Decision-Support Tool for Assessing the Environmental Effects of Constructing Commercial Buildings

Abstract

Construction of commercial buildings consumes significant amounts of energy and produces lots of emissions and waste. Where should environmental improvement efforts be focused during design and construction? The Construction Environmental Decision-Support Tool allows designers and industry practitioners to quantify energy use, emissions, and waste generation rates due to the construction phase of commercial buildings. A case study of the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and several relevant construction scenarios are analyzed. When considering the complete building over its entire life cycle, the construction phase comprised 2% of energy consumption, 1% of