Carbon Emissions during the Building Construction Phase: A Comprehensive Case Study of Construction Sites in Denmark

Kai Kanafani (), Jonathan Magnes, Søren Munch Lindhard and Maria Balouktsi
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Kai Kanafani: Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
Jonathan Magnes: Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
Søren Munch Lindhard: Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
Maria Balouktsi: Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: Buildings are major contributors of carbon emissions and related global warming. Emissions occur along all building stages, from a whole-life perspective, including material production, construction processes, building operations, maintenance and end-of-life processes. Upfront emissions include processes before building operations. They can be influenced immediately and will have a positive effect today. However, mitigation potentials during the construction stage are often overseen in research. This study presents an analysis of the carbon emissions of 61 Danish construction sites based on their energy consumption, waste production (module A5) and transport to site (A4). The results show carbon emissions for A4 of 0.28 and for A5 of 1.00 kgCO 2 e/m 2 gross floor area per year over 50 years. This is 13.47% of the Danish whole-life carbon reference of 9.50 kgCO 2 e/m 2 y, which includes the product stage (A1–3), replacements (B4), operational energy use (B6) and waste processes and disposal (C3–4). Almost half of the emissions are related to construction waste followed by electricity, heat and fuel. Floor area and building use have not shown to be influential for carbon emissions, suggesting other parameters are more important. The significance of modules A4 and A5 suggests implementing them in future whole-life carbon assessments and related policies. This paper also demonstrates the development of generic emission coefficients, which are suited to increase the feasibility for application in the building industry. Finally, the usability of module A4 and A5 in environmental product declarations is discussed.

Keywords: construction process; transport; LCA; whole-life carbon assessment; upfront emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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