A framework for enhancing the eco-efficiency and sustainability in the construction sector using BIM

Abstract

The world is moving towards sustainable, eco-friendly, recyclable materials to enhance the circular economy and mitigate the issues of carbon footprint, overburdened landfills, and waste of natural resources. As increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are a major contributor to climate change and global warming, and the construction sector is one of the prominent sources of GHG emissions, it is essential to precisely quantify and reduce the GHG emissions of this sector. This research presents a novel framework by combining advanced tools i.e., building information modeling (BIM), Life cycle assessment (LCA), Geographic Information System (GIS), and mathematical analysis of embodied emissions to obtain accurate results. The accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed approach has been validated on a real case study in Islamabad, Pakistan. Building model has been generated using BIM, and a complete LCA has been conducted. With the selected route, embodied emissions have been calculated with mathematical formulae. Targeted mitigation strategies have been proposed and an optimized route has been designed using GIS tools along the suggested facility centers in the Islamabad region. The case study has been reassessed with alleviation strategies. The results show that 29.35% of the materialization stage and 14.77% of the operational stage GHG emissions have been reduced. 11.53% of the end-of-life phase GHG emissions have been reduced. Hence, pre-evaluating the environmental degradation caused by construction projects at the design stage might offer an opportunity to comprehend and reduce prospective environmental impacts. This study proposes a distinctive framework for the construction sector to enhance its sustainability and eco-efficiency.