Buildings And Their Impact On The Environment In The Context Of Sustainable Development

The manufacture of construction products is responsible for several types of impact that are also the most important on the environment. They shall take into account both the resources used and a possible impact on the ecosystem and the emissions resulting from the extraction, processing and transport of raw materials. The use of resources depends on the amount of waste generated during the manufacturing, construction and demolition process on the site, which can be significant, as a proportion, in the total material flows from the construction site. This emphasizes how important it is to design and establish specifications for a more efficient use of resources, thus, the most important elements of a building, which should be followed, are the floor, roof, structure and exterior walls, respectively. As a result, the recycling and reuse/reintegration of building materials and products, as well as of the construction elements as a whole, can contribute to the reduction of the environmental impact as well as to the development of the circular economy. In the built environment, the sustainability assessment covers the stages of the life cycle of a building, namely: material production, construction, operation, maintenance, demolition and disposal. Taking into account the fact that in the current conditions, in a modern society, without no doubt, a life perspective is needed, in these conditions the life cycle assessment takes into account all the stages that lead from raw materials, through production, distribution and use to the final elimination. In this article we will address aspects related to buildings and their impact on the environment in the context of the circular economy and sustainable development.