Abstract
Despite rapid increases in the building industry's contribution to resource depletion, waste generation and energy consumption, the creation of built environment remains vital to a country's economic development. This makes the building industry a prime candidate for sustainable development. Tools that help estimate the environmental suitability of building products can advance the cause of sustainable development.
In this study, we estimate the environmental suitability of five of the most commonly used wall materials in Sri Lanka (brick, cement masonry unit, cabook, rubble AND wattle and daub). An "Environmental Suitability Index" is developed based on three parameters: embodied energy, life-cycle costs and re-usability. The possibility of using similar indices for other materials in Sri Lanka as well as elsewhere are explored.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1253-1261 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Building and Environment |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| Early online date | 11 May 2004 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2004 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Sustainable construction
- Environmental suitability index
- Embodied energy
- Life-cycle cost
- Reusability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Environmental Engineering
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Building and Construction
