Sustainability impacts of building products: An assessment methodology for developing countries

Abstract

This article investigates sustainability impacts of building products during production stage in developing countries. An analysis of literature is undertaken in order to establish current building product assessment methodologies and their relevance to developing country contexts. The review finds that many of these methodologies have limited applicability to developing countries and, therefore, an alternative methodology, termed the Sustainable Building Material Index (SBMI), is proposed. The SBMI methodology draws on both a life-cycle assessment approach and an expanded definition of sustainability, which includes social and economic aspects as well as environmental impacts, to develop a sustainability impact index of building products. The article describes and critically evaluates the SBMI and makes recommendations for further research. It appears that the SBMI has potential as methodology for establishing, and presenting, sustainability impacts of building products in developing countries. It is innovative as it provides a way of capturing simple socio-economic sustainability aspects related to building products that do not include other building product assessment methodologies. This aspect makes it particularly relevant to developing countries where there is a strong interest in using construction and related industries to create beneficial social and economic impacts such as job creation and training.

Keywords: sustainability, building materials, methodology, sustainable building material index (SBMI)

Hierdie artikel ondersoek die volhoubaarheidsimpak van bou-produkte tydens die produksie-fase in ontwikkelende lande. ’n Literatuurstudie is gedoen ten einde huidige bou-produk assesseringsmetodes te bepaal en vas te stel wat hul relevansie binne die konteks van ontwikkelende land is. Die oorsig het bevind dat baie van hierdie metodes beperkte toepaslikheid binne ontwikkelende lande het en dus word ’n alternatiewe metode, die Volhoubare Boumateriaal Indeks (SBMI), voorgestel. Die SBMI-metode maak gebruik van beide ’n lewensiklus assesseringsbenadering asook ’n uitgebreide definisie van volhoubaarheid wat maatskaplike en ekonomiese aspekte asook omgewingsimpakte insluit, om sodoende ’n volhoubaarheidsimpak indeks van bou-produkte te ontwikkel. Die artikel beskryf en evalueer krities die SBMI en maak aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing. Die SBMI kom voor as ’n potensiële metode vir die stigting en aanbieding van volhoubaarheidsimpakte vir bou-produkte in ontwikkelende lande. Dit is innoverend, want dit bied ’n manier om eenvoudige sosio-ekonomiese volhoubaarheidsaspekte wat verband hou met bou-produkte wat nie in ander bou-produk assesseringsmetodologieë ingesluit is nie, vas te vang. Hierdie aspek is veral relevant vir  ontwikkelende lande waar daar ’n sterk belangstelling is in die gebruik van die konstruksie en verwante bedrywe om voordelige sosiale en ekonomiese impak soos werkskepping en opleiding te skep.