Green Technology, Assessment Methodologies and Sustainable Construction Infrastructure Development

Dear Colleagues,

Construction infrastructure investment plays a key role in production and wealth generation as well as in adaptation and resilience to climate change. As noted by several writers, construction infrastructure is inextricably linked to most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly to SDG 9 on “building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization and fostering innovation”. Construction infrastructure is part of the built environment. Like other built assets, construction infrastructure is a significant consumer of natural resources and energy, waste generator, and emitter of greenhouse gas (GHGs). Thus, sustainable infrastructure investment must include climate-aware planning and assessment not only of its economic efficiency but also of its impact on society and on the environment, in a whole life cycle perspective. According to the Group of 20 (G20) Infrastructure Working Group, infrastructure is responsible for around 53% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Of this 53%, about 81% is attributed to operations of infrastructure and 19% is attributed to the embedded emissions from infrastructure. It is the embedded emissions (manufacturing, construction and life cycle management of infrastructure assets) that can be addressed by green practices.

Technical and scientific advances on green technology have been growing in many sectors of the economy, including the construction sector. In the construction field, green technology adoption means organisations can develop infrastructure and other constructed facilities with reduced impact on the environment throughout the life cycle stages of the construction process. However, construction infrastructure is the segment of the construction sector where research on green technology is scarcer. There is also a need to better understand how technical innovation in the construction field can facilitate the effective implementation of green practices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the latest research and development on green technology adoption in the construction sector, with a particular focus on construction infrastructure and its main characteristics, research themes and future directions, across all life cycle stages of the construction process. We also seek original papers on policies, data and tool integration, as well as models, approaches and system boundaries of life cycle assessment in construction infrastructure projects. Research may include (but is not limited to) the following topics:

• Cases studies on the environmental impact of the construction phase in construction infrastructure projects;
• Prioritisation of construction infrastructure projects according to financial and non-financial returns;
• Procurement practices for sustainable infrastructure development;
• Factors that affect, and construction techniques that promote, the durability of construction components and materials;
• Digitalisation of construction infrastructure projects;
• Construction infrastructure CO₂ footprint;
• Factors that affect productivity in construction infrastructure works;
• Green deal policies;
• Circular treatment of construction and demolition waste.

Dr. Hipólito de Sousa
Dr. Jorge Lopes
Dr. Rui Oliveira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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-blind 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.

• green technology
• construction sector
• sustainable infrastructure
• life cycle assessment
• technical innovation in construction
• green deal policies
• sustainable development goals
• data and tool integration