Sustainable use of recycled materials in building construction

Publisher Summary This chapter proposes the model of Factor 20 focusing on the importance of sustainability in the building sector. The “Factor 20” is a metaphor, a guideline used for sustainable construction. Factor 20 is aimed at having the environmental impact per unit of prosperity reduced by a factor of 20, thus meeting social needs 20 times as environmentally efficiently. Various instruments have been developed to measure or calculate the sustainability of materials. One of the methods, lifecycle thinking (LCA method), is based on the fact that decisions taken in one phase should always be set against the background of the consequences for the following phases. Eco-costs/value ratio (the EVR model) describes “sustainability” from a management systems approach, in which sustainability means strive for eco-efficiency, as defined by the World Council for Sustainable Development. The eco-costs are “virtual” costs—the hidden costs required to manufacture and use a product in a sustainable manner, or “in line with earth's carrying capacity”. These costs are estimated based on the costs of technical measures to prevent undesired emissions and based on depletion of fossil energy and raw materials.