Environmental Impact of Building Drainage Systems: Analysis of Embodied Carbon Emissions in Terms of Code-Based Design

Sarwar Mohammed (), Michael Gormley and David A. Kelly
Additional contact information
Sarwar Mohammed: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure, and Society (EGIS), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
Michael Gormley: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure, and Society (EGIS), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
David A. Kelly: School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure, and Society (EGIS), Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Reducing carbon emissions in buildings requires a holistic approach that extends beyond structural materials and looks at the services within, such as Building Drainage Systems (BDS). However, limited scientific research has addressed the environmental impacts of BDS, and, to date, no studies have systematically analysed embodied carbon emissions from a design code perspective. This study evaluates the embodied carbon emissions of BDS based on calculations from four major international design codes, BS EN 12056 (Europe), IPC and UPC (USA), and AS/NZS 3500 (Australia/New Zealand), using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipework. System configurations recommended in the design codes, such as primary ventilation and secondary ventilation systems, were evaluated as well as a fully active system incorporating Air Admittance Valves (AAVs) and Positive Pressure Relief Devices (PPRDs) across a range of building sizes from 10 to 100 storeys. The findings reveal substantial differences in recommended pipe sizes among the codes, directly impacting total pipework material use and, in turn, the embodied carbon emissions. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of PVC pipework demonstrates that the design recommendations in the European code generally lead to lower embodied carbon emissions, while the IPC and UPCs result in significantly higher emissions, with the AS/NZS code falling in between. In contrast, the use of a fully active drainage system was shown to reduce embodied carbon emissions by up to 73% depending on the building size and the design code applied. As the sustainability of buildings and systems becomes more and more vital, the findings of this paper provide the foundations for integrating the sustainability metrics of BDS into design codes. This will provide practical guidance for engineers and regulators on how carbon savings in BDS design and construction can be achieved.

Keywords: building drainage systems; drainage design codes; high-rise buildings; sustainable building design; PVC pipe embodied carbon; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8207/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8207/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:18:p:8207-:d:1747639

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().