Climate impact estimation – from feasibility study to handover

Abstract

Responsible for 1/5 of the total CO2-equivalents emissions and 50% of the materials resources used globally, the construction industry plays a vital role for a sustainable future. All parties in the construction industry address the challenge from their perspective and national transport administrations are often considered as the driver toward a fossil free industry. In this study, three Swedish infrastructure projects are studied by means of interviews, focusing on the usage and acceptance of the recently implemented climate estimation process. From the interviews, it is found that currently there is a lack of knowledge regarding climate estimations among bridge and environmental specialists as well as project managers. To address this challenge, it is important to educate the industry and increase the knowledge about climate estimations and declarations as well as inform which actions have the largest impact to reduce the CO2-equivalents emissions.