Impactos ambientais da construção civil habitacional no Brasil à luz do ciclo de vida

Abstract

Housing construction plays a major role in the economy, generating many direct and indirect jobs. Socially, the housing provides the population with security, comfort and well-being. Environmentally, it is an activity that consumes a large amount of materials, which, in turn, demands a high amount of raw material and energy for its production, which results in harmful impacts to the environment. The present work aims to quantify the environmental impacts related to Brazilian housing construction, per square meter of built area, identifying which materials cause the greatest environmental damage, also emphasizing the use of natural resources, along its production chain. Three standard housing projects from the “Minha Casa Minha Vida” Program were used as a reference for the study. The first building consists of a one-story house with a self-supporting structure; The second is a four-story building constructed with structural blocks and the third is an 18-story building with a reinforced concrete structure. In this work, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the materials used in the construction systems of the reference projects was carried out, as well as in the construction materials of the stages referring to the closing masonry, finishing, ceramic coating, frames and other relevant material, according to the ABC curves. The results show that the greatest negative impacts per m² occur in reinforced concrete buildings with 18 floors. As for the materials, the of Portland cement and ceramic coating are the most harmful to the environment, their most relevant emissions are associated with the release of gases that contribute to climate change and the excessive use of soil and water resources. The use of ACV identified which materials cause the greatest negative environmental impacts, this information helps the designer in decision making with a focus on environmental sustainability, from the design of the architectural project to the structural solution of the building and choice of coatings. The industry, in turn, can optimize manufacturing processes to mitigate negative environmental impacts, investing in technologies that prioritize material recycling, treatment and reuse of its effluents.