Abstract:
Reducing the embodied carbon of reinforced concrete structures is crucial to mitigate climate change. Several stakeholders in the construction value chain can contribute to this effort. Therefore, this work quantifies the influence of various decisions made by different stakeholders on the global warming potential (GWP) of a reinforced concrete structure. These decisions include the structural design, material embodied impact, transportation distances, and construction practices. Herein, each decision is modelled as an uncertainty source and its contribution to the total uncertainty of the structure’s GWP is assessed. Two scenarios are considered: businessas- usual, which only considers conventional concrete mix design, and an innovation scenario, which also considers the option of high-filler low-water concrete. In the business-as-usual scenario, the structure’s GWP varies from 165 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, and the most influential decision is the structural design, which accounts for 56% of the total uncertainty, followed by decisions associated with materials production and supplier selection. Meanwhile, in the innovation scenario, the structure’s GWP varies from 126 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, wherein the choice between conventional and the innovative concrete mix design is the most influential decision, contributing 60% of the total uncertainty. Overall, the relative importance of stakeholders can be identified to prioritise improvement measures, including implementing innovative technologies.
Reference:
6. SILVA, Fernanda Belizario; GALIMSHINA, Alina; REIS, Daniel Costa; QUATTRONE, Marco; GOMES, Beatriz; MARIN, Marcelo Cuadrado; MOUSTAPHA, Maliki; JOHN, Vanderley; HABERT, Guillaume. Stakeholder influence on global warming potetial of reinforced concrete structure. Journal of Building Engineering, v.44, 102979, Dec., 2021.
Access to the article the Journal website:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352710221008378
Reducing the embodied carbon of reinforced concrete structures is crucial to mitigate climate change. Several stakeholders in the construction value chain can contribute to this effort. Therefore, this work quantifies the influence of various decisions made by different stakeholders on the global warming potential (GWP) of a reinforced concrete structure. These decisions include the structural design, material embodied impact, transportation distances, and construction practices. Herein, each decision is modelled as an uncertainty source and its contribution to the total uncertainty of the structure’s GWP is assessed. Two scenarios are considered: businessas- usual, which only considers conventional concrete mix design, and an innovation scenario, which also considers the option of high-filler low-water concrete. In the business-as-usual scenario, the structure’s GWP varies from 165 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, and the most influential decision is the structural design, which accounts for 56% of the total uncertainty, followed by decisions associated with materials production and supplier selection. Meanwhile, in the innovation scenario, the structure’s GWP varies from 126 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, wherein the choice between conventional and the innovative concrete mix design is the most influential decision, contributing 60% of the total uncertainty. Overall, the relative importance of stakeholders can be identified to prioritise improvement measures, including implementing innovative technologies.
Reference:
6. SILVA, Fernanda Belizario; GALIMSHINA, Alina; REIS, Daniel Costa; QUATTRONE, Marco; GOMES, Beatriz; MARIN, Marcelo Cuadrado; MOUSTAPHA, Maliki; JOHN, Vanderley; HABERT, Guillaume. Stakeholder influence on global warming potetial of reinforced concrete structure. Journal of Building Engineering, v.44, 102979, Dec., 2021.
Access to the article the Journal website:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352710221008378
