Abstract:
The construction sector is a major driver of socio-economic growth, particularly
in developing countries such as Sri Lanka. However, it is also one of the largest
contributors to environmental pollution. The use of local construction materials is
recognized as a sustainable strategy for reducing the environmental impact of building
construction. However, evaluating the greenness of buildings in terms of local material
usage remains complex due to the lack of standardized methodologies and tools. Various
green rating systems, which typically involve manual point calculations, are employed
globally. The advent of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is revolutionizing the
conventional practices of the construction industry and has reinforced the impact of the
design process on the building project’s overall lifecycle. This paper proposes a BIM-based
evaluation system to provide a comprehensive and standardized approach for assessing the
sustainability of green buildings with respect to local construction material usage. The
system involves applying alternative combinations of building materials to BIM models
and analyzing them to determine embodied energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The results show that using locally available construction materials generally results in
lower carbon emissions and higher recyclability, as well as reduced fuel consumption
associated with transportation and raw material extraction. These findings contribute to
advancing green building practices by promoting the use of local materials and reducing
environmental impacts. The proposed system can assist architects, engineers, and other
stakeholders in making informed decisions during the design and construction phases,
thereby fostering the development of more sustainable buildings and informing revisions
to green rating system labels.
