• Neetesh Kumar
• Bhanu Priya

Buildings, building materials and components consume nearly 40 percent of global energy annually in their life cycle stages, such as production and procurement of building materials, construction, use and demolition. The total life cycle energy of a building constitutes the embodied as well as the operational energy. Most current databases of embodied energy include data that are derived using guidelines set forth by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Most research studies performed either energy analysis or LCA to calculate embodied and operational energy in the whole life cycle of a building. Studies that performed LCA mention either using ISO LCA standards or none. However, studies that are skeptical about using LCA for assessing buildings in environmental impact terms exist. This thesis work gives an insight of the environmental hazards faced due to the consumption of uncontrolled construction materials. Although the achievement is to reduce these impact but with the increase in consumption of construction materials these achievement looks unpromising. To appease these unfavorable environmental impacts are the more realistic ultimate goal. In biology and ecology the environment is all of the natural materials and living things, including sunlight. This is also called the natural environment. The important things in the environment that we value are called natural resources. For example fish, sunlight, and forests. These are renewable natural resources because more grow naturally when we use them. Non-renewable natural resources are important things in the environment that do not come back naturally, for example coal and natural gas. A sustainability issue arises whenever a valued system, object, process or attribute is under threat. The existence of the valued system, object, process or attribute could be threatened or its quality could be threatened with serious decline. In other words there is a sustainability issue whenever there is something that is valued that faces the risk of not being maintained. The simplest point at which to begin evaluating the impact of the construction industry is to look at its consumption of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. The biggest culprits in terms of climate change are the materials that form the basis of modern construction – concrete and steel. Twice as much concrete is used in formal construction around the world than the total of all other building materials – including wood, steel, plastic and aluminum. Cement production is, after the burning of fossil fuels, the biggest anthropogenic contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Cement kilns have been identified as a stationary source of nitrogen oxides, releasing more than 25 tons per year. Although cement makes up only 12-14% of the final concrete mix, further embodied energy comes from the transportation and extraction of aggregates and, in the case of reinforced concrete, the manufacturing of steel. As early as 1896, a Swedish chemist already proposed that the changing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was the major cause of global temperature fluctuations, the carbon dioxide concentration in 1765 was about 280 parts per million by volume but it has increased to approximately 364 ppm in 2009. Apart from the increased atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, atmospheric concentrations of other greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons are also increasing as a result of human activities. It is estimated that there will be an average increase in sea level of about 6cm per decade for a temperature rise of between 1.5 to 5.5°C. The sea levels are expected to rise by about 0.5m by 2100. The high concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere also increases the rate of plant loss, that is, loss of biodiversity, another environmental problem that threatens human existence. Selection of materials can significantly reduce embodied energy and CO2 which play an important role in reducing the impact of climate change resulting from emission. The sustainable buildings should emphasis on use of recycled materials like bricks and concrete, natural ventilation using mixed mode design. Mixed mode design is a concept where mechanical and natural ventilation are provided for optimum comfort condition, which is 26 degree Celsius

A Detailed Report on Environmental Impact of Construction Materials and Practices

"A Detailed Report on Environmental Impact of Construction Materials and Practices", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 6, page no.731-742, June-2020, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2006099.pdf

"A Detailed Report on Environmental Impact of Construction Materials and Practices", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.7, Issue 6, page no. pp731-742, June-2020, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2006099.pdf