Buildings constructed with sustainable materials have many benefits including lower environmental impacts, reduced energy consumption, and improved indoor air quality. However, these materials can often have higher upfront costs than traditional construction materials.
Government policies play an important role in the adoption of green building materials. This paper analyzes the evolutionary game models of government departments and construction enterprises to explore four policy combinations. The results indicate that dynamic reward and punishment mechanisms can increase the probability of active supervision and green construction.
Availability of Raw Materials
The selection of building materials is heavily affected by the availability of raw materials. This is especially the case for eco-friendly materials which are often in short supply. This is because these materials require specialized skills in the production process and also have higher upfront costs. However, these materials do not only contribute to the sustainability of a building but also improve its resiliency in the event of natural disasters.
This is because using these materials can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a structure. These materials are also highly sustainable because they can be reused for other purposes in the future. The use of these materials also encourages the development of local economies as they are more commonly produced in the area where they are used.
Furthermore, they can be used to make green buildings which are more energy efficient than conventional ones. This is because most of the embodied energy is from the transportation of the building materials to the construction site. Using local materials can greatly decrease the transportation energy and thus help to reduce the carbon footprint of a structure.
The supply of building materials can be influenced by the government’s policy on taxes and import duties. They can also be subsidized to make them more affordable for the construction industry. This is particularly true of specialized materials like rammed earth and bamboo which have gained popularity for their environmental and financial benefits.
Technology
With technological advancements come new possibilities for building material production and design. These innovations allow for lower costs, fewer emissions, and higher sustainability. They also offer advantages for architects, engineers, and builders. The use of these new materials will need to be carefully considered in order to maximize their benefits and minimize risks.
Some traditional building materials have negative environmental impacts, including concrete and steel. In the case of concrete, it can contribute to climate change through its high energy consumption and carbon footprint. As a result, there is currently an effort to reduce the amount of concrete used in construction projects. Other materials are also being explored as alternatives to concrete, such as mass timber and recycled concrete.
Other government policies, such as monetary and fiscal policy, can impact the development of the construction industry. For example, monetary policy can influence prices of building materials by controlling interest rates, foreign exchange rate restrictions, and import tariffs and taxes. Fiscal policies can encourage employment and investment through government spending and tax breaks for construction projects.
The production of new building materials requires a high level of innovation and research. This can be expensive and require a long time to implement. It is also difficult to educate the broader business community about new technology and sustainable practices, which can lead to negative perceptions.
Environmental Impacts
The environmental impacts of building materials vary based on the nature and scale of the activities involved in their production, from raw material extraction to disposal or recycling. These include energy consumption, emissions of pollutants, deforestation and habitat destruction, and the availability of natural resources (Ofori, 1990). The environmental impact of a building material can also depend on its embodied energy. This reflects the energy and fossil fuel use needed to produce a particular material, which can be calculated using Life Cycle Assessments (LCA).
The choice of building materials has an impact on the environment and can contribute to climate change. For example, the production of concrete requires high amounts of energy and releases large quantities of carbon dioxide. Steel and brick production can also be environmentally damaging, as they require the extraction of raw materials that contribute to deforestation and water pollution.
Green construction materials help to reduce these environmental impacts. These include recycled materials, reclaimed wood and bamboo, which are sourced from locally available raw materials and contribute to a reduction in carbon footprint. They also offer a variety of other benefits, including improved insulation, reduced waste and healthier indoor air quality.
In addition to reducing the need for natural resources, green building materials can reduce energy costs and reliance on fossil fuels by increasing the efficiency of buildings. This can lead to savings for occupants and a reduction in the need for new power plants.
Government Policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a set of laws, guidelines and actions adopted by a government to address certain real-world issues like protecting the environment. These policies are developed to achieve specific goals or objectives and are often based on extensive research, consultation and analysis. The policies are generally implemented by a wide range of agencies and programs. Various interest groups aim to influence public policy in their favour. These might include groups of companies, individuals or local communities. These groups might have a financial interest in the policy, such as subsidies for farmers, or they may wish to see a policy change to benefit their cause.
In the construction industry, the government may control the supply of a particular type of building material by changing prices and importing or exporting materials. Moreover, the government might also regulate the production process to limit pollution. Governments can also control the availability of certain types of building materials by imposing import duties, taxes and quotas on these materials.
To help the industry in reducing its environmental impact, the government can mandate embodied carbon emissions limits for building materials and require PCRs to report full life cycle data. This will increase transparency and encourage the use of less polluting materials in the market. Similarly, the government can incentivize the use of green technologies by offering tax credits or grants to companies that produce green buildings.