Environmental Sustainability in Construction: Selection of Low Carbon Construction Materials

Environmental Sustainability in Construction 1
Environmental Sustainability in Construction
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Environmental Sustainability in Construction 2
Selection of Low Carbon Construction Materials
We often need building materials to carry out the construction processes of structures
successfully. These materials include items such as steel, cement, building blocks, and many
others. These materials often undergo many procedures to make them ready for consumption
on the construction sites. While assessing these processes, it is relevant to conclude that every
single process involved in material production and delivery to the construction site requires
energy. This energy would be measured regarding carbon emission. Embodied carbon of a
structure would, therefore, be an inclusive combination of all the carbon emissions generated
during the manufacture and transportation of the building materials used to construct the
structure. Designers are required to make selections of materials of less embodied emissions
to build a Net Zero Building. Designers should make considerations about the recyclability of
the materials chosen for the construction of the structure.
Below is a list that outlines the factors that should be considered before the selection of the
building materials to be used in the building of a structure.
 Distance is directly proportional to the carbon emissions of the materials. Hence,
designers should consider the distance between the site of use and place of
production.
 There should be less raw materials used in the production of the materials selected
 The complexity of production is directly proportional to the carbon emissions of the
material; hence, designers should choose materials whose production processes are
simple.
 There should be a minimum wastage of materials during construction

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 There should be a possibility of recycling the materials selected since it reduces the
energy consumption that would rather be used up in the reproduction of new
materials.
 These materials used should be sourced from renewable energy as it lowers the
consumption of energy hence low emission.
 These materials should have a high energy efficiency to contribute to the building
energy rating.
Researchers have spent decades trying to unmask the concept of materials that are of low
carbon emission. A result of this research has been manufacturing more law carbon emitting
materials. Some of these materials have been used in the Redesign House as well.
 Autoclaved Aerated Concrete: this is concrete that has low embodied energy. It also
acts as a sound and thermal insulation. This concrete is manufactured by heating a
mixture of foaming agents and general concrete with steam. This concrete is
lightweight since it has many closed air spaces making it energy efficient and with
sound and thermal insulation properties.
 Recycled Metals: The recycling of already manufactured and used metals produces
these recycled metals. Production of metals consumes a high amount of energy at the
initial manufacturing hence emitting a lot of carbon. Recycling these metals reduces
the embodied energy by exponent amounts.
 Insulating concrete forms: they the segmental components that are made by filling
concrete with polystyrene foam. They form blocks by interlocking with each other.
Joining and stacking these materials together with insulations makes them gain
structural support and thermal mass as well. Such materials stand a better chance in

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favoring projects that are after gaining zero carbon and thermal performance of high
value.
Low carbon materials make a significant contribution to the construction industry.
Construction designers have a full mandate of implementing the usage of these materials as
they make the budgeting to the clients. There should be a policy to make such materials
locally available to increase their usability in projects.
Innovative Construction Process
All sectors of life have been affected by the raise awareness of sustainable development and
increased climatic changes. Every area of life is struggling to limit the rate and amount of
carbon emissions and the production of greenhouse gasses. This has led to new innovative
equipment and implementation of advanced techniques and methodologies in construction.
Major advancements have been reached in the sector of construction as a result of high
research. Government policies concerning energy ratings have affected the way new
buildings are carried out leading to processes that are conscious of low carbon emissions.
This has changed the production sector as more materials produced are of low carbon
emission. Materials that have been created in this line are not only low carbon but also reduce
the amount of energy consumption since they are energy efficient.
There has been an adoption of Precast Construction methods which reduce onsite
construction wastes and the in-situ construction carbon emissions. This type of construction
requires a different casting of members in a different place and have them relocated and
placed at the needed sites.