Carbon footprint assessment on machineries usage at construction site

Abstract

One of the major problems of construction activity towards environmental is greenhouse gases emission. This study introduces the assessment of carbon footprints on machineries usage at the construction site based on the construction process. The objectives of this study are to identify the types of machinery used during the construction process and to analyse and estimate the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in terms of CO2. Carbon footprints is a measure of the exclusive total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that is indirectly and directly caused by an activity or is accumulated over the life stages of a product. The method used in this research is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The data related were obtained from the construction site at UniMAP Pauh Putra, Perlis and further analysis of carbon footprints is obtained using Carbon Calculator Tool developed by Environmental Agency of United Kingdom Government. Generally, the total of 176.9 tonnes fossil of CO2e was contributed from the operation of the machineries at the construction site substructure and superstructure phase. The largest value of total carbon footprints was from the building work activity. The total value of carbon footprints produced during building work stages is 86.76 tonnes fossil of CO2e. Besides, it is found that excavator have dominated the total carbon footprints with the total of 81.59 tonnes fossil CO2e compared with other machineries. In this study, it can be conclude that the carbon footprints produced are associated with the embodied energy and transportation. The duration of the machineries usage plays as an important factors that affecting the total of the embodied energy. It also can be conclude that the longer the machineries have been used at the construction site, the more carbon footprints will be produced.