Embodied carbon variability in Indian high-rise residential buildings: a case-based assessment

Abstract

The results of studies on embodied carbon in high-rise residential buildings are frequently given as a single-point estimate without considering the variability in results due to input parameter variability. This study examines the variability in embodied carbon of a 30-storey high-rise residential shear wall building with four datasets of embodied carbon factors that help to set up a baseline. The building embodied carbon was found to range from 373 kgCO2eq/m2 (IFC Indian database) to 530 kgCO2eq/m2 (EPiC database), with a mean of 454 kgCO2eq/m2 and a standard deviation of 65.3 kgCO2/m2. Concrete and reinforcement steel are major influencers that contribute 80% of the embodied carbon of the high-rise residential building. The minimum and the maximum embodied carbon of concrete are 157 kgCO2eq/m2 and 247 kgCO2eq/m2, respectively. The embodied carbon of reinforcement steel varies from 141 kgCO2eq/m2 to 207 kgCO2eq/m2. The analysis highlights the importance of understanding the variability in embodied carbon for establishing a reliable baseline, primarily for high-consumption materials.