UNSW expert urges action to reduce construction’s carbon footprint in AU

UNSW highlighted the urgent requirement for measures to moderate the environmental impact of construction in Australia. Dr Ali Kashani, an expert in sustainable construction, featured the huge job the construction industry plays in Australia’s total emissions output.

“The construction industry is one of the biggest contributors to Australia’s total emissions. At the same time, it has great potential for decarbonisation through innovation and collaboration among different stakeholders.

However, embodied carbon is sometimes overlooked in design and construction. We often focus on renewable energy such as solar panels for emissions reduction from the operations side such as heating or cooling buildings,” Kashani said.

Dr Kashani focused on the significance of addressing the issue of embodied carbon in construction, referring to the carbon dioxide emissions delivered during the manufacturing and transportation of construction materials.

He pointed out that while endeavours toward environmentally friendly power sources like solar panels in building operations are honourable, they are insufficient without additionally considering the carbon emissions by materials related to production and transportation.

Concrete, steel, and aluminium were significant supporters of Australia’s building emissions, representing almost 70% of the total.

Dr Kashani highlighted the requirement for imaginative answers to decrease fossil fuel byproducts in creating these materials. One key suggestion set forward by Dr Kashani is the use of reused materials as low-carbon options in construction.

He highlighted the potential of recycling steel and exploring renewable energy sources like hydrogen to mitigate carbon emissions in materials production.

“Steel that was manufactured as a building material but comes to its end-of-life can be recycled to make new steel through electric-arc furnaces which can also be powered by renewable energy,” said Kashani.