Identifying potential environmental impacts at the pre-construction stage

Abstract

This paper introduces a systematic approach for dealing with potential adverse environmental impacts at the pre-construction stage. The proposed methodology serves as an assessment tool for construction projects to measure the environmental performance of their construction activities. It also provides a consistent basis for comparisons and for future eco-labelling and environmental benchmarking among construction companies and constructies sites. Within the methodological framework, nine categories of environmental aspects are proposed: atmospheric emissions; water emissions; waste generation; soil alteration; resource consumption; local issues; transport issues, effects on biodiversity; and incident, accidents and potential emergency situations. The methodology includes twenty performance indicators developed with the help of a panel of experts. In order to avoid a typical shortcoming in environmental assessments methods, these environmental project documents. Significance limits for environmental aspects are also developed based on a statistical analysis of 55 new-start construction projects. Two case studies are provided to illustrate the practical use of the proposed methodology.