IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i11p3030-d235185.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perception of Embodied Carbon Mitigation Strategies: The Case of Sri Lankan Construction Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Lebunu Hewage Udara Willhelm Abeydeera

    (Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom 999077, Hong Kong)

  • Jayantha Wadu Mesthrige

    (School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University, Melbourne 3001, Australia)

  • Tharushi Imalka Samarasinghalage

    (Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom 999077, Hong Kong)

Abstract

Whilst operational carbon (OC) emission reduction has received greater attention in the literature, embodied carbon (EC) emission reduction aspect has been largely neglected. This is particularly seen in developing countries. This study assessed the awareness and perception of carbon emission in general and EC emission reduction strategies in particular in the Sri Lankan construction industry. A detailed questionnaire, based on a comprehensive literature review, was developed to assess the awareness and perception of the Sri Lankan construction professionals about global carbon emissions, OC emissions, and EC emissions and carbon mitigation strategies. Based on a sample of 111 professionals in the construction sector, results revealed that the Sri Lankan construction professionals have poor awareness about carbon emission, especially about EC emission and EC mitigation strategies. The results further revealed that they are more concerned about the OC emission reduction than the EC emission reduction. The results suggest that they are basically aware of some basic/conventional mitigation strategies such as better design (low-carbon), an extension of building life and refurbishment of existing buildings and carbon tax, but their awareness of recently introduced micro-level technologies/strategies is significantly poor. Findings are a clear reflection of the current situation in many developing countries with regard to carbon emission and mitigation strategies. It was found that a major reason for low awareness was related to the culture: The majority of the respondents believed that actions to reduce carbon footprint should be initiated and handled by the government and other authorities, but not by construction professionals.

Suggested Citation

  • Lebunu Hewage Udara Willhelm Abeydeera & Jayantha Wadu Mesthrige & Tharushi Imalka Samarasinghalage, 2019. "Perception of Embodied Carbon Mitigation Strategies: The Case of Sri Lankan Construction Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3030-:d:235185
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3030/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/11/3030/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. B.M.S. Batagoda & S.P. Nissanka & Suren Wijekoon & Avanthie Jaytilake, 2012. "Technical Guide to Actions on Global Warming and Clean Development Mechanism in Sri Lanka," World Bank Publications - Reports 12688, The World Bank Group.
    2. Chau, C.K. & Leung, T.M. & Ng, W.Y., 2015. "A review on Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Energy Assessment and Life Cycle Carbon Emissions Assessment on buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 395-413.
    3. Krausmann, Fridolin & Gingrich, Simone & Eisenmenger, Nina & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Haberl, Helmut & Fischer-Kowalski, Marina, 2009. "Growth in global materials use, GDP and population during the 20th century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(10), pages 2696-2705, August.
    4. Pomponi, Francesco & Piroozfar, Poorang A.E. & Southall, Ryan & Ashton, Philip & Farr, Eric. R.P., 2016. "Energy performance of Double-Skin Façades in temperate climates: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 1525-1536.
    5. Leontitsis, Alexandros & Pagge, Jenny, 2007. "A simulation approach on Cronbach's alpha statistical significance," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 73(5), pages 336-340.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Shicong & Wang, Ke & Xu, Wei & Iyer-Raniga, Usha & Athienitis, Andreas & Ge, Hua & Cho, Dong woo & Feng, Wei & Okumiya, Masaya & Yoon, Gyuyoung & Mazria, Edward & Lyu, Yanjie, 2021. "Policy recommendations for the zero energy building promotion towards carbon neutral in Asia-Pacific Region," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Clyde Zhengdao & Lai, Xulu & Xiao, Bing & Tam, Vivian W.Y. & Guo, Shan & Zhao, Yiyu, 2020. "A holistic review on life cycle energy of buildings: An analysis from 2009 to 2019," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. George C. Efthimiou & Panos Kalimeris & Spyros Andronopoulos & John G. Bartzis, 2018. "Statistical Projection of Material Intensity: Evidence from the Global Economy and 107 Countries," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(6), pages 1465-1472, December.
    3. Burek, Jasmina & Nutter, Darin W., 2019. "A life cycle assessment-based multi-objective optimization of the purchased, solar, and wind energy for the grocery, perishables, and general merchandise multi-facility distribution center network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1427-1446.
    4. Rode, Julian & Le Menestrel, Marc & Cornelissen, Gert, 2017. "Ecosystem Service Arguments Enhance Public Support for Environmental Protection - But Beware of the Numbers!," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 213-221.
    5. Yutong Zhang & Wei Zhou & Danxue Luo, 2023. "The Relationship Research between Biodiversity Conservation and Economic Growth: From Multi-Level Attempts to Key Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    6. Sierra-Pérez, Jorge & Rodríguez-Soria, Beatriz & Boschmonart-Rives, Jesús & Gabarrell, Xavier, 2018. "Integrated life cycle assessment and thermodynamic simulation of a public building’s envelope renovation: Conventional vs. Passivhaus proposal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 1510-1521.
    7. Yuanxin Liu & FengYun Li & Yi Wang & Xinhua Yu & Jiahai Yuan & Yuwei Wang, 2018. "Assessing the Environmental Impact Caused by Power Grid Projects in High Altitude Areas Based on BWM and Vague Sets Techniques," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-20, May.
    8. Ragnheiður Bogadóttir, 2020. "The Social Metabolism of Quiet Sustainability in the Faroe Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Patricia González-Vallejo & Radu Muntean & Jaime Solís-Guzmán & Madelyn Marrero, 2020. "Carbon Footprint of Dwelling Construction in Romania and Spain. A Comparative Analysis with the OERCO2 Tool," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-22, August.
    10. Marco Bianchi & Carlos Tapia & Ikerne del Valle, 2020. "Monitoring domestic material consumption at lower territorial levels: A novel data downscaling method," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 24(5), pages 1074-1087, October.
    11. Zengzeng Fan & Yuanyang Wang & Yanchao Feng, 2021. "Ecological Livability Assessment of Urban Agglomerations in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Azimi, Mohammad Naim, 2016. "An economic growth model: Evaluating the interaction of market consumption with GDP growth rate in Afghanistan," MPRA Paper 69517, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 11 Jan 2016.
    13. Kander, Astrid & Warde, Paul & Teives Henriques, Sofia & Nielsen, Hana & Kulionis, Viktoras & Hagen, Sven, 2017. "International Trade and Energy Intensity During European Industrialization, 1870–1935," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 33-44.
    14. Hanli Chen & Chunmei Lu, 2023. "Research on the Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of New-Type Urbanization on Carbon Emissions in China’s Construction Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-26, November.
    15. Cordier, Mateo & Uehara, Takuro & Baztan, Juan & Jorgensen, Bethany & Yan, Huijie, 2021. "Plastic pollution and economic growth: The influence of corruption and lack of education," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    16. Brand-Correa, Lina I. & Steinberger, Julia K., 2017. "A Framework for Decoupling Human Need Satisfaction From Energy Use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 43-52.
    17. Wendler, Tobias & Töbelmann, Daniel & Günther, Jutta, 2021. "Natural resources and technology - on the mitigating effect of green tech," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242416, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    18. Bert Scholtens & Riikka Sievänen, 2013. "Drivers of Socially Responsible Investing: A Case Study of Four Nordic Countries," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 605-616, July.
    19. Yannick Lessard & Chirjiv Anand & Pierre Blanchet & Caroline Frenette & Ben Amor, 2018. "LEED v4: Where Are We Now? Critical Assessment through the LCA of an Office Building Using a Low Impact Energy Consumption Mix," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1105-1116, October.
    20. Nathaniel, Solomon Prince & Yalçiner, Kürşat & Bekun, Festus Victor, 2021. "Assessing the environmental sustainability corridor: Linking natural resources, renewable energy, human capital, and ecological footprint in BRICS," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:11:p:3030-:d:235185. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.