Sustainable construction: potential carbon emission reductions (PCER) in Australian construction systems through the use of bioclimatic design principles

Sustainable construction: potential carbon emission reductions (PCER) in Australian construction systems through the use of bioclimatic design principles

The building sector is responsible for 40 per cent of global energy use. By 2030, a total of 60 Mt of carbon-reduction opportunities will be available in the Australian building sector. The reduction of carbon emissions from Australian buildings is thus a priority for the Federal Government, and thus the Australian government recently announced plans to cut emissions by 26 to 28 per cent by 2030 (Hasham, Bourke & Cox 2015).

This study focuses on the amount of energy consumed during building construction processes, and the degree to which carbon emissions can be reduced through the incorporation of bioclimatic design principles into these processes. These principles include the use of local facilities to reduce transportation, sustainable and efficient use of materials, replacement of Portland cement with geopolymer cement, and similar environmentally-friendly initiatives.

Criteria for the research model proposed in this study have been developed through the application of bioclimatic design principles to six case studies from Australia and the United Kingdom. This was done in order to measure the potential reductions in construction carbon emissions that might be achieved in the pre-construction and construction stages of the building life cycle.

The outcomes of this research demonstrate that use of bioclimatic criteria can achieve reductions in carbon emissions from 48 to 65 per cent for whole building systems, and from 57 to 93 per cent when applied to building elements of general Australian construction systems. However, a more significant finding is that application of the research tool to elements of general Australian construction systems consistently achieved significantly higher reductions in carbon emissions than in current building practice, or through application of a currently-used green rating system (i.e. Green Star tool) to building elements. The future of the green construction industry should thus include consideration of bioclimatic design principles.