When CO2 counts: Sustainability assessment of industrialized bamboo as an alternative for social housing programs in the Philippines

The growth of human populations in urban areas has introduced an increasing demand for housing solutions. The housing demand in the Philippines is further increased by the severity and number of natural disasters afflicting the country every year. Organizations that focus on social housing programs tend to use conventional construction materials. These materials are known for high levels of emissions related to their production. Bio-based construction materials, such as bamboo or wood, can capture CO2 during their growth phase and can store it in their durable products. This storage phase becomes important when it spans decades, as occurs with buildings. The present research aims to evaluate the sustainability of industrialized bamboo solutions in housing projects. Three categories were used for the sustainability assessment: environmental impact considering CO2 emissions, economic considering potential revenue from CO2 credits and social considering the job creation potential. The results show that the most important variables are the life span of the bamboo-based buildings and their end-of-life scenarios. The results show that the transition toward a more sustainable built environment will be much faster with the implementation of industrialized bamboo production than with the use of industrial wood production. However, bamboo-based buildings require careful management regarding their end-of-life circumstances to efficiently store CO2.