A Life Cycle Assessment of a Civil Works Program in the Harrisdale Green Residential Estate, Perth, Western Australia

A life cycle assessment of a 100-m road section was carried out following ISO 14040-43 guidelines to determine the carbon footprint and embodied energy . A life cycle inventory of inputs (energy and materials) for all processes that occur during the development of a 100-m road section was developed.
The total carbon footprint (tonne CO2–e) of a 100-m road section has been estimated to be 181.6 tonne of CO2–e of greenhouse gas emissions (i.e. carbon footprint) using virgin resources. The substitution of crushed rock with recycled brick road base can reduce the carbon footprint by 1.5% in the pre-construction stage (i.e. mining to material construction plus transportation of materials to the construction site). Apart from carbon and energy saving benefits, this replacement could potentially reduce the quarrying activities, which will not only conserve native bushland but can also reduce the loss of biodiversity and reduce landfill cost and space.