Comparative Analysis of Carbon Emissions Between Reinforced Concrete and Steel Structures in a Low-Rise Commercial Building

Abstract

The construction industry’s rapid expansion has brought various environmental challenges, such as greenhouse gases, specifically in terms of carbon emissions. Construction industry contributes more than half of the global greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change. This study aims to evaluate and compare the carbon emissions of two commonly used construction materials used in Malaysia, which are reinforced concrete and steel structure, applied to a four storeys commercial building. This research utilises a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to access the carbon emissions during both the construction and demolition phases. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is used to develop the structural models and perform quantity take-off to obtain primary data for the carbon emissions’ calculations of the reinforced concrete and steel structure. The study findings indicate that the reinforced concrete structure has carbon emission of 288.71 tCO2 while the steel structure emitted 32% less carbon of 196.49 tCO2 during the construction phase. In the demolition phase, the reinforced concrete structure produces 28.87 tCO2, compared to 19.65 tCO2 for the steel structure. This proved that steel structure has lower carbon emission compared to reinforced concrete. It is recommended that the construction industry in Malaysia should consider prioritising steel in materials selection and advocates for the adoption of eco-friendly alternatives, such as steel, in building design.