Society is on an unsustainable course, predicted to reach a tipping point where greenhouse gas emissions cause irreversible consequences. The cement industry is estimated to be responsible for 7% of the global CO2 emissions, but remains an essential part of building safe and affordable infrastructure for an urbanising and growing population. It is imperative that the industry urgently transitions to a more sustainable pathway. As a key stakeholder, the construction industry could play a role in this. This paper looks at the sustainability of the cement production process from a systems perspective and how the construction industry can help leverage change, using the FSSD and Meadows’ (1999) leverage points as a framework. An analysis of the cement production method against the misalignments with the FSSD Sustainability Principles was performed, as well as a document content analysis of the WBCSD 2018 roadmap for the cement industry. We also conducted 9 semi-structured interviews with experts in the cement and construction industry. Results showed that while CO2 emissions are the biggest challenge for the industry, change will not happen fast enough while a number of structural barriers prevent this. These barriers, their potential solutions and leverage points within the construction industry are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:bth-19807 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Wisbey, Philippa, Mattsson, Johanna, Salamone, Juliana, Olsson, Marcus |
| Publisher | Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling, Blekinge Tekniska Högskola, Institutionen för strategisk hållbar utveckling |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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