ABSTRACT
This paper examines the significant role engineers play in reducing the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of infrastructure projects through targeted design optimizations and material choices. Using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies, three case studies on a different scale are analyzed.
Through reuse of materials in Project A (collision barrier) a 79% reduction in carbon footprint is achieved. Project B (movable steel bridge) emphasizes the predominance of embodied carbon over operational carbon in typical infrastructure constructions and shows the impact of the projects boundary conditions on the carbon footprint. Project C (quay wall) demonstrates a 12% project-wide CO2 reduction via optimized concrete compositions.
This illustrates that an engineering firm’s biggest impact can be made through conscious and sustainable design. The total impact depends on the scale of the projects, but it is realistic for any engineer to achieve a CO2 reduction that exceeds the company’s direct emissions several times.
