Evaluating Environmental Impacts of Deep Foundations: a Life Cycle Approach for Sustainability

This study presents a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of four deep foundation systems—Steel H-Section Piles (SHP), Continuous Flight Auger Piles (CFA), Bored Piles (BP), and Precast Concrete Piles (PCP)—used in a 19-story residential building in Natal, Brazil. The objective is to quantify the environmental impacts of each system and compare these results with technical and economic factors to evaluate overall sustainability. Using ABNT ISO 14040/44 standards and a cradle-to-site boundary, the LCA assesses emissions and resource use during material manufacturing, transportation, and installation stages. The results reveal that while CFA piles are the most economically viable, PCP piles offer the best environmental performance in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. SHP piles, due to the steel production process, exhibited the highest environmental impacts. These findings highlight the importance of integrating environmental factors in foundation design and contribute to the growing body of knowledge aimed at reducing the environmental impacts of construction practices.