Life cycle assessment: applications and implications for the greening of the South African construction sector

Abstract

The inordinate quantities of resources used and pollution released by construction products identify construction as a critical sector for a paradigm shift in consumption and production approaches. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) concept is an environmental management tool which emerged in the 1960s in response to concerns over the limitations of raw materials and energy resources. The concept is applied in decision-making at strategic, managerial and operational levels by policy-makers, industry and business to give an environmental perspective to products. Regulatory bodies in the developed countries are increasingly leveraging the LCA concept through new, science based environmental policy instruments as a driver to stimulate sustainable patterns of consumption and production in the economy. LCA applications have been known and used in South Africa in a limited manner since the 1990s. However, no construction applications have emerged. Given the known contribution of construction products to environmental problems South African environmental policy does not preclude LCA applications to stimulate environmentally conscious decision-making in the construction sector. Potential LCA applications and the implications for greening South African construction products are discussed