Chapter 4: SUSTAINABLE

CONSTRUCTION
4.2 Concept of sustainability
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
• Sustainable development is a process for meeting
human development goals while sustaining the ability of
natural systems to continue to provide the natural resources
and ecosystem services upon which the economy and society
depends.
• Sustainable development is the organizing principle for
sustaining finite resources necessary to provide for the needs
of future generations of life on the planet. It is a process that
envisions a desirable future state for human societies in
which living conditions and resource-use continue to meet
human needs without undermining the "integrity, stability and
beauty" of natural biotic systems.
CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY
a) Industrial Ecology
b) Construction Ecology
c) Design for Environment
d) Ecological economics
e) Eco Efficiency
f) Life cycle Assessment (LCA)
g) Life-Cycle Costing (LCC)
h) Embodied Energy
A. Industrial Ecology
Industrial ecology conceptualizes industry as a man-made
ecosystem that operates in a similar way to natural
ecosystems, where the waste or by product of one process is
used as an input into another process.

Industrial ecology aims to reduce environmental stress

caused by industry whilst encouraging innovation, resource
efficiency and sustained growth. Industrial ecology
acknowledges that industry will continue operate and
expand however, it supports industry that is environmentally
conscious and has less burden upon the planet
The benefits of industrial ecology include:
• cost savings (materials purchasing, licensing fees, waste
disposal fees, etc);
• improved environmental protection;
• income generation through selling waste or by products;
• enhanced corporate image;
• improved relations with other industries and
organisations and market advantages.

Benefits
Limitations to industrial ecology include:
• no market for materials;
• lack of support from government and industry;
• reluctance of industry to invest in appropriate technology;
• perceived legal implications and reluctance to move to
another supplier.

Limitation
B. Construction Ecology
• Eco-construction, also referred to as sustainable
construction or green building, proposes various
possibilities of reducing the environmental impact of
buildings.
• Green building is not a specific construction method, but
it brings together a set of techniques, materials and
technologies which when suitably integrated in a
construction project, contribute to enhancing its
environmental performance
• In an ideal world, eco-construction optimises energy
efficiency, limits water consumption, makes maximum
use of recycled, recyclable and non-toxic materials.

• It also generates as little waste as possible during the

construction process and subsequent occupation.
C. Design for Environment
• A green building is designed to reduce the overall impact
of the built-up environment on human health and the
natural environment, through:

• The efficient use of energy, water and other resources

• Protecting occupant health and improving employee
productivity
• Reducing waste, pollution and harm to the environment.
D. Ecological economics

Generate income/less cost by using following approach;

• Waste
• Specific electricity
• Energy savings
• Renewable energy
E. Eco Efficiency
• Sustainable management
• Water savings in a green building
• Recuperation and use of rain water

• Reduction of waste and toxic substancesConstruction

materials used on a green building
• Wooden structure
• The insulating load-bearing clay brick
• Cellular concrete
F. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental related
approach based on LCT, which quantifies the potential
environmental impact of a product or service through the
whole life cycle.
• Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a systematic method that
quantifies the potential environmental impacts of a product
or a service throughout its whole life cycle, from raw
material acquisition phase, manufacture phase, use and
maintenance phase till the end of the life.
• The potential environmental categories cover the resource
depletion, human health, and ecological health (ISO14040,
2006).
• The LCA process can be used to determine the potential
environmental impacts from any product, process, or
service (SAIC, 2006).
G. Life Cycle Costing (LCC)
• Life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is a method for
assessing the total cost of facility ownership.
• It takes into account all costs of acquiring, owning, and
disposing of a building or building system.
• LCCA is especially useful when project alternatives that
fulfill the same performance requirements, but differ with
respect to initial costs and operating costs, have to be
compared in order to select the one that maximizes net
savings
• The purpose of an LCCA is to estimate the overall costs
of project alternatives and to select the design that
ensures the facility will provide the lowest overall cost of
ownership consistent with its quality and function.
• The LCCA should be performed early in the design
process while there is still a chance to refine the design to
ensure a reduction in life-cycle costs (LCC).
H. Embodied Energy
• Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the
processes associated with the production of a building,
from the mining and processing of natural resources to
manufacturing, transport and product delivery.

• Embodied energy does not include the operation and

disposal of the building material, which would be
considered in a life cycle approach. Embodied energy is
the ‘upstream’ or ‘front-end’ component of the life cycle
impact of a home.
• A complex combination of many processed materials
determines a building’s total embodied energy.

• The single most important factor in reducing the impact

of embodied energy is to design long life, durable and
adaptable buildings.

• Choices of materials and construction methods can

significantly change the amount of energy embodied in
the structure of a building, as embodied energy content
varies enormously between products and materials.