Sustainability assessment for disruptive innovations like carbon concrete

How can Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) be further developed and communicated in all three pillars: environment – Life Cycle Assessment, economy – Life Cycle Costing, and social – Social Life Cycle Assessment, in such a way that it enables early sustainability predictions in the research of material-minimized carbon concrete structures and ensures the design of sustainable disruptive innovation? SP E01 develops tailored sustainability indicators and assessment methods at all three levels, e.g., to adequately address resource efficiency and recyclability in terms of a circular economy strategy (environmental), human health (social), or material flow and life cycle costs (economic). Risk factors, such as high emissions from specific production steps or the use of critical raw materials, and potential trade-offs between the three pillars are identified. In addition, the communication of LCSA results and the support of decision makers in the building sector regarding the sustainability of disruptive innovations is of great relevance.

Within the framework of E01, theseed fund project "Screening study PEFCR – Comparability, harmonisation and communication of the environmental performance of carbon reinforced concrete" (1^st round 2022) will be carried out at RWTH Aachen University.

Structure of the life cycle-based sustainability assessment

Scientist

Subproject Manager

Edeltraud Günther

Prof. Dr.

Technische Universität Dresden

Chair of Business Management, esp. Sustainability Management and Environmental Accounting
D-01062 Dresden

Phone: +49 351 463-3431

edeltraud.guenther@tu-dresden.de

Institute website

Subproject Manager

Marzia Traverso

Prof. Dr.-Ing.

RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering

Mies-van-der-Rohe Str. 1
D-52074 Aachen

Phone: +49 241 80 22760

marzia.traverso@inab.rwth-aachen.de

Institute website

Research Associate

Jana Backes

M.Sc.

RWTH Aachen University, Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering

Mies-van-der-Rohe Str. 1
D-52074 Aachen

Phone: +49 241 80 22765

jana.backes@inab.rwth-aachen.de

Institute website

Research Associate

Tobias Hatzfeld

Dipl.-Wirt.-Ing.

UNU Institute for Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources

Ammonstrasse 74
D-01067 Dresden

hatzfeld@unu.edu

Institute website

Cooperations

SP A01

Modular Structure Generator

Multi-Scale Shell Models

SP D01

3D Printing of Carbon Concrete

SP D02

Carbon Concrete Extrusion

SP INF

Information Infrastructure

Publikationen / Publications

Backes, J. G.; Del Rosario, P.; Luthin, A.; Traverso, M. (2022) Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of End-of-Life Scenarios of Carbon-Reinforced Concrete: A Case Study in Applied Sciences 12, 9255 - https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189255

Backes, J. G.; Del Rosario, P.; Petrosa, D.; Traverso, M.; Hatzfeld, T.; Günther, E. (2022) Building Sector Issues in About 100 Years: End-of-Life Scenarios of Carbon-Reinforced Concrete Presented in the Context of a Life Cycle Assessment, Focusing the Carbon Footprint in Processes, 10, 1791 - https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10091791.

Backes, J. G.; Traverso, M. (2021) Application of Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment in the Construction Sector: A Systematic Literature Review in Processes 9 (7), 1248 – https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9071248

Backes, J. G.; Traverso, M. (2021) Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment—A Survey Based Potential Future Development for Implementation and Interpretation in Sustainability 13 (24), 13688 – https://doi.org/10.3390/su132413688

Backes, J. G.; Traverso, M. (2022) Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment as a metrics towards SDGs Agenda 2030 in Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 100683 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2022.100683.

Backes, J. G.; Traverso, M. (2021) Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment in the construction sector – actual application and future outlook in E3S Web of Conferences, Vol. 349 (2022) – S. Albrecht, M. Fischer, C. Scagnetti, M. Barkmeyer and A. Braune (Eds.): Proc. of LCM 2021, 01.–08.09.2021 in Stuttgart (Deutschland, digital), 2021, 6 pages – DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202234904007

Backes, J. G.; Traverso, M. (2021) Sustainability of disruptive innovation – Cradle-to-gate LCA of Carbon Reinforced Concrete in Proc. of X Convegno dell’Associazione Rete Italiana LCA, 22.–24.09.2021 in Reggio Calabria (Italien), 207-214 - ISBN: 9791221004564

Backes, J. G.; Vogelsang, M. E.; Traverso, M. (2021) Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment interpretation and communication Vortrag bei 14^th Biennal Int. Conf. on EcoBalance – EcoBalance Conf. 2020, 04./05.03.2021 in Sendai (Japan, digital), 2021, p. 6/7 (Book of Conf. Abstracts) – https://www.ecobalanceconference.org/conference/2020/pdf/EcoBalance2020Abstract_0225.pdf

Hatzfeld, T., Backes, J. G., Guenther, E., & Traverso, M. (2022) Modeling circularity as Functionality Over Use-Time to reflect on circularity indicator challenges and identify new indicators for the circular economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, (in press). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109520

Hatzfeld, T., Schlüter, D., Scope, C., Krois, K., Guenther, E., Etzold, B., Curbach, M. (2022) Rethinking residential energy storage: GHG minimization potential of a Carbon Reinforced Concrete facade with function integrated supercapacitors. Building and Environment, 224: 109520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.134797

Wuth, J.; Scope, C. (2021) Nachhaltiges Bauen in der Praxis: Bewertung des Zertifizierungsprozesses der ökologischen Qualität nach DGNB System in Bauingenieur 96, issue 9, p. 296–308 – DOI: 10.37544/0005-6650-2021-09-40