https://doi.org/10.24928/2024/0175

Quantifying and Planning Carbon Emissions in Construction With Location-Based Scheduling

Kristian Birch Pedersen¹, Glória Stefankovics², Stefan Plamenov Nachev³ & Søren Wandahl⁴

¹M.Sc. (CivEng), Master of IT, PhD, Part-time Lecturer, Department of the Built Environment, Aalborg University, CEO and founder of Exigo A/S, Denmark, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4400-2046
²B.Sc. (ATCM), Research assistant, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, Aarhus University, and Exigo A/S, Denmark, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6400-4182
³M.Sc. (CivEng), Specialist, Exigo A/S, Denmark, [email protected]
⁴Professor, Department of Civil & Architectural Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark, [email protected], https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8708-6035

Abstract

Many countries focus on limiting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as carbon dioxide, which also impacts the construction industry. The most forward-thinking countries have already enforced regulations on the maximum allowed emission from new buildings. Regarding building lifecycle stages after EN15978, the regulations primarily target product and usage stages, neglecting construction process emissions. This oversight is concerning as material innovations reduce product emissions, shifting the need for optimization to the construction stage. This study quantifies construction emissions, optimizing GHG during construction using the Location-Based Management System (LBMS) method. It incorporates construction-related emissions and uses a Location-Based Schedule, calculating anticipated kilowatt-hours (kWh) usage per location with data from various sources. Tested on three cases—residential building, office renovation, and medical facility—the method shows varied results based on project size, complexity, and LBMS introduction time. Findings indicate a potential 42% CO2 reduction in the scenario with the longest construction time. The study identifies site emission rates surpassing the 2023 limit over 30 years, underscoring the importance of comparing planned and realized schedules. Given climate regulations until 2050, the research deems the quantification method crucial for accurately addressing construction site emissions.

Keywords

Location-based Management System (LBMS), Takt Planning (TP), environment, greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), planning

Files

Reference

Pedersen, K. B. , Stefankovics, G. , Nachev, S. P. & Wandahl, S. 2024. Quantifying and Planning Carbon Emissions in Construction With Location-Based Scheduling, Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 32) , 416-427. doi.org/10.24928/2024/0175

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