CIVIL ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

- Civil Engineers change the world.

- Civil Engineers influenced our lives more than many other professions, because infrastructural
facilities and buildings are essential part of every civilization.
- Civil Engineers analyze, model and realize.
- Civil Engineers create safe airports, network settlements, design water supply concepts and sewer
systems, restore rivers or set up wind power plants on the open sea.
- Today, Civil Engineers and Environmental Scientists are creatively and innovatively mastering the
rapidly growing demands of business, culture, environmental influences or new materials.

 When Civil structures are designed, environmental aspects are always considered.
- For instance, in the design of dams, which involve displacement of many families due to
the reservoir that have to be filled with water, the submerging a large populated area;
these social considerations are always studied before actual design is implemented.
o It has happened that some dam projects failed to take off because the affected
residents had violently opposed them.
- Before any civil works project even get started, an environmental impact assessment (EIA)
has to be carried out and an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) has to be
obtained from the designated authority and issued to the agency intending to implement
the project.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Environmental Impacts – Local

 80% of agricultural land loss is due to buildings

 Urban flooding due to improper planning of cities
 Disturbances in air circulations creating air quality hotspots/urban canyons
 Creation of heat islands
 Noise, dust and fumes generations during construction

Environmental Impacts – Global

 Global warming
 Resource depletion
 Ozone layer depletion
 Acidification
Contribution from Buildings

 50% of UK greenhouse gas emissions from running buildings.

 10% of UK emissions coming from producing building materials
 In the case of India 22% of CO2 is related to the construction industry.
The choice of the Materials must focus on:

 Non-toxic materials;
 Materials with low embodied energy;
 Recyclable materials;
 Materials containing wastes from other industries;
 Materials obtained from renewable resources;
 Materials with high durability;
 Materials with self-cleaning ability and ability and capable of reducing air pollution.
 Local Materials

SUMMARY

 Construction industry is one of the largest and important contributor to economic development
 Can have significant local and global environmental impacts
 Macro, Meso and Microscopic planning is the key to sustainability
 Guidelines such as green building incorporates these considerations.