Carbon Emissions of Construction Processes on Urban Construction Sites

Maximilian Weigert (), Oleksandr Melnyk, Leopold Winkler and Jacqueline Raab
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Maximilian Weigert: Institute of Construction Process and Construction Economics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Oleksandr Melnyk: Institute of Construction Process and Construction Economics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Leopold Winkler: Institute of Construction Process and Construction Economics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Jacqueline Raab: Institute of Construction Process and Construction Economics, TU Wien, 1040 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: For Europe to achieve “climate neutrality” by 2050, emissions from all economic sectors must be reduced to the absolute minimum. In addition to changes in raw material extraction and building material production, the construction industry must embrace emission-free construction sites. The present paper suggests a method to calculate carbon emissions on construction sites by defining all fuel-consuming processes while relying on established European standards. A set of system boundaries is defined to single out emissions that occur in the construction industry sphere. These definitions are essential to calculate savings through the entire construction process. This method is subsequently used to assess the carbon balance of four exemplary construction sites in Austria, which cover the total span of the construction life cycle. Results show that the largest share of emissions is attributed to transport during the construction of new buildings, followed by emissions from demolition and building processes.

Keywords: construction processes; carbon neutrality; sustainable construction methods; sustainable building construction; life cycle assessment; construction site operation; construction equipment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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