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Trade-Off between the Social and Environmental Performance of Green Concrete: The Case of 6 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Jun Kono

    (Division of Building Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • York Ostermeyer

    (Division of Building Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Holger Wallbaum

    (Division of Building Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden)

Abstract

Improving the sustainability performance of construction industry is driven by two forces: regulatory push (policy initiatives), and market pull where improving a corporate sustainability performance can be financially beneficial for enterprises. Through the investigation of the sustainability hotspots and impacts, concerning social and environmental, of the steel slag mixed concrete (green concrete) the study assessed the factors relevant for its performance and examined how to improve them. Hotspot analysis and impact assessments were conducted by social and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). The assessed green concrete represented not just the variety of geographic representation but also the product designs (three different slag contents) and the potential difference occurring from the corporate efforts, where four classes were introduced. The investigation of the social and environmental hotspots of the green concrete revealed a difference in the relation between the sustainability performance and steel slags. While the increased slag content resulted in worse social performance, the increase improved the environmental performance in all six investigated case countries. This trade-off between the social and environmental performance implied the limits of the sustainable product design and suggested the effectiveness of the supply chain management for improving the two sustainability performances for the green concrete.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Kono & York Ostermeyer & Holger Wallbaum, 2018. "Trade-Off between the Social and Environmental Performance of Green Concrete: The Case of 6 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:7:p:2309-:d:156122
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sabrina Neugebauer & Silvia Forin & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2016. "From Life Cycle Costing to Economic Life Cycle Assessment—Introducing an Economic Impact Pathway," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(5), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Sabrina Neugebauer & Marzia Traverso & René Scheumann & Ya-Ju Chang & Kirana Wolf & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2014. "Impact Pathways to Address Social Well-Being and Social Justice in SLCA—Fair Wage and Level of Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Catherine Benoît Norris & Gregory A. Norris & Deana Aulisio, 2014. "Efficient Assessment of Social Hotspots in the Supply Chains of 100 Product Categories Using the Social Hotspots Database," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-12, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ricardo J. Bonilla-Alicea & Katherine Fu, 2019. "Systematic Map of the Social Impact Assessment Field," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-30, July.
    2. Jianing Wei & Jixiao Cui & Yinan Xu & Jinna Li & Xinyu Lei & Wangsheng Gao & Yuanquan Chen, 2022. "Social Life Cycle Assessment of Major Staple Grain Crops in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-22, April.
    3. Vojtěch Václavík & Marcela Ondová & Tomáš Dvorský & Adriana Eštoková & Martina Fabiánová & Lukáš Gola, 2020. "Sustainability Potential Evaluation of Concrete with Steel Slag Aggregates by the LCA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Husnain Arshad & Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem & Beenish Bakhtawar & Asheem Shrestha, 2021. "Evaluation of Road Infrastructure Projects: A Life Cycle Sustainability-Based Decision-Making Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Sara M. Andrés-Vizán & Joaquín M. Villanueva-Balsera & J. Valeriano Álvarez-Cabal & Gemma M. Martínez-Huerta, 2020. "Classification of BOF Slag by Data Mining Techniques According to Chemical Composition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-10, April.
    6. Adriana Liute & Maria Rosa De Giacomo, 2022. "The environmental performance of UK‐based B Corp companies: An analysis based on the triple bottom line approach," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 810-827, March.

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