Assessment of material related embodied carbon of an office building in Sri Lanka

Buildings, due to their significant environmental footprint, are major contributors to global energy use and carbon emission. Although buildings consume more than 50% of raw materials in the construction sector of Sri Lanka, there is a notable lack of building energy and carbon related studies based on the country. The present study assesses the embodied carbon of a commercial office building in Sri Lanka, focusing on the material production phase of the building life cycle. The embodied carbon in the material production phase was found to be 629.6 kgCO2/m2 of the gross floor area of the building. Reinforced concrete and clay bricks are the major carbon emitting materials contributing to more than 70% of the total embodied carbon. It was found that in selecting building materials, both the mass materials and high carbon emitting materials should be given special attention. The study identified several important strategies for the reduction of embodied energy and carbon of buildings in Sri Lanka. Taking a proactive approach in mitigating embodied energy and carbon impacts of buildings will lead to energy efficient and low-carbon buildings, enabling Sri Lanka to take part in overcoming the global environmental challenges in future.