Optimising Geotextile-Reinforced Earth Wall Design for Embodied Carbon Reduction

The construction industry is facing increasing pressure to reduce its environmental footprint, particularly in terms of embodied carbon emissions. Although geotextile-reinforced earth walls are widely used owing to their structural and economic advantages, their environmental performance remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the optimum design of geotextile-reinforced earth walls by evaluating the interplay between structural stability and embodied carbon. A series of wall configurations with varying heights (2-10 m) and geotextile types were analyzed using the limit equilibrium method under static loading conditions to ensure compliance with global and internal stability criteria. Embodied carbon was assessed using a cradle-to-gate life cycle approach (Modules A1-A3) with emission factors derived from Environmental Product Declarations. The results show that the reinforcement length increases with the wall height but is largely unaffected by the geotextile strength. In contrast, the vertical spacing is significantly influenced by the tensile capacity. At lower wall heights (≤ 6 m), low-strength geotextiles (LF 35) yielded the lowest embodied carbon. In contrast, for taller walls (≥ 8 m), higher-strength geotextiles (LF 46 and LF 57) performed more efficiently because of reduced material use. Among all alternatives, LF 46 offers a balanced solution across a range of heights. This study highlights the importance of integrating structural design with environmental assessment to support the development of low-carbon geotechnical infrastructures.