Open Call for Papers: Embodied Energy and Carbon Efficiency: The Next Major Step Towards Zero-Impact Buildings
SCOPE of the VSI
Embodied Energy can be considered the total energy consumed in the extraction of raw materials, manufacture of products and components and transportation required to construct, repair, renovate and demolish a building. Embodied carbon can be defined in a similar manner, but instead considers the carbon emissions and global warming potential of these systems, rather than their energy requirements.
While significant effort has been devoted to increasing the energy efficiency of buildings in operation (i.e. reducing energy consumed in heating, lighting, ventilation and appliances), such focus has not been extended to reducing embodied energy in the building sector. However, there is general agreement that the impact of embodied energy as a percentage of buildings’ total energy needs is growing, and that its reduction is vital if we are to achieve ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by the middle of the century.
This special issue in Energy and Buildings aims to capture the state-of-the-art in terms of defining embodied energy’s significance, its calculation, regulation and strategies to reduce its environmental impact in the building sector.
In particular, the topics of interest include but are not limited to:
- Building and urban-scale embodied energy / carbon
- The significance of embodied energy / carbon as contributors to total building life cycle impacts
- Key contributors to embodied energy / carbon in different building types
- Methodological approaches, frameworks and tools to determine building embodied energy, carbon and lifecycle impacts
- Development of local / regional inventory databases of embodied energy / carbon in materials, products and components
- Case studies and best practice on low embodied energy / carbon buildings
- Development of low-energy / carbon building materials
- Low-energy / carbon construction practices
- Dematerialization strategies for buildings
- Embodied energy and carbon performance targets
- Embodied energy policy / regulatory strategies and considerations
Submission Format and Guideline
All submitted papers must be clearly written in excellent English and contain only original work, which has not been published by or is currently under review for any other journal or conference. Papers must not exceed 25 pages (one-column, at least 11pt fonts) including figures, tables, and references. A detailed submission guideline is available as “Guide to Authors” at:
All manuscripts and any supplementary material should be submitted through Elsevier Editorial System (EVISE). The authors must select “VSI: Embodied Energy & Carbon” as “Article Type” when they reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process. The EVISE website is located at:
All papers will be peer-reviewed by three independent reviewers. Requests for additional information should be addressed to the guest editors.
Editors in Chief
Dr. Rahman Azari -- Illinois Institute of Technology –
Dr. Philip Oldfield -- University of New South Wales, School of Built Environment --
Submission open: 31st March, 2017
Submission deadline: 15th August, 2017
Acceptance deadline: 31st October, 2017
Publication: January, 2018