Environmental impacts in civil construction
A case study of a high-income multifamily residential building in Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46421/euroelecs.v6.7646Keywords:
Life Cycle Assessment, Construction, Environmental Impacts, Building materials, Actual consumptionAbstract
In the context of escalating climate change, the construction sector plays a strategic role in mitigating environmental impacts. This study evaluates the environmental impacts of constructing a high-income residential multifamily building in Brazil using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The analysis follows the "cradle-to-gate" approach (modules A1 to A3) and considers four categories: greenhouse gas emissions (GWP), non-renewable energy use (PENRT), acidification potential (AP), and water depletion potential (WDP). A key aspect of the research is the comparison between estimated project data and real data collected from the construction site, focusing on the foundation, structure, and envelope stages. The results show a significant increase in environmental impacts during construction execution compared to the projected values, with foundation concrete and the metal structure being the main contributors. The difference between planning and execution highlights the importance of integrating LCA from the design phase, ensuring more sustainable decisions that align with global climate goals. This research emphasizes the need for greater accuracy in planning and execution to reduce environmental impacts in the construction sector.
References
ASBEA. Guia para Arquitetos na Aplicação da Norma de Desempenho: ABNT NBR 15.575. Brasil, 2015.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS (ABNT). NBR ISO 14040: Gestão ambiental - Avaliação do ciclo de vida - Princípio e estrutura. Rio de Janeiro, 2009a.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS (ABNT). NBR ISO 14044: Gestão ambiental - Avaliação do ciclo de vida — Requisitos e orientações. Rio de Janeiro, 2009b.
BRASIL. Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas (ABNT). NBR 15575-1:2021: Requisitos gerais. Rio de Janeiro, 2021. Disponível em: https://normadedesempenho.com.br/nbr-15-575-1-2021/. Acesso em: 30 dez. 2024.
BSI STANDARDS PUBLICATION. EN 15804:2012+A2: Sustainability of construction works -Environmental product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products. Brussels: CEN - European Committee for Standardization, 2019.
BSI STANDARDS PUBLICATION. EN 15978: Sustainability of construction works: Assessment of environmental performance of buildings - Calculation method. Brussels: CEN - European Committee for Standardization, 2011.
CALDAS, L.; PEDROSO, G.; SPOSTO, R. M. Avaliação do ciclo de vida energético (ACVE) de uma habitação. Estudo para diferentes cenários considerando as etapas do berço ao túmulo. São Paulo, 2016. Disponível em: https://vitruvius.com.br/revistas/read/arquitextos/16.191/6012. Acesso em: maio 2024.
CHEN, C. X. et al. Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Mass Timber and Concrete Residential Buildings: A Case Study in China. Sustainability, Basel, v. 14, n. 1, p. 1–17, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010144.
French Institute for Buildings’ Performance, IFPEB. Sufficiency and the Built Environment: Reducing Demand for Land, Floor Area, Materials and Energy as the First Step Towards Sustainable Buildings. Paris: GlobalABC, 2024. Disponível em: https://globalabc.org/sites/default/files/2024-11/241002_Sufficiency%20Action%20Hub_Position%20Paper_Final%20version%20%284%29%20%281%29_0.pdf. Acesso em: 21 abr. 2025.
IPCC, 2023: Sections. In: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 35-115, doi: 10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647
MONTEIRO, R. A.; ARANA, A. R. A.; OSCO, L. P. A importância da análise do ciclo de vida aplicada à sustentabilidade ambiental no setor da construção civil. In: Dinâmicas socioambientais em Brasília-DF: Um olhar sustentável. 1. ed. [S. l.]: Editora Científica Digital, 2024. v. 1. p. 17–28. ISBN 978-65-5360-823-8. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.37885/241115634. Acesso em: 18 abr. 2025.
MUNERON, L. M. et al. Comparison of the environmental performance of ceramic brick and concrete blocks in the vertical seals’ subsystem in residential buildings using life cycle assessment. Cleaner Engineering and Technology, [S. l.], v. 5, p. 100243, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2021.100243.
NASIR, M. J. M.; PRAKASH, P. R.; SUMAN, M. An automated BIM-GRIHA15-LCA framework for building sustainability assessment. Journal of Building Engineering, v. 101, 111908, 2025. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2025.111908. Acesso em: 24 abr. 2025.
SILVA, M. C. F.; CALDAS, L. R.; FIGUEIREDO, C. R. Avaliação de emissões de carbono: análise comparativa entre dados de projeto e de obra nas etapas de fundação e estrutura. In: Encontro Nacional de tecnologia do Ambiente Construído, 20, 2024, Maceió. Anais [...]. Maceió: ANTAC, 2024. Dispoível em: https://eventos.antac.org.br/index.php/entac/article/view/6056. Acesso em: 18 abr. 2025.
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme. Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2024/2025: Not just another brick in the wall - The solutions exist. Scaling them will build on progress and cut emissions fast. Paris. https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/47214. Acesso em: 16 abr. 2025.
ZHANG, W. et al. Absolute environmental sustainability assessment of emerging industrial chains within planetary boundaries: A systematic literature review. Sustainable Production and Consumption, v. 55, p. 185–202, 2025. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2025.02.023. Acesso em: 18 abr. 2025.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Latin American and European Meeting on Sustainable Buildings and Communities
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
