IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v105y2015ipap160-166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embodied carbon of building products during their supply chains: Case study of aluminium window in Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Seo, Seongwon
  • Kim, Junbeum
  • Yum, Kwok-Keung
  • McGregor, James

Abstract

This study aims to provide a reliable approach to quantifying the embodied carbon in building products during their supply chains in Australia. For embodied carbon quantification, the cradle-to-factory gate system boundary includes all stages in the product's life cycle from extraction of materials, through processing, transportation and manufacturing. For performing hot spot analysis on the production of the product, the method restricts embodied carbon modelling and analysis to the realm of influence in which production related activities can be directly controlled or influenced by the manufacturer of the final product. The approach was quantitatively demonstrated by showing how embodied carbon in an aluminium window brand is calculated and how the embodied carbon can be reduced in the final product design with the various design contexts. Through this study, we found that the window manufacturing process contributes 11% of total carbon emission. Transportation contributes only a small amount (0.45%) of the total. The supplied aluminium extrusions exhibit a high contribution to the total carbon emissions. This study also shows interesting scenario results by applying alternate design options for the purpose of reducing carbon in the final product.

Suggested Citation

  • Seo, Seongwon & Kim, Junbeum & Yum, Kwok-Keung & McGregor, James, 2015. "Embodied carbon of building products during their supply chains: Case study of aluminium window in Australia," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 105(PA), pages 160-166.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:105:y:2015:i:pa:p:160-166
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.10.024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344915301221
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.10.024?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chau, C.K. & Hui, W.K. & Ng, W.Y. & Powell, G., 2012. "Assessment of CO2 emissions reduction in high-rise concrete office buildings using different material use options," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 22-34.
    2. Dixit, Manish K. & Fernández-Solís, Jose L. & Lavy, Sarel & Culp, Charles H., 2012. "Need for an embodied energy measurement protocol for buildings: A review paper," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 3730-3743.
    3. Chen, T.Y & Burnett, J & Chau, C.K, 2001. "Analysis of embodied energy use in the residential building of Hong Kong," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 323-340.
    4. Ortiz, Oscar & Pasqualino, Jorgelina C. & Díez, Gloria & Castells, Francesc, 2010. "The environmental impact of the construction phase: An application to composite walls from a life cycle perspective," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(11), pages 832-840.
    5. G. J. Treloar & P. E. D. Love & O. O. Faniran & U. Iyer-Raniga, 2000. "A hybrid life cycle assessment method for construction," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 5-9.
    6. Cabeza, Luisa F. & Barreneche, Camila & Miró, Laia & Morera, Josep M. & Bartolí, Esther & Inés Fernández, A., 2013. "Low carbon and low embodied energy materials in buildings: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 536-542.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Xiaoyu & Zeng, Zhao & Zhang, Zengkai & Yao, Ye & Du, Huibin, 2023. "The rising North-South carbon flows within China from 2012 to 2017," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 263-272.
    2. Biao Li & Yong Geng & Xiqiang Xia & Dan Qiao, 2021. "The Impact of Government Subsidies on the Low-Carbon Supply Chain Based on Carbon Emission Reduction Level," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Augustine Blay-Armah & Ali Bahadori-Jahromi & Anastasia Mylona & Mark Barthorpe & Marco Ferri, 2022. "An Evaluation of the Impact of Databases on End-of-Life Embodied Carbon Estimation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-13, February.
    4. Chen, Weidong & Wu, Fangyong & Geng, Wenxin & Yu, Guanyi, 2017. "Carbon emissions in China’s industrial sectors," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 117(PB), pages 264-273.
    5. Hu, Ying & Yu, Yang & Mardani, Abbas, 2021. "Selection of carbon emissions control industries in China: An approach based on complex networks control perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    6. Li, Wei & Sun, Wen & Li, Guomin & Cui, Pengfei & Wu, Wen & Jin, Baihui, 2017. "Temporal and spatial heterogeneity of carbon intensity in China's construction industry," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 162-173.
    7. Qiang Du & Jiajie Zhou, 2022. "Evolution of Low Carbon Supply Chain Research: A Systematic Bibliometric Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-20, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dixit, Manish K., 2017. "Life cycle embodied energy analysis of residential buildings: A review of literature to investigate embodied energy parameters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 390-413.
    2. Copiello, Sergio, 2017. "Building energy efficiency: A research branch made of paradoxes," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 1064-1076.
    3. Sehee Han & Seunguk Na & Nam-Gi Lim, 2020. "Evaluation of Road Transport Pollutant Emissions from Transporting Building Materials to the Construction Site by Replacing Old Vehicles," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Nattaya Sangngamratsakul & Kuskana Kubaha & Siriluk Chiarakorn, 2024. "Embodied Energy Coefficient Quantification and Implementation for an Energy-Conservative House in Thailand," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-20, May.
    5. Eleftheriadis, Stathis & Mumovic, Dejan & Greening, Paul, 2017. "Life cycle energy efficiency in building structures: A review of current developments and future outlooks based on BIM capabilities," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 811-825.
    6. Pan, Wei & Li, Kaijian & Teng, Yue, 2018. "Rethinking system boundaries of the life cycle carbon emissions of buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 379-390.
    7. Huang, Lizhen & Krigsvoll, Guri & Johansen, Fred & Liu, Yongping & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2018. "Carbon emission of global construction sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 1906-1916.
    8. Shin, Bigyeong & Chang, Seong Jin & Wi, Seunghwan & Kim, Sumin, 2023. "Estimation of energy demand and greenhouse gas emission reduction effect of cross-laminated timber (CLT) hybrid wall using life cycle assessment for urban residential planning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Pomponi, Francesco & Moncaster, Alice, 2018. "Scrutinising embodied carbon in buildings: The next performance gap made manifest," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2431-2442.
    10. Ingrao, Carlo & Lo Giudice, Agata & Bacenetti, Jacopo & Tricase, Caterina & Dotelli, Giovanni & Fiala, Marco & Siracusa, Valentina & Mbohwa, Charles, 2015. "Energy and environmental assessment of industrial hemp for building applications: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 29-42.
    11. Vivian W. Y. Tam & Khoa N. Le & J. Y. Wang, 2018. "Cost Implication of Implementing External Facade Systems for Commercial Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-22, June.
    12. Roh, Seungjun & Tae, Sungho & Suk, Sung Joon & Ford, George, 2017. "Evaluating the embodied environmental impacts of major building tasks and materials of apartment buildings in Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 135-144.
    13. Buyle, Matthias & Braet, Johan & Audenaert, Amaryllis, 2013. "Life cycle assessment in the construction sector: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 379-388.
    14. Stephan, André & Stephan, Laurent, 2014. "Reducing the total life cycle energy demand of recent residential buildings in Lebanon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 618-637.
    15. Ming Hu, 2020. "A Building Life-Cycle Embodied Performance Index—The Relationship between Embodied Energy, Embodied Carbon and Environmental Impact," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
    16. Rashidi, Hamidreza & GhaffarianHoseini, Ali & GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein & Nik Sulaiman, Nik Meriam & Tookey, John & Hashim, Nur Awanis, 2015. "Application of wastewater treatment in sustainable design of green built environments: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 845-856.
    17. Antonello Monsù Scolaro & Stefania De Medici, 2021. "Downcycling and Upcycling in Rehabilitation and Adaptive Reuse of Pre-Existing Buildings: Re-Designing Technological Performances in an Environmental Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, October.
    18. Chandratilake, S.R. & Dias, W.P.S., 2013. "Sustainability rating systems for buildings: Comparisons and correlations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 22-28.
    19. Miró, Laia & Oró, Eduard & Boer, Dieter & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2015. "Embodied energy in thermal energy storage (TES) systems for high temperature applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 793-799.
    20. Dixit, Manish K. & Culp, Charles H. & Fernández-Solís, Jose L., 2013. "System boundary for embodied energy in buildings: A conceptual model for definition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 153-164.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:105:y:2015:i:pa:p:160-166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.