Title: A comparative analysis of building materials for sustainable construction with emphasis on CO₂ reduction

Authors: Shahriar Shams; Kashif Mahmud; Md. Al-Amin

Addresses: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Board Bazar, Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Board Bazar, Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh. ' Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Islamic University of Technology (IUT), Board Bazar, Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh

Abstract: Building contributes almost 40% of CO₂ emissions and is a major contributor to the green house gas (GHG) emissions. Different types of construction materials possess a wide variation of embodied energy and emit CO₂ at different magnitudes during its life cycle. Selection of appropriate construction materials can considerably cut down CO₂ emissions and make our buildings more sustainable and energy efficient. The study is an attempt to address the issues of sustainable construction and how its selection of construction materials can reduce CO₂ emissions and play an important role in reducing the impact of climate change directly or indirectly. A case study for a typical house having 90 sq. m. of plan area was analysed to see the variation of CO₂ emission based on altering the types of construction materials to be used. It has been observed from the case study that construction materials like aluminium and steel should be less encouraged due to their higher CO₂ emission rate as compared to glass and timber.

Keywords: building materials; climate change; embodied energy; sustainable construction; sustainability; CO2; carbon dioxide; carbon emissions; greenhouse gases; GHG emissions; construction materials; materials selection; climate change; aluminium; steel; glass; timber.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESD.2011.047767

International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development, 2011 Vol.10 No.4, pp.364 - 374

Received: 17 Jan 2011
Accepted: 30 Nov 2011
Published online: 21 Feb 2015 *

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