Toward Low-Carbon and Cost-Efficient Prefabrication: Integrating Structural Equation Modeling and System Dynamics

Zhengjie Zhan, Jiao Wu, Pan Xia () and Yan Hu
Additional contact information
Zhengjie Zhan: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Jiao Wu: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Pan Xia: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Yan Hu: School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-31

Abstract: Against the backdrop of the ongoing implementation of the “dual-carbon” strategy and green building policies, this study concentrates on the production stage of precast concrete (PC) components. A composite analytical framework that integrates the structural equation model (SEM) with the system dynamics model (SD) is developed, through which a systematic and dynamically responsive model for the joint optimization of carbon emissions and costs is proposed. The results demonstrate that (1) when investment in green policies is maintained within the range of 10–20%, a 4.2% reduction in carbon emissions can be achieved by 2030, while costs remain optimized; (2) under the scenario of moderate green policy investment (10–20%) combined with a carbon tax of CNY 100/ton, carbon emissions can be reduced by 7.52%, with costs also reaching an optimal level; and (3) among the multi-path emission reduction strategies, the technology optimization pathway and energy structure optimization pathway achieve reductions of 9.68% and 8.97%, respectively. These findings provide theoretical support for the coordinated control of carbon emissions and costs during the production stage of PC components, while also offering empirical evidence and practical guidance for governments in formulating green building policies and for enterprises in advancing low-carbon transitions.

Keywords: precast concrete components; carbon emissions; structural equation modeling (SEM); system dynamics (SD); cost control; sustainable engineering; green building policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8307/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/18/8307/ (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:8307-:d:1750662

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 ().