To date, the focus in the field of sustainable building has been on new building design. However, existing residential buildings inflict great environmental burden through three causes: continuous energy consumption, regular building maintenance and replacements. This publication analyses and compares these three causes of environmental burden and shows that material resources needed for replacements generally have a limited potential to reduce environmental impact. Reducing energy consumption for climate control and electrical appliances is much more effective. According to the author, sustainable measures should be tested for shifts in the kind of environmental impact caused due to the use of alternative types of energy resources and altered material quantities. The sustainability of the electricity supply is essential to decrease the total environmental impact of the residential building stock.

This volume represents the proceedings of the 2013 International Conference on Innovation, Communication and Engineering (ICICE 2013). This conference was organized by the China University of Petroleum (Huadong/East China) and the Taiwanese Institute of Knowledge Innovation, and was held in Qingdao, Shandong, P.R. China, October 26 - November 1, 2013. The conference received 653 submitted papers from 10 countries, of which 214 papers were selected by the committees to be presented at ICICE 2013. The conference provided a unified communication platform for researchers in a wide range of fields from information technology, communication science, and applied mathematics, to computer science, advanced material science, design and engineering. This volume enables interdisciplinary collaboration between science and engineering technologists in academia and industry as well as networking internationally. Consists of a book of abstracts (260 pp.) and a USB flash card with full papers (912 pp.).

We are not free from environmental risks that accompany the development of human societies. Modern economic development has accelerated environmental pollution, caused loss of natural habitats, and modified landscapes. These environmental changes have impacted natural systems: water and heat circulation, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. These changes in natural systems degrade ecosystem services and subsequently increase environmental risks for humans. Environmental risks, therefore, are not only human health risks by pollution, climatic anomalies and natural disasters, but also degradation of ecosystem services on which most people are relying for their lives. We cannot entirely eliminate the risks, because it is not possible to attain zero impact on the environment, but we need to find a mechanism that minimizes environmental risks for human sustainably. This is the idea of the interdisciplinary framework of “environmental risk management” theory, which advocates harmony between economic development and environmental conservation. Based on this theory, the Sustainable Living with Environmental Risk (SLER) programme, adopted by the Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) as one of its strategic programmes, has been training graduate students at the Yokohama National University, Japan, from 2009 to 2013 to become future environmental leaders who will take the initiative in reducing the level of environmental risks and in protecting natural resources in the developing nations of Asia and Africa. This book provides students and teachers of this new academic field with a comprehensive coverage of case studies of environmental risks and their practical management technologies not only in Japan but also in developing nations in Asia and Africa.

Materials Selection for Sustainability in the Built Environment: Environmental, Social and Economic Aspects presents the current state-of-the-art when it comes to the decision-making process for choosing construction materials to deliver sustainable construction projects. Aspects covered include the science of enhanced decision-making via operational research and machine learning techniques and how this can be implemented in various disciplines such as architecture, engineering and construction. To this end, the book discusses environmental, economic and social aspects in assessing construction materials and presents different tools and methods that can benefit and facilitate this process. Finally, the book reviews previous publications on construction material selection and presents essential discussions on the role professionals, researchers, contractors and governments play in making more sustainable decisions on the built environment. - Presents a lifecycle management-based, systematic and integrated approach for sustainable construction materials selection - Discusses the impact of materials selection, covering every aspect of sustainability (environmental, social and economic aspects) - Looks at the concept of the circular economy - Provides case studies on decision-making methods in combination with lifecycle sustainability assessments

This volume provides case studies conducted in Malaysia based on environmental management and the sustainable development of human and ecological systems. The first chapter discusses awareness studies in environmental management in Terengganu, Malaysia. The second chapter is about human health risk assessment of heavy metals exposure due to freshwater fish ingestion from Sungai Kuantan, Malaysia. The third chapter discusses nickel and cadmium pollution in freshwater fishes in Kuantan River and Riau River. Chapter four discusses tourism sustainability. Chapters five and six provide an overview on particulate matter emissions at construction sites, and municipal solid waste (MSW) management approaches. In chapter seven, the book provides a general overview on cellulose and cellulose nanocrystals extraction. Finally, chapters eight and nine discuss legal measures for wildlife protection in Malaysia, and how improved environmental management practices are needed to achieve this. The book is intended for environmental managers, wildlife organizations, and students and researchers studying sustainable development, waste management, and corporate impacts on the environment.

​The proceedings of the conference is going to benefit the researchers, academicians, students and professionals in getting enlightened on latest technologies on structural mechanics, structure and infrastructure engineering. Further, work on practical applications of developed scientific methodologies to civil structural engineering will make the proceedings more interesting and useful to practicing engineers and structural designers.

This volume contains the papers presented at IALCCE2018, the Sixth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE2018), held in Ghent, Belgium, October 28-31, 2018. It consists of a book of extended abstracts and a USB device with full papers including the Fazlur R. Khan lecture, 8 keynote lectures, and 390 technical papers from all over the world. Contributions relate to design, inspection, assessment, maintenance or optimization in the framework of life-cycle analysis of civil engineering structures and infrastructure systems. Life-cycle aspects that are developed and discussed range from structural safety and durability to sustainability, serviceability, robustness and resilience. Applications relate to buildings, bridges and viaducts, highways and runways, tunnels and underground structures, off-shore and marine structures, dams and hydraulic structures, prefabricated design, infrastructure systems, etc. During the IALCCE2018 conference a particular focus is put on the cross-fertilization between different sub-areas of expertise and the development of an overall vision for life-cycle analysis in civil engineering. The aim of the editors is to provide a valuable source of cutting edge information for anyone interested in life-cycle analysis and assessment in civil engineering, including researchers, practising engineers, consultants, contractors, decision makers and representatives from local authorities.

Featuring research on topics such as low energy buildings' concepts, construction materials and technology, hybrid energy systems, energy balance, and wellbeing, this book meets the expectations of academicians, specialists and researchers in the field, along with the scholars seeking coverage on buildings, environmental and human impact. It presents an integrated approach to the buildings' energetic aspects, from the perspective of environmental impact, together with the indoor wellbeing. In this respect, the chapters include state of the art, case studies, as well as research results that validate the raised hypotheses. The book integrates topics related to buildings' performance, approached by researchers with different backgrounds within the civil engineering domain, i.e. achieved energetics performances, obstacles, restrictions and limitations issues within design and optimization processes, including the new perspectives in the buildings & energy sector.