Selecting sustainable materials for ceilings in Sri Lanka

This paper presents a method to select sustainable materials for ceilings (elements) of buildings in Sri Lanka taking into consideration environmental, economic and social assessments of materials in a life-cycle perspective. Two types of elements were selected for this study, namely, asbestos and timber. The environmental burdens associated with these materials were analysed in terms of embodied energy and environmental impacts such as global warming, acidification and nutrient enrichment. It was found that asbestos elements were better than timber elements in environmental scores; acidification and nutrient enrichment. Timber elements were better in terms of global warming and embodied energy. On economic scores asbestos elements were better. On social scores, also, the asbestos element (137·8) was slightly higher than the timber element (134·35) and was thus slightly better. These scores are presented in a matrix which will assist in the selection of sustainable materials for these elements. Similar matrices can also be developed for other building elements, such as roofs, walls, doors, windows and floors.