The nexus among employment opportunities, life-cycle costs, and carbon emissions: a case study of sustainable building maintenance in Hong Kong

Hong Kong's construction industry is currently facing problems involving a rapidly aging workforce and labor shortage. With Hong Kong as the case study, this paper illustrates how existing residential buildings can be repaired and maintained using alternative materials, in order to minimize life-cycle labor inputs, costs, or carbon emissions. With different combinations of repair and maintenance materials, two of the three objectives can be achieved at any one time, when labor inputs, costs, and carbon emissions are set as separate constraints. With our methodology, we are able to identify materials that would cost the least, emit minimum carbon levels, and require the right levels of labor resources in relation to residential building maintenance. These can support the adoption of green technologies that suit the socio-economic and physical environment of Hong Kong. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.