Building Material Use and Associated Environmental Impacts in China 2000–2015

A rapidly increasing use of building materials poses threats to resources and the environment. Using novel, localized life cycle inventories and building material intensity data, this study quantifies the resource use of building materials in mainland China and evaluates their embodied environmental impacts. Newly built floor area and related material consumption grew 11% per annum from 2000 to 2015, leveling off at the end of this period. Concrete, sand, gravel, brick, and cement were the main materials used. Spatially, construction activities expanded from east China into the central part of the country. Cement, steel, and concrete production are the key contributors to associated environmental impacts, e.g., cement and steel each account for around 25% of the global warming potential from building materials. Building materials contribute considerably to the impact categories of human toxicity, fossil depletion, and global warming, emphasizing that greenhouse gas emissions should not be the sole focus of research on environmental impacts of building materials. These findings quantitatively shed light on the urgent need to reduce environmental impacts and to conserve energy in the manufacturing processes of building materials on the national scale.建筑材料使用量的快速攀升，正对资源与环境构成威胁。本研究依托新型本地化生命周期清单（life cycle inventory）及建筑材料强度数据集，量化了中国大陆地区建筑材料的资源消耗情况，并评估了其隐含环境影响。2000年至2015年间，新增建筑面积及相关材料消耗量以年均11%的速率增长，在该时期末趋于平稳。混凝土、砂石、砾石、砖块与水泥为主要使用的建筑材料。从空间分布来看，建筑活动已从华东地区向中国中部地区扩张。水泥、钢铁与混凝土的生产是相关环境影响的主要来源，例如，水泥与钢铁各自占建筑材料所产生全球变暖潜势（global warming potential）的约25%。建筑材料对人体毒性、化石资源耗竭以及全球变暖等影响类别贡献显著，这表明在建筑材料环境影响的研究中，温室气体排放不应作为唯一的关注重点。上述研究结果从量化层面揭示了在全国范围内降低建筑材料生产过程中的环境影响与节约能源的迫切需求。