Ecological Impact Analysis Of Buildings Using Life Cycle Assessment Approach: A Case Study Of An Institutional Building In Pakistan

Modern building materials and modes of building construction have accelerated the contribution towards the degradation of the environment. Buildings throughout their life cycle from material extraction to demolition generates enormous environmental impacts. The aim of the study is to assess and analyze the environmental impacts of building from raw material extraction to construction phase using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodological framework. The environmental profiling for different impact categories of a case study building has been performed. Direct and indirect energy consumption i.e., the cumulative energy used in the manufacturing of raw materials, transportation and construction and its contribution to emissions has been assessed by using Sima Pro software. Results show that the dominant contribution of the environmental impacts originates from glass and chipboard out of all selected building materials. 41891.82 kg CO2 eq emissions per m2 floor area of building have been observed to emit and ultimately contribute towards global warming. Furthermore, Results of cumulative energy demand shows most of the non-renewable energy is generated and consumed via fossils i.e., 482,336 MJ. Analysis of different impact categories show that the global warming potential accounts for 4.11E4 Kg CO2-eq, metal depletion 2.81E4 Kg, human toxicity 4.61E4 Kg and fossil fuel consumption 1.08E4 Kg. Thus, the study identifies the opportunity for use of LCA in the building industry. This would help to target hotspot areas to minimize environmental impacts and concurrently move towards sustainable development in society. Further studies with more detailed inventories for building materials are recommended.