Search Results (102)

Higher construction costs (CCs) linked to carbon reduction methods have hindered the adoption of low-carbon approaches in the built environment. The simultaneous minimisation of upfront embodied carbon (EC) and CCs has not received much attention in building design optimisation (BDO) research; most studies prioritise operational energy, operational carbon, and operational cost reduction. This paper develops an integrated conceptual framework for low-carbon, cost-effective BDO, particularly targeting upfront EC and CCs, to fill this research gap and meet industry demands. A systematic literature review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, synthesising 41 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2026. Thematic and content analyses were employed to extract and categorise key methodological components, including optimisation problem characterisation, objective-driven design variable selection, constraint modelling, algorithm selection, and evaluation and validation approaches. Subsequently, the developed conceptual framework was validated through semi-structured expert interviews with participants comprising BDO researchers and building designers in the construction field. A cross-mapping of optimisation objectives, optimised parameters, and design variables was developed to clarify their interrelationships, alongside structured criteria for optimisation algorithm selection. Based on these insights, a conceptual framework named “ICCO-BD (Integrated Upfront Carbon and Construction Cost Optimisation for Building Design) framework” is proposed and validated, integrating problem formulation, parametric modelling, multi-objective optimisation, and systematic Pareto-based evaluation into a coherent end-to-end workflow, enabling improved time efficiency through reduced redesign iterations, enhanced solution quality via better pareto front exploration, and more robust decision-making through clearer trade-off interpretation. While expert feedback indicated strong conceptual relevance and practical applicability, the framework remains conceptual in nature and requires further empirical verification through real-world case studies and optimisation applications before broader industry implementation. Full article

As a clean and renewable energy source, wind energy offers lower development and utilization costs than solar energy, making it the most promising renewable option. However, the carbon footprint of offshore wind power and its external impacts on cross-regional carbon emissions have not been investigated sufficiently. Using the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangsu as case studies, this study employs socioeconomic and environmental statistical data. It applies the environmentally extended multi-regional input–output (EE-MRIO) method to quantify cross-regional environmental spillover effects associated with offshore wind power development. The findings show that China’s power structure has been continuously optimized, with offshore winds achieving leapfrog growth since 2010. Through a “local consumption” model, offshore wind power in Guangdong and Jiangsu has effectively replaced coal-fired generation, substantially reducing carbon emissions locally and in neighboring areas. Jiangsu has reduced CO₂ emissions by 16.72 million tons annually, and Guangdong by about 7.23 million tons annually. Furthermore, offshore wind development drives the green transformation of upstream industries (e.g., steel, non-ferrous metals, and chemicals). It extends carbon-reduction benefits to resource-rich regions such as the Northwest and North China. As major manufacturing hubs, both provinces lowered the embodied carbon intensity of their export products by using clean electricity, thereby indirectly reducing the national carbon footprint through cross-regional trade. This study offers scientific insights to help policymakers optimize offshore wind layouts, facilitate coordinated regional emission reductions, and advance sustainable energy transitions. Full article

The optimisation design of agricultural machinery is shifting from offline, experience-driven engineering towards adaptive, data-driven, and closed-loop intelligent optimisation. Conventional approaches based on computer-aided engineering (CAE), empirical testing, mathematical modelling, and static multi-objective optimisation have provided an important engineering foundation, but they remain limited under unstructured field conditions involving soil heterogeneity, crop variability, climatic disturbance, and nonlinear machinery–environment interactions. This review systematically examines the evolution of intelligent optimisation design for agricultural machinery from conventional simulation-based methods to artificial intelligence (AI)- and digital twin (DT)-enabled paradigms. First, mathematical modelling, response surface methodology, discrete element method (DEM), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), multi-body dynamics (MBD), heuristic algorithms, and early AI-assisted surrogate optimisation are reviewed to clarify their contributions and limitations. Second, frontier enabling technologies are analysed, including agriculture-specific large models, generative AI, lightweight edge intelligence, deep reinforcement learning (DRL), embodied AI, federated learning (FL), and privacy-preserving computing. Third, system-level applications integrating DT and AI are discussed, with emphasis on full-lifecycle machinery optimisation, device–edge–cloud collaborative control, multi-agent fleet coordination, predictive maintenance, and Agriculture 5.0-oriented intelligent equipment systems. Key deployment bottlenecks are further identified, including sim-to-real inconsistency, virtual–physical mismatch in DTs, edge-side trade-offs among accuracy, latency, energy consumption, and cost, insufficient validation standards, and economic adoption barriers. Finally, a 2025–2030 roadmap is proposed, highlighting large-model–DT closed loops, control biomimetics, green low-carbon optimisation, and trustworthy human–machine symbiosis for sustainable Agriculture 5.0. Full article

Mitigating trade-embodied carbon is essential for the sustainable, low-carbon transition of China’s manufacturing sector amid increasingly integrated domestic and global production networks. This study measures total trade-embodied carbon, embodied carbon outflows, and embodied carbon exports within a China-embedded global multi-regional input–output framework. Using a panel dataset covering 30 provinces, 15 manufacturing industries, and 7 benchmark years from 2002 to 2020, the study employs high-dimensional fixed-effects models to examine the effect of green finance—defined as finance directed toward environmentally sustainable and low-carbon activities—on trade-embodied carbon. The results show that green finance significantly reduces trade-embodied carbon, with a relatively stronger effect in the domestic trade dimension. Mechanistic analysis indicates that this effect operates through both technological and structural channels. Heterogeneity analysis further suggests that the carbon mitigation effect of green finance is more pronounced in the eastern and central regions and in energy-intensive industries. This study extends the analysis of the environmental effects of green finance from the value-chain trade perspective and provides empirical evidence to advance the low-carbon transition of manufacturing under intertwined domestic and global production networks. Full article

Although geopolymer and alkali-activated binders are promoted as low-carbon OPC alternatives, their resource-centric performance remains complex and geographically dependent. This review examines these systems from a resource-efficiency perspective and evaluates alkaline activator demand; precursor availability, including fly ash, slag, calcined clays, and mining residues; and embodied energy across mix designs and curing regimes. Recent mechanical and durability analyses, together with life cycle assessments, reveal important trade-offs in alkali-activated geopolymer systems. Customized precursors may unintentionally compromise their inherent resource efficiency, while the declining availability of industrial waste increasingly competes with alternative waste valorization processes. Developing one-part activator systems and implementing data- or machine-optimized mix designs capable of handling extremely highly variable waste streams will be necessary to achieve meaningful reductions in mineral consumption, energy demand, and emissions. The study reframes these binders as enablers of urban mining and industrial symbiosis. Policy changes toward resource-oriented governance, including performance-based standards, carbon-responsive procurement, and more transparent end-of-waste legislation, are also needed to promote a circular material economy. Strategic, large-scale deployment requires the integration of regional resource mapping with predictive performance modeling to navigate resource constraints in the construction sector. Full article

The construction sector is responsible for significant global energy consumption and CO₂ emissions, largely driven by carbon-intensive materials such as ordinary Portland cement and steel. In response to increasing decarbonization and circular economy demands, several strategically relevant categories of sustainable construction materials have been developed, particularly natural and bio-based systems, recycled and waste-derived materials, low-carbon cementitious binders, and emerging multifunctional composites. However, research remains fragmented across material classes and performance metrics. This systematic review evaluates advances published between 2018 and 2026 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 methodology. Peer-reviewed studies were systematically identified and analyzed to compare mechanical performance, durability, embodied carbon reduction, and life-cycle environmental impacts across these selected material pathways. The results indicate substantial decarbonization potential. Low-carbon cementitious materials report CO₂ reductions of approximately 10–75% relative to conventional systems, while engineered timber and bamboo demonstrate 28–70% lower carbon footprints due to reduced embodied energy and biogenic carbon storage. Recycled aggregates and industrial by-products enhance circularity but remain sensitive to transport distance and processing intensity. Trade-offs between mechanical capacity and environmental performance are evident in lightweight and bio-based systems. Overall, sustainability gains are maximized through integrated hybrid construction strategies rather than isolated material substitution. This review provides a comparative evidence-based synthesis and identifies key research gaps and implementation challenges for accelerating low-carbon construction. Full article

Sustainable renovation of existing residential building stocks is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy performance, and support long-term climate-neutral housing strategies. However, decisions based only on operational indicators may overlook important product-stage embodied impacts, especially in highly integrated renovation solutions. This study evaluates how alternative renovation pathways for a public residential building portfolio in the Comunitat Valenciana (Spain) perform from a stock-level sustainability perspective, comparing five INFINITE industrialised retrofit kits (Kit 1–Kit 5) with five paired conventional renovation scenarios (S1–S5). A bottom-up building stock modelling workflow is applied, combining building-energy simulation to quantify operational performance and emissions (B6) with a screening life-cycle assessment of product-stage embodied carbon reported as GWP (A1–A3). To relate upfront and in-use impacts, the study computes carbon payback, cumulative emissions avoided, and a horizon-based partial life-cycle climate indicator, PLC(H), assessed for 2030, 2035, and 2050. The results show a clear sustainability trade-off: renovation packages that sharply reduce operational emissions often require higher upfront embodied carbon, shifting net climate benefits towards longer time horizons. Low-embodied options provide earlier benefits, with Kit 1 reducing PLC(H) by 15.5% by 2030, whereas deeper decarbonisation packages achieve stronger long-term outcomes, with S5 reducing PLC(H) by 70.7% by 2050. A bounded electricity-decarbonisation sensitivity further shows that these long-horizon rankings are affected by lower grid-emission factors, particularly for highly electrified pathways, although the strongest 2050 pathways remain robust across the tested cases. Overall, the findings show that sustainable stock-level renovation planning should jointly consider operational and embodied carbon, carbon payback, and milestone-based cumulative impacts in order to support balanced portfolio sequencing between broadly deployable fast-payback measures and selective deep retrofits. Full article

This study examines how regulatory heterogeneity in digital services trade relates to the carbon intensity of bilateral trade flows. Using a structural gravity framework estimated with Poisson pseudo maximum likelihood (PPML), we analyzed 10,719 bilateral observations from the Eora Multi-Region Input–Output (MRIO) database over 2014–2020. Bilateral gaps in the OECD Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (DSTRI) were used as the main measure of regulatory heterogeneity, and the overall gap was decomposed into infrastructure-related hard barriers and institutional soft barriers. The results suggest that digital regulatory gaps are associated with a higher carbon intensity in trade while also being associated with lower total embodied emissions through reduced trade volumes. This indicates that lower aggregate emissions under regulatory divergence may reflect contraction in trade activity rather than genuine environmental improvement. The decomposition analysis further suggests that infrastructure-related misalignment is more closely associated with carbon inefficiency, whereas institutional divergence operates mainly through its association with trade volume. In addition, environmental policy stringency in the importing country appears to strengthen the positive association between institutional regulatory gaps and carbon intensity, consistent with the possibility of regulatory overload. The study contributes to the sustainability literature by showing that carbon intensity provides a more informative indicator of sustainable trade performance than aggregate emissions alone in fragmented regulatory environments. It also suggests that digital governance, trade policy, and environmental policy should be considered together in promoting more sustainable forms of international trade, particularly in the context of emerging policy frameworks such as WTO digital trade negotiations, OECD digital governance initiatives, and carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs). Full article

Construction industry remains a major driver of global resource use and waste generation, therefore, identifying sustainable material alternatives is increasingly important. Recycled-textile-based insulation presents a promising pathway to support circular economy principles by diverting post-consumer waste from landfills and reducing reliance on virgin petrochemical materials. This study conducts a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment (LCA) using SimaPro to compare polyurethane (PU) foam and recycled denim (cotton fiber) insulation. The system boundary includes raw material extraction, transportation, and manufacturing. A functional unit of 1 m² of installed insulation with a thermal resistance of RSI = 1 m²·K/W at the factory gate ensures comparability, with mass-based results reported as secondary metrics. The results indicate that recycled denim exhibits higher embodied carbon per unit mass, despite lower production energy and lower cradle-to-gate impacts per installed area, reinforcing the need for a declared-unit-based comparison tied to thermal performance. Air leakage is evaluated separately as a complementary performance indicator influencing in-service energy behavior showing significantly lower air leakage for PU; but is not included in the cradle-to-gate normalization. However, it could be argued that materials with improved airtightness may enable the use of reduced insulation thickness while still achieving equivalent performance, thereby potentially lowering overall material demand. Nevertheless, recycled denim offers environmental advantages by reducing landfill waste and promoting resource conservation through material reuse. A transient coupled heat–moisture model in COMSOL Multiphysics, using climate data from Arizona and Florida, further reveals that denim absorbs more moisture than polyurethane. This leads to larger heat flux fluctuations, highlighting a trade-off between denim’s sustainability advantages and its reduced hygrothermal durability. Overall, these findings demonstrate the limitations of single-metric comparisons and emphasize the need for performance-based, multi-criteria assessments that integrate functional efficiency with circularity. Future research should incorporate occupant health and comfort to enable a more comprehensive evaluation of insulation sustainability. Full article

To address the issues that carbon trading fails to cover the full life cycle and that traditional demand response achieves poor emission reduction due to a lack of accurate carbon-intensity feedback in park integrated energy systems (PIESs) during low-carbon transition, this study proposes a two-layer optimal scheduling method synergizing life-cycle stepwise carbon trading and low-carbon demand response (LCDR) to balance low-carbon performance and economic efficiency. Firstly, based on life cycle theory, embodied carbon from new energy equipment manufacturing and transportation is incorporated into accounting, with a stepwise carbon trading mechanism designed. Secondly, corrected dynamic carbon emission factors for power and heating networks are constructed to quantify real-time carbon intensity. A dual-driven LCDR model (electricity price and carbon factor) is established to coordinate shiftable and sheddable electric-thermal loads and is combined with a two-layer scheduling model (pre-scheduling and re-scheduling) targeting the minimal total operation cost. Simulation results of a South China park show that life-cycle stepwise carbon trading reduces emissions by 16.7%, and LCDR further cuts 4.05%. Their synergy achieves significant carbon reduction with a slight cost increase, while supplementary sensitivity analyses further confirm the scalability and robustness of the proposed framework under varying load levels and demand response capabilities. Full article

As the world’s largest carbon emitter and one of the countries facing severe air pollution challenges, China is under growing pressure to promote coordinated carbon reduction and air pollution control in support of sustainable development. From the perspective of interprovincial trade-embedded emissions, this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution, regional heterogeneity, and driving mechanisms of the synergy between embodied carbon emissions and air pollution emissions across 30 provincial-level regions in China in the 2012–2017 period. The multi-regional input–output (MRIO) model and coupling coordination degree (CCD) model are used to measure embodied emissions and the synergy effect, while the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) models are employed to identify the main driving factors and their spatiotemporal heterogeneity. The results show that the overall synergy index of embodied carbon and air pollution emissions in China showed an increasing trend, and provinces with high-quality coordination shifted southward. Low-carbon policy and technology development mainly acted as positive drivers, whereas air pollution reduction policy and energy intensity tended to exert inhibitory effects; the role of energy consumption was more conditional and stage-specific. These findings provide useful evidence for differentiated governance, coordinated air pollution and carbon reduction, and the green and low-carbon transition. Full article

The technological revolution and industrial transformation led by digital technologies are driving the shift from global value chains (GVCs) to digital global value chains (DGVCs). To address the challenge of global climate change while achieving economic growth, many countries are prioritizing practical energy-saving and emission reduction measures, while simultaneously seeking greater trade gains through participation in digital GVCs and the international division of labor. This study examines whether participation in DGVCs reduces carbon emissions. Using balanced panel data covering 62 countries from 2007 to 2021, we employ a Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model to investigate the nonlinear relationship between DGVC participation and CO₂ emissions embodied in digital exports (EEDE). The empirical results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship, indicating that DGVC participation increases emissions below a digitalization threshold but reduces emissions beyond this threshold. These findings provide new evidence for the dual role of digitalization in shaping trade-related emissions and highlight the importance of stage-specific strategies. Policy implications emphasize that less-digitized economies must prioritize breaking free from carbon lock-in by pursuing green transformation alongside digital expansion. The study deepens the understanding of the trade–environment nexus in the digital era and provides actionable insights for aligning digital economic development with global climate goals. Full article

To achieve the “dual carbon” goals, the management and control of the construction sector’s embodied carbon is crucial, as it is a key field of carbon emissions. This study focuses on the entire process of building structural design, construction and procurement, and building material production and trading. Based on the principles of system dynamics, it constructs a building embodied carbon analysis model consisting of three subsystems: building structural design, production, and building material market. The core elements of each subsystem and their interaction relationships are clarified, and the model variables and parameters are defined. Through multi-scenario simulation analysis, the influence mechanisms of key factors such as different building heights, seismic influence coefficients, expected project costs, and carbon reduction policies on building embodied carbon are explored. The results show that building height and seismic influence coefficients have significant impacts on material consumption during the building structural design stage, with building height exerting a more prominent driving effect; increasing the prefabrication rate can improve construction efficiency, shorten the construction period, reduce construction carbon emissions, and simultaneously balance the current pressure of rising labor costs; and carbon reduction policies guide market demand, prompting low-carbon building material manufacturers to expand R&D investment and production capacity, forming a positive cycle of “demand growth—cost reduction—market expansion”. In contrast, conventional building materials are affected by tightened carbon quotas and rising carbon prices, leading to a continuous shrinkage of their market share and gradual withdrawal from the market, ultimately realizing overall carbon reduction in the industry. The system dynamics model constructed in this study provides a scientific analysis framework for the full-process management and control of building embodied carbon, reveals the key influencing factors and evolution laws, and offers theoretical support and practical reference for the precise management and control of building embodied carbon and the formulation of carbon reduction pathways. Full article

Digital services trade is often viewed as a pathway to lower carbon intensity by reducing reliance on carbon-intensive physical trade. However, its environmental benefits may depend critically on the regulatory environments governing cross-border digital interactions. Integrating institutional distance theory with environmental economics, this study examines how regulatory divergence in digital services trade shapes the carbon intensity of international trade. Using bilateral trade data and country-level measures of digital services trade regulations, renewable energy capacity, and environmental policy rigor, we analyze the effects of digital regulatory gaps on carbon emissions embodied in exports. The results show that greater regulatory divergence significantly increases both total carbon emissions and export carbon intensity. The analysis further reveals that the scale effect associated with increased trade volume dominates the technique effect, such that the potential environmental benefits of digitalization are frequently offset by structural inefficiencies and compliance costs induced by regulatory fragmentation. Moreover, exporters’ renewable energy capability amplifies—rather than mitigates—the carbon-intensity-increasing effect of digital regulatory gaps, indicating that institutional misalignment imposes higher environmental opportunity costs on countries with greater low-carbon potential. By contrast, environmental policy rigor in importing countries does not significantly attenuate these effects. Overall, the findings highlight regulatory alignment as a critical condition for realizing the environmental benefits of digital trade. Full article

Since the Brundtland Report (1987), its definition has anchored sustainable development. An EBSCOhost co-mention scan (1987–2025) finds 259,112 records linking “sustainable development” with the Brundtland Report—used only as a descriptive attention proxy, sensitive to coverage, indexing, keywords, and residual duplicates. We then analyze concept-to-implementation barriers in building governance and propose an update pathway: explicit boundaries, minimum disclosures, and assurance logic. Yet in the built environment—characterized by long-lived assets, carbon lock-in, and net-zero commitments—the definition is difficult to operationalize without explicit boundaries, measurable indicators, and auditable trade-offs. We identify two concept-level weaknesses: (1) the definition reflects late-twentieth-century socio-technical conditions and offers limited guidance for practice shaped by digitalized delivery and operations, accelerated climate policy, and whole-life carbon accounting; and (2) its openness around “needs,” “harm,” and trade-offs enables boundary ambiguity (e.g., operational versus embodied emissions), fragmented standards and certifications, and greenwashing risks. We propose a built-environment update pathway that (i) operationalizes “needs” and “harm” through a minimum life-cycle indicator set linking affordability and occupant well-being with operational energy performance and whole-life carbon outcomes; and (ii) strengthens concept-consistent implementation via harmonized boundary declarations and verification principles across existing net-zero and green building tools, supported by targeted AEC capacity building. Full article