Carbon Footprint of High-Rise Building

Objective

To learn the carbon footprint calculation of a high rise building 

Outcome

Students will learn about carbon emissions generated due to high rise building construction and reflect on sustainability of the same. 

Prerequisites

Prior Selection of the high rise building and drawings (Floor plan and sections) of the same, Basic knowledge of carbon footprint, materials used in building construction, emission factor

Procedure

This activity ideally needs a Carbon footprint calculator expert or mentor who can facilitate carbon footprinting of the high rise. It also needs support of teachers, especially Building services and structures mentors for facilitating the calculation of the weight of different components of RCC, Brick from the measurements of the building elements such as Column, Beam, slab, walls, etc. Based on this exercise, the quantity of materials can be calculated by referring to the design of the selected building. Alternatively it can also be done online with portals like www.omnicalculator.com. A demonstration of the same can be given to the students for them to take the calculation further.

Step 1: Write down the quantity of materials used in a building construction as is mentioned below:

Sr. No.	Quantity of cement (kg)	Quantity of Steel (kg)	Quantity of Aluminium (kg)	Quantity of Bricks
1
2
3
4
5

Step 2: Explain the calculation of carbon footprint and emission factor of each material that the students have identified.

Step 3: Calculate the carbon footprint using the formula:

1. Estimate the carbon footprint of building materials

Carbon Footprint (CF) = Activity * Emission Factor (EF)

where,

Carbon Footprint = Emission of a material (kg CO_2e)

Activity = Quantity of materials used in construction (cement, steel, Aluminium, etc)

Emission Factor = Relevant default emission factor of a material

Step 4: Record the calculation in the following table:

Carbon Emission from building materials-

Sr. No.	Building Materials	Quantity of material (kg)	Emission Factor (kgCO2e/kg)	Calculated carbon emission (kg CO2e)
1	Cement		0.86*
2	Steel		3.18*
3	Aluminium		25.31*
4	Burnt clay bricks		0.16

*2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Vol. 3

Step 5: Discuss the results of the exercise and reflect on the high emission factor materials that are used so rampantly in comparison with other materials having low emission..

References

https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol3.html, 

www.omnicalculator.com