Clay Brick Association of South Africa

Clay bricks – a star performer in sustainability

Pictures/Bilder: CBA

»1 Technical Director Nico Mienie and CBA President Musa Shangase accept the completed Life Cycle Assessment study from Prof. Piet Vosloo of the University of Pretoria (from left to right)

Pictures/Bilder: CBA

»2 The 30-page LCA summary of the results is available free on the CBA website: www.claybrick.org/LCA

»3 The use phase of a building shows the greatest opportunity for savings across all four human impact categories. The importance of selecting the right walling material in terms of long-term energy consumption and carbon footprint should not be underestimated

»4 Clamp kilns at Worcester Brick in the Western Cape of South Africa were using 129 grams of coal per kg of fired brick, whereas the operation’s new Habla Zigzag kiln (HZZK) uses just 66 g. The HZZK is an Australian design adapted for South African conditions. It reduces coal consumption by 82 % (compared to a clamp kiln), halves emissions of CO₂ per brick and reduces particulate matter emissions by over 90 %. The Project won the 2017 United Nations Association of Australia Business Climate Action Award

»5 The VSBK kiln at Langkloof Bricks, an energy-efficiency improvement project facilitated by the EECB Project, uses 82.5 g of coal per kg of fired brick. Just 2.5 g of this is external fuel during the firing process

»6 Relative contribution to brick production impacts of the six different kiln technologies assessed

»7 Production share of South African kilns

»8 Annual electricity consumption of the six different walling types in a 130-m² home

»9 What the studies found: Contribution to climate change* of a 220 mm double brick wall over its life cycle

A first step towards improving the sustainability of building materials is to understand the extent and source of the environmental and socio-economic impacts. It was with this intention that the Clay Brick Association of Southern Africa embarked on a four-year project to complete South Africa’s first industry-wide Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

1 Life Cycle Assessment

An LCA quantifies the resources consumed and emissions produced over the product’s entire life cycle and then assesses the impact of this on specific environmental aspects such as human health, climate change and damage to ecosystems.

It allows property developers and building owners to make fact-based decisions in the context of building and operating sustainable, energy-efficient green buildings.

The South African clay brick industry Life Cycle Assessment:

Calculates the resources consumed and emissions produced over the entire life cycle of clay brick

Assesses the impact...