2
C. Rivero-Camacho et al.
On December 2, 2015, the European Commission approved the so-called Circular
Economy Package. This document sets out guidelines to ensure sustainable growth by
using resources and waste in a more intelligent and environmentally friendly way. The
main idea lies in the search for sustainability in the construction sector, optimizing the
use of construction products, planning in such a way as to minimize the production of
construction and demolition waste (CDW), the consumption of resources and even
providing, where appropriate, for modular construction, the use of industrialized
construction elements, possible deconstruction, and the use of products that can be
reused or recycled after their first use.
Therefore, in order to improve the environmental performance of buildings, it
is necessary to analyse them by means of environmental and economic indicators,
so that the magnitude of the impacts can be qualified and quantified throughout the
building’s life cycle (BLC), from the extraction of raw materials, for the manufacture
of construction products, to the demolition of the building. However, the possible
combinations in building designs are high, together with the large number of cases
within the duration of the BLC, making it difficult to analyse.
Currently, there is a tendency to use simple methodologies, as society can more
easily understand them. Among these, the ecological footprint (EF), carbon footprint
(CF) and water footprint (WF) are the most prominent [2]. This success is due, first,
to the fact that the results they produce are understandable by non-scientific society
[3], and second, due to its ease of application in environmental policy and decisionmaking [4]. An easy-to-communicate and reliable indicator can influence consumer
decisions, legislation and regulation [5], allowing the assessment and comparison
of human demand for resources and the production of raw materials, as well as the
capacity to absorb the carbon generated in production processes [6].
Therefore, the indicator EF is selected for application to building projects. The
indicator EF was introduced by [7], who measured the EF of humanity and compared
it to the carrying capacity of the planet. The EF is defined as the amount of land that
would be needed to provide the resources (cereals, feed, fuelwood, fish and urban soil)
and absorb the emissions (CO 2 ) from humanity. Methodologies that include several
indicators may be preferable because they avoid overlapping impact categories [8].
EF can be studied by category (classifications of different productive territories, see
symbolically in Fig. 1), which helps in the identification of the main sources of
impact [9]. The methodology currently applied to calculate the EF [10] is set by
an international body called the Global Footprint Network, which brings together
researchers and sustainability experts from around the world [11]. On the other
hand, the EF presents weaknesses such as the aggregation of factors from various
sources into a single indicator, normally only giving an overview of all impacts
within an activity or productive sector [4], and aggregation is subjective, based on
the assumptions in order to express all results in a single unit [12].
This work is part of the research developed in the ARDITEC group. The model
previously developed by the authors, among others, in Spain [14] will be taken, thus
trying to calculate the footprint of any project from the design phase. The research
group has been working on calculation models for the different stages of the BLC,
urbanization [15], construction [2, 16], use and maintenance [17], and rehabilitation
C. Rivero-Camacho et al.
On December 2, 2015, the European Commission approved the so-called Circular
Economy Package. This document sets out guidelines to ensure sustainable growth by
using resources and waste in a more intelligent and environmentally friendly way. The
main idea lies in the search for sustainability in the construction sector, optimizing the
use of construction products, planning in such a way as to minimize the production of
construction and demolition waste (CDW), the consumption of resources and even
providing, where appropriate, for modular construction, the use of industrialized
construction elements, possible deconstruction, and the use of products that can be
reused or recycled after their first use.
Therefore, in order to improve the environmental performance of buildings, it
is necessary to analyse them by means of environmental and economic indicators,
so that the magnitude of the impacts can be qualified and quantified throughout the
building’s life cycle (BLC), from the extraction of raw materials, for the manufacture
of construction products, to the demolition of the building. However, the possible
combinations in building designs are high, together with the large number of cases
within the duration of the BLC, making it difficult to analyse.
Currently, there is a tendency to use simple methodologies, as society can more
easily understand them. Among these, the ecological footprint (EF), carbon footprint
(CF) and water footprint (WF) are the most prominent [2]. This success is due, first,
to the fact that the results they produce are understandable by non-scientific society
[3], and second, due to its ease of application in environmental policy and decisionmaking [4]. An easy-to-communicate and reliable indicator can influence consumer
decisions, legislation and regulation [5], allowing the assessment and comparison
of human demand for resources and the production of raw materials, as well as the
capacity to absorb the carbon generated in production processes [6].
Therefore, the indicator EF is selected for application to building projects. The
indicator EF was introduced by [7], who measured the EF of humanity and compared
it to the carrying capacity of the planet. The EF is defined as the amount of land that
would be needed to provide the resources (cereals, feed, fuelwood, fish and urban soil)
and absorb the emissions (CO 2 ) from humanity. Methodologies that include several
indicators may be preferable because they avoid overlapping impact categories [8].
EF can be studied by category (classifications of different productive territories, see
symbolically in Fig. 1), which helps in the identification of the main sources of
impact [9]. The methodology currently applied to calculate the EF [10] is set by
an international body called the Global Footprint Network, which brings together
researchers and sustainability experts from around the world [11]. On the other
hand, the EF presents weaknesses such as the aggregation of factors from various
sources into a single indicator, normally only giving an overview of all impacts
within an activity or productive sector [4], and aggregation is subjective, based on
the assumptions in order to express all results in a single unit [12].
This work is part of the research developed in the ARDITEC group. The model
previously developed by the authors, among others, in Spain [14] will be taken, thus
trying to calculate the footprint of any project from the design phase. The research
group has been working on calculation models for the different stages of the BLC,
urbanization [15], construction [2, 16], use and maintenance [17], and rehabilitation