Environmental Impact due to

Construction
What is Constructional Pollution?
Construction industry is a big industry in world approximately
half of the population depend upon the construction industries
directly or indirectly.
It is a backbone of all sectors or maximum contribution in
country economy.
But negative impact of construction site pollution and activities
is big challenging face for all country’s like India.
Construction pollution increase the mortality rate and increases
the different types of critical diseases patient numbers in the
country.
Different type’s pollution like air, water, noise, landf il l pollution
occurs through the construction process.
Pollutant commonly mix in human daily and affect the human
being also impact on environment and ecosystem.
Types of pollution cause by
construction
Soil pollution
Noise pollution
Air pollution
Water pollution
Construction impact on environment
Ecosystems Impa ct: The a ccumula ted a mount of a dverse
environmental impacts like waste, noise, dust, and hazardous
emissions still occur during the construction process which cause
serious damages to humans and ecosystems.
Natural Resources: Various natural resources namely ‘‘energy’’,
‘‘land”, ‘‘materials’’ and ‘‘water’’ are used during the typical
construction process. Moreover, several construction equipment
operations involve consumption of natural resources, such as
electricity and/or diesel fuel. The building industry is responsible for
using a high volume of natural resources and generation a great
amount of pollution as a result of energy consumption during
extraction and transportation of raw materials.
Public Impact: Most construction projects are located in a densely
populated area. Thus, people who live at or close to construction sites
are prone to harmful effects on their health because of dust, vibration
and noise due to certain construction activities such as excavation
How does construction impact the
environment?
The construction of a new building can cause harm to the environment in
many ways. Some things that negatively impact the environment include:

1.CO2 emissions –The construction sector contributes to 25% – 40% of

the world’s carbon emissions.
2.Pollution – Construction causes both air and water pollution. Harmful
chemicals used during construction can be harmful to both workers and
the environment.
3.Waste – The process of constructing new infrastructure produces a lot
of waste that ends up in landfills.
4.Burning of fossil fuels – The construction process requires the burning
of fossil fuels which produces greenhouse gases and harms the
environment.
5.Energy use – The newly constructed buildings use energy which can add
to the negative impact on the environment.
6.Harming wildlife – During construction, clearing vegetation and
excavating can destroy wildlife and habitats.
 How can the impact of construction on the
environment be reduced?


There are many things that can be done to help reduce the
environmental impact of construction.
Some of these things include:
 Designing sustainable construction projects
 Increasing the energy efficiency of buildings
 Using sustainable building materials
 Setting emission reduction targets
 Minimizing the discharge of pollutants
 What is Embodied energy ?
Embodied energy is the energy associated with the manufacturing of a
product or services. This includes energy used for extracting and
processing of raw materials, manufacturing of construction materials,
transportation and distribution, and assembly and construction.
The embodied energy (carbon) of a building material can be taken as
the total primary energy consumed (carbon released) over its life cycle.
Types of embodied energy

· Initial embodied energy; and

· Recurring embodied energy

The initial embodied energy in

represents the
buildings non-renewable
consumed energy in
materials, the acquisition
manufacturing, transportation of to siraw their
te, and
processi
construction. This initial embodied energy has
two components: ng,

Direct energy the energy used to transport

bui l di ng products to the si te , a nd the n to
construct the building; and

Indirect energy the energy used to acquire,

process, and manufacture the building materials,
including any transportation related to these
activities.
Recurring embodied
energy
The recurring embodied energy in buildings represents the non-
renewable energy consumed to maintain, repair, restore, refurbish or
replace materials, components or systems during the life of the building.
How is embodied energy measured?
Embodied energy is measured as the quantity of non- renewable energy
per unit of building material, component or system.

It is expressed in megajoules (MJ) or gigajoules (GJ) per unit weight

(kg or tonne) or area (m 2 ) but the process of calculating embodied
energy is complex and involves numerous sources of data.
Units of measurement

 Standard Unit for EmbodiedEnergy: MJ/ kg

material Functional units:
MJ/ m3
material

 Standard Unit for Carbon emissions: kg m

Kg CO2/ aterial Kg m3
CO2/
material
Energy consumption in buildings occurs in f ive phases.

• The f irst phase corresponds to the manufacturing of build

ing materials and
components, which is termed as embodied energy.

• The second and third phases correspond to the energy used to transport materials
from production plants to the building site and the energy used in the actual
construction of the building, which is respectively referred to as grey energy and
induced energy.
• Four t hly, energy is consumed at t he
operational phase, which corresponds to
the running of the building when it is
occupied.

• F i n a l l y, e n e r gy i s con su me d i n t h e
demolition process of buildings as well as
in the recycling of their parts, when this is
promoted.
 CRADLE-TO-GATE
is an assessment of a partial product life cycle from resource extraction (cradle) to the factory gate

- Energy inputs from:

• Extraction of raw materials
• Transportation to factory
• Manufacture of product / components
• Assembly of product / system
• Transportation to site / point of sale
• Installation / construction
• Maintenance
• Replacement
• Disposal / re-purposing / recycling
PROCESS
02
03
EMBODIED ENERGY CHAIN
ENERGYUSE
How much embodied energy is typically found
in buildings?
Embodied energy depends on:

• eff iciency of the individual manufacturing

process
• the fuels used in the manufacture of the
materials
• the distances materials are transported
• the amount of recycled product used.
W he n se le ct ing building materials, the
e mbodie d e ne rgy should be considered wit
respect to: h

1. the durability of building materials

2. how easily materials can be separated
3. use of locally sourced materials
4. use of recycled materials
5. specifying standard sizes of materials
6. avoiding waste
7. selecting materials that are manufactured
using
renewable energy sources.
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE BUILDING
INDUSTRY

Cities take about 2 % of the land surface but consume 75 % of the world’s natural
resources.
 Buildings account for 30 to 40% of total global energy usage.
(United Nations Environmental
Programme)

 The construction sector is responsible for :

 40% of the consumed
resources
 40% of CO2 emissions
 40% of waste (construction and demolition) (UNCHS/ Habitat)
 Guidelines for reducing embodied energy

1. Design for long life and adaptability, using durable low

maintenance materials.

2. Ensure materials can be easily separated.

3. Modify or refurbish instead of demolishing or adding.

4. Ensure construction wastes and materials from demolition of

existing buildings are reused or recycled.

5. Use locally sourced materials (including materials

salvaged
on site) to reduce transport.

6. Select low embodied energy materials (which may include

materials with a high recycled content), preferably based on
supplier-specif ic data.
 Guidelines for reducing embodied energy
1. Avoid wasteful material use. For example, specify standard
sizes wherever possible (windows, door, panels) to avoid using
additional materials as f illers. Some energy intensive f inishes,
such as paints, often have high wastage levels so try to buy
only as much as you need.

2. Ensure offcuts are recycled and use only suff icient structural
materials to ensure stability and meet construction standards.

3. Select materials that can be reused or recycled easily at the

end of their lives using existing recycling systems.

4. Give preference to materials that have been manufactured

using renewable energy sources.

5. Use eff icient building envelope design and f ittings to minimise

materials (e.g. an energy eff icient building envelope can
downsize or eliminate the need for heaters and coolers, water-
efficient taps can allow downsizing of water pipes).
REUSE AND RECYCLING

Reuse of building materials commonly saves about 95% of embodied energy that would
otherwise be wasted. However, some materials such as bricks and roof tiles may be
damaged when reused.
Operational Energy
Operational energy is the energy required during the entire service life of
a structure such as lighting, heating, cooling, and ventilating systems;
and operating building appliances.
Life cycle energy
All basic processes of Life Cycle Assessment are established on the
principle of “cradle to grave”, where all mass and energy flow inputs and
outputs are considered and all possible negative effects on environment
are evaluated.
LCA involves four major steps as follows:
1. Establishing the goals and scope of LCA.
2. Constructing an inventory table which comprises of all energy and
material inputs as well as outputs in all stages of the life cycle of the
particular material.
3. Assessment of all pertinent impacts to the environment based on the
inventory table.
4. Perceiving the available results to achieve a satisfactory result.