Bio-Based Materials for the Italian
Construction Industry: Buildings
as Carbon Sponges
Olga Beatrice Carcassi, Enrico De Angelis, Giuliana Iannaccone,
Laura Elisabetta Malighetti, Gabriele Masera and Francesco Pittau
Abstract This work brings together some recent research and results activities aiming at investigating the environmental benefits of using bio-based materials for the
construction and refurbishment of residential buildings. The positive environmental
effects of wood and other biogenic materials replacing other, more important, conventional ones, analysed through the application of Life Cycle Assessment methods, are
here reported. Moreover, the investigated strategies for Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS) are here discussed, to evaluate the potential of carbon uptake of fast-growing
biogenic materials when used as insulation systems. The results show the effectiveness of bio-based materials in contributing to the mitigation strategies of the impacts
due to climate change.
Keywords Bio-based materials · Timber · Construction industry · Carbon
storage · Life cycle assessment · Building retrofitting
1 Introduction
The construction sector plays a decisive role in the achievement of the European
targets for the reduction of energy consumption (40% of the total primary energy
consumption) and carbon emissions (39% of fossil-related emissions). With this aim,
European and, consequently, Italian standards mainly addressed the decrease of the
environmental impact during the use phase through the reduction of the demand
for operating energy (European Commission 2010; Sartori and Hestnes 2007). As a
consequence, the energy performance of buildings has been improved, mitigating the
environmental impact deriving from the operation phase, but the importance of the
other life cycle stages has increased because of the higher material input (Blengini
O. B. Carcassi (B) · E. De Angelis · G. Iannaccone · L. E. Malighetti · G. Masera
Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di
Milano, Milan, Italy
e-mail: olgabeatrice.carcassi@polimi.it
F. Pittau
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Construction &
Infrastructure Management—BAUG IBI, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
© The Author(s) 2020
S. Della Torre et al. (eds.), Regeneration of the Built Environment
from a Circular Economy Perspective, Research for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33256-3_23
237
Construction Industry: Buildings
as Carbon Sponges
Olga Beatrice Carcassi, Enrico De Angelis, Giuliana Iannaccone,
Laura Elisabetta Malighetti, Gabriele Masera and Francesco Pittau
Abstract This work brings together some recent research and results activities aiming at investigating the environmental benefits of using bio-based materials for the
construction and refurbishment of residential buildings. The positive environmental
effects of wood and other biogenic materials replacing other, more important, conventional ones, analysed through the application of Life Cycle Assessment methods, are
here reported. Moreover, the investigated strategies for Carbon Capture and Storage
(CCS) are here discussed, to evaluate the potential of carbon uptake of fast-growing
biogenic materials when used as insulation systems. The results show the effectiveness of bio-based materials in contributing to the mitigation strategies of the impacts
due to climate change.
Keywords Bio-based materials · Timber · Construction industry · Carbon
storage · Life cycle assessment · Building retrofitting
1 Introduction
The construction sector plays a decisive role in the achievement of the European
targets for the reduction of energy consumption (40% of the total primary energy
consumption) and carbon emissions (39% of fossil-related emissions). With this aim,
European and, consequently, Italian standards mainly addressed the decrease of the
environmental impact during the use phase through the reduction of the demand
for operating energy (European Commission 2010; Sartori and Hestnes 2007). As a
consequence, the energy performance of buildings has been improved, mitigating the
environmental impact deriving from the operation phase, but the importance of the
other life cycle stages has increased because of the higher material input (Blengini
O. B. Carcassi (B) · E. De Angelis · G. Iannaccone · L. E. Malighetti · G. Masera
Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di
Milano, Milan, Italy
e-mail: olgabeatrice.carcassi@polimi.it
F. Pittau
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Institute of Construction &
Infrastructure Management—BAUG IBI, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
© The Author(s) 2020
S. Della Torre et al. (eds.), Regeneration of the Built Environment
from a Circular Economy Perspective, Research for Development,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33256-3_23
237