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Sustainability
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Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure
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Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure

A Special Issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050) belonging to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2026 | Viewed by 4776

Editors

Dr. Linfeng Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Transportation, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Interests: indoor air quality and human comfort in underground spaces; underground energy structures; ventilation and disaster prevention in underground spaces; carbon emission management for buildings and infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jiaqiang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
Interests: building energy saving; data center efficient cooling technology; model predictive control in building system; virtual sensor calibration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The built environment, including buildings and infrastructure, significantly contributes to global carbon emissions. To achieve ambitious climate targets, it is essential to explore comprehensive carbon management strategies and decarbonization pathways within this sector. This Special Issue invites innovative research focusing on cutting-edge methods, technologies, and policies aimed at reducing carbon footprints, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting sustainable development in buildings and infrastructure. Topics of interest include lifecycle carbon analysis, renewable integration, intelligent energy management systems, sustainable construction materials, and policy frameworks that drive effective decarbonization. Additionally, we encourage submissions that address emerging trends, such as digitalization, smart buildings, urban planning strategies, climate resilience, and circular economy practices. Research that evaluates the socio-economic impacts and barriers to implementation and case studies demonstrating successful carbon reduction initiatives are also highly valued. We welcome contributions from multidisciplinary perspectives, providing actionable insights to advance global sustainability efforts.

Dr. Linfeng Zhang
Dr. Jiaqiang Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • building energy saving
  • low-carbon buildings
  • building integrated renewable energy systems
  • building system control and optimization

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 28352 KB  
Article
Adaptive Reuse of 20th-Century Concrete Grain Silos in Romania: Towards Sustainable and Low-Carbon Management of Industrial Heritage
by Víctor Marcelo, Francisco Javier López-Díez, Vlad Nicolae Arsenoaia, Pablo Pastrana and José B. Valenciano
Sustainability 2026, 18(11), 5558; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18115558 - 1 Jun 2026
Viewed by 562
Abstract
Industrial grain silos built in reinforced concrete during the twentieth century constitute an important yet often overlooked component of industrial heritage worldwide and represent significant reservoir of embodied materials and carbon within the built environment. In the context of sustainability, circular economy strategies, [...] Read more.
Industrial grain silos built in reinforced concrete during the twentieth century constitute an important yet often overlooked component of industrial heritage worldwide and represent significant reservoir of embodied materials and carbon within the built environment. In the context of sustainability, circular economy strategies, and low-carbon development, their preservation and adaptive reuse are increasingly considered potential alternatives to demolition and new construction. This study presents the first systematic inventory and analysis of Romania’s twentieth-century reinforced-concrete grain silo network, based on archival research and extensive fieldwork conducted across 130 locations, where 201 silos were identified and analysed. This research study examines their spatial distribution, typologies, construction characteristics, technological facilities, and current condition in order to assess their heritage value and reuse potential. The results show that most silos were constructed between 1930 and 1990, strategically located near transport networks and high-productivity agricultural regions. While a large proportion remains operational, others are progressively affected by obsolescence and abandonment. Their robust reinforced-concrete structures, large storage capacities, and strategic locations suggest significant potential for life cycle extension and adaptive reuse. This study provides a transferable methodological framework for the sustainable management of large-scale agro-industrial heritage in comparable international contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure)
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19 pages, 3367 KB  
Article
Low-Emissivity Cavity Treatment for Enhancing Thermal Performance of Existing Window Frames
by Maohua Xiong, Jihoon Kweon and Soobong Kim
Sustainability 2026, 18(1), 525; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010525 - 5 Jan 2026
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1227
Abstract
Windows contribute 40–50% of envelope heat loss despite occupying only 1/8–1/6 of the surface area. Conventional frame retrofits rely on geometry optimization or cavity insulation yet remain limited by cost and invasiveness. This study introduces electrochemical polishing to reduce cavity surface emissivity of [...] Read more.
Windows contribute 40–50% of envelope heat loss despite occupying only 1/8–1/6 of the surface area. Conventional frame retrofits rely on geometry optimization or cavity insulation yet remain limited by cost and invasiveness. This study introduces electrochemical polishing to reduce cavity surface emissivity of multi-cavity broken-bridge aluminum window frames to suppress radiative heat transfer, offering a non-invasive, low-cost retrofit strategy for existing building windows. Using a typical 75-series casement window, finite element analysis (MQMC) reveals that reducing cavity surface emissivity from 0.9 to 0.05 lowers frame U-values by 12.39–30.38% and whole-window U-values by 2.72–9.69%, with full-cavity treatment outperforming insulating-cavity-only by an average of 0.29 W/(m2·K). EnergyPlus simulations across multiple climate zones show 0.74–2.26% annual heating and cooling energy savings (with max reduction of 8.99 MJ/m2·yr) in severe cold and cold regions (e.g., Harbin, Beijing), but 1.25–3.04% penalties in mild and hot-summer zones due to impeded nighttime heat rejection. At an incremental cost of 62.5 CNY/window (6.6–7.4% increase), the static payback period is 4.1 years in Harbin. The approach mitigates thermal bridging more effectively than foam-filled frames in whole-window performance. This scalable, minimal-intervention technology aligns with low-carbon retrofit imperatives for existing aging windows, particularly in heating-dominated climates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure)
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24 pages, 3012 KB  
Article
The Impact Mechanism of New Quality Productive on Carbon Emissions of Construction Industry in the Yangtze River Economic Belt
by Yongxue Pan and Sikai Zou
Sustainability 2025, 17(24), 11231; https://doi.org/10.3390/su172411231 - 15 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 679
Abstract
To achieve a dynamic balance between economic development and ecological protection, it is necessary to analyze the enabling mechanism of new quality productive (NQP) on the green and low-carbon transformation of the construction industry. Based on the panel data of 107 cities in [...] Read more.
To achieve a dynamic balance between economic development and ecological protection, it is necessary to analyze the enabling mechanism of new quality productive (NQP) on the green and low-carbon transformation of the construction industry. Based on the panel data of 107 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YERB) from 2011 to 2023, this study analyzes the spatiotemporal characteristics of carbon emissions in the construction industry (CECI), and explores the impact, mechanism, regional heterogeneity and spatial spillover effect of NQP on carbon emission intensity in the construction industry (CEICI). From 2011 to 2023, CECI increased in low amplitude but weakened the spatial concentration. The overall level of NQP in the YREB region shows a trend of first a slight decline and then a steady increase, and the development disparities among different regions have continued to widen. The NQP is significantly negatively correlated with the CEICI. The impact effect shows a gradient distribution pattern of “upstream > downstream > midstream”, and there is also a spatial spillover effect. Moreover, the mechanism analysis shows that the NQP can influence CEICI by the green technological innovation (GTI) and industrial structure upgrading (ISU). Moreover, the mediating effect of GTI (−0.4019) is greater than ISU (−0.1049). These results can help to formulate policies on NQP for reducing building emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure)
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22 pages, 1102 KB  
Article
Energy Code Compliance in Modular vs. Site-Built Multifamily Buildings: A Field Study Across Four Climate Zones
by Jonathan W. Elliott, Kevin Grosskopf and John Killingsworth
Sustainability 2025, 17(19), 8821; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17198821 - 1 Oct 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1585
Abstract
Prefabrication in a controlled factory setting may improve the energy performance of modular buildings compared to traditional site-built facilities. However, few studies report empirical evidence to support this premise in full-scale operational buildings. Since energy efficiency standards in the United States are driven [...] Read more.
Prefabrication in a controlled factory setting may improve the energy performance of modular buildings compared to traditional site-built facilities. However, few studies report empirical evidence to support this premise in full-scale operational buildings. Since energy efficiency standards in the United States are driven by building code, the compliance path chosen and field verification through site inspection, an investigation of how site-built and modular projects satisfy code requirements is critical to understanding long-term energy consumption. Therefore, this study investigated and compared Energy Code Compliance (ECC) among 55 commercial multifamily buildings (25 modular and 30 site-built) in four American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers climate zones (3B, 3C, 4A and 4C). For climate zone 3, ECC analyses indicated that modular slightly exceeded site-built construction. For zone 4, site-built construction slightly exceeded modular. Nearly all buildings met or exceeded the prescriptive energy code requirements for each climate zone regardless of whether a performance or trade-off compliance path was utilized. Field observations suggest that envelope construction quality in modular buildings could be higher. Results provide insights for researchers exploring energy use in buildings, as well as the basis for a nuanced understanding of normalized operational energy consumption in an ongoing longitudinal study of the same 55 multifamily buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Carbon Management and Decarbonization Pathways in Buildings and Infrastructure)
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