Assessing Circularity Initiatives for Lowering Embodied Carbon in Australian Houses

M. Reza Hosseini¹, Mohsen Ahmadi², Faris Elghaish³, Nuria Forcada Matheu⁴, Heni Fitriani⁵, Reini Wirahadikusumah⁶

1. The University of Melbourne
2. Deakin University
3. Queen’s University
4. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
5. Universitas Sriwijaya
6. Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB)

Published in Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024), edited by Ali GhaffarianHoseini, Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, Farzad Rahimian and Mahesh Babu Purushothaman. Springer Nature, Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, volume 591, 2025, pages 311 to 319. DOI 10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_30.

Abstract

As the global focus intensifies on emissions reduction and transitioning towards a circular economy, it becomes essential for housing practices to adapt, integrating considerations for long-term environmental sustainability. However, within the housing context, research on this critical subject remains sparse. This study represents an effort to explore the impacts of practical, context-specific circularity solutions aimed at reducing embodied carbon emissions in housing projects, based on real-life data from a case project in Australia, a common residential house. The methods involve the creation of a base building using Carbon Designer 3D from One Click LCA and analyzing it based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Findings illuminate the effects of various context-specific viable circularity approaches and establish their potential to mitigate emissions. Findings show that targeting individual materials with sporadic ‘R’ imperatives reduces embodied carbon by 1–6%, while combined scenarios of C1, C2, and C3 applying multiple ‘R’ imperatives achieve reductions up to 39%. This indicates that a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to circular economy principles is essential to achieve significant reductions in emissions in typical Australian housing projects.

Keywords

Session

Presented in Track C, Friday 8 November 2024, 11:00 to 13:00, room WG 1001, Auckland University of Technology. Session chair Dr Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi.

How to Cite

Hosseini, M. R., Ahmadi, M., Elghaish, F., Matheu, N. F., Fitriani, H., & Wirahadikusumah, R. (2025). Assessing Circularity Initiatives for Lowering Embodied Carbon in Australian Houses. In A. GhaffarianHoseini, A. GhaffarianHoseini, F. Rahimian, & M. B. Purushothaman (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment (SASBE 2024) (Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, Vol. 591, pp. 311–319). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-96-4051-5_30

About the Conference

Presented at SASBE 2024, the International Conference on Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, held in Auckland from 7 to 9 November 2024 and chaired by Professors Ali and Amirhosein GhaffarianHoseini, founders of GDI Academy. The version of record is published by Springer Nature; this page is the conference archive record kept by GDI Academy.