energy efficiency are reducing the energy consumption and the carbon emissions for building operation to nearly zero. As a result, the greenhouse gas emissions and related environmental impacts from materials production, and especially insulation, are becoming key factors. In the near future, most of the building stock is expected to be refurbished and a great amount of construction materials will be consequently required. A relevant share of waste is generated from building construction and demolition and limiting the volume is a priority of the EU community. In this work the renovation of industrial buildings in a dismissed area located in Lecco, Italy, was considered as a case study. Five alternative construction systems (EPS, WOOD, ROCK, PU, HEMP) for renovating the building envelopes were assumed, and a life cycle assessment (LCA) adopted in order to measure the environmental impact of each alternative. The results were compared with a scenario which included demolition and reconstruction of a similar building with the same net volume and thermal resistance. The results showed that timber and concrete are the most environmentally friendly materials to rebuild the structures in case of demolition, contrary to steel which leads generally to higher environmental impacts, except land use. In general, EPS, WOOD and HEMP technological alternatives accounted for the highest scores, both in terms of burdens on the ecosystems and on depletion of resources, while ROCK accounted for the lowest scores. Finally, refurbishment scenarios generally accounted for a lower global warming potential (GWP) even if demolition, waste treatment and the benefit from recycling/reuse are taken into account.

scholarly journals The impact of fresh produce specifications on the Australian food and nutrition system: a case study of the north Queensland banana industry

2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1489-1495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy White ◽  
Danielle Gallegos ◽  
Tor Hundloe
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
The North ◽  
Food And Nutrition ◽  
Banana Industry ◽  
On Farm ◽  
The Impact

AbstractObjectiveTo use the north Queensland banana industry as a case study to examine the extent to which cosmetic standards set by retailers influence the amount of edible waste generated on-farm and the effect of this on the sustainability of the Australian food and nutrition system.DesignWaste audits were performed on-farm at a banana packing shed to quantify the amount of fruit discarded due to cosmetic imperfections. These data, together with production records provided by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries and interviews with growers, were used to inform a nutritional analysis, a life cycle assessment and an economic analysis to quantify nutritional, environmental and economic impacts.SettingNorth Queensland, AustraliaSubjectsBanana farms and packing shed.ResultBetween 10 and 30 % of the north Queensland banana crop is discarded on-farm. Of this, 78 % was found to be due to cosmetic imperfections, which equates to an industry total of 37 000 tonnes per annum. This waste represents a loss of 137 billion kilojoules with accompanying macro- and micronutrients. The life cycle assessment indicated that approximately 16 300 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, 11·2 gigalitres of virtual water as well as other natural resources are embodied in the waste. There is an industry-wide, economic loss of approximately $AU 26·9 million per annum.ConclusionsThe majority of on-farm banana waste is caused by arbitrary cosmetic standards set by retailers, resulting in significant nutritional, environmental and economic losses. Public health nutritionists have a role to play across the entire food chain to minimize the impacts of waste on the food system.

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