Carbon footprint management: A review of construction industry

Abstract

Climate change is happening now, it is increasing presently, it is affecting us even more, and it will have a massive impact on us unless immediate and systemic action is taken to reduce and respond to its devastating consequences. One of such actions is the management of carbon emission from the construction industry, as it is one of the major sectors that contributes a substantial amount of greenhouse gases into our environment. Several efforts were made by many researchers towards developing various standards, techniques, and tools to assist in the management of the greenhouse gas emission from the industry. Some of these efforts include the green building concept itself, development of various rating systems, and sustainable construction materials. As such, this paper reviewed the several contributions of these researchers across the globe towards this dimension. And, after a thoroughly analysis of some of these contributions, it was found that there are inadequate research findings on the interconnected relationship between different drivers that are linked to low-carbon construction, highlighting the significant need for the establishment of an internationally recognized rating system under the United Nations which will include the measurements and quantification of the carbon footprint as one of its main parameters.

Keywords

• Carbon footprint
• Mitigation
• Management
• Greenhouse gas
• Lifecycle assessment
• Construction