Environmental assessment of green wall: A comparison between Australia and Italy

Milad Reyhani; Enrica Santolini; Ruby N Michael; Alberto Barbaresi; Patrizia Tassinari; Daniele Torreggiani

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177699

Environmental assessment of green wall: A comparison between Australia and Italy

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Dec 20:957:177699. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177699. Epub 2024 Nov 29.

Authors

Milad Reyhani¹, Enrica Santolini², Ruby N Michael³, Alberto Barbaresi¹, Patrizia Tassinari¹, Daniele Torreggiani¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Agricultural Engineering (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 48, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
² Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Agricultural Engineering (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Viale Fanin 48, 40127 Bologna, Italy. Electronic address: enrica.santolini2@unibo.it.
³ Green Infrastructure Research Laboratories (GIRLS), Cities Research Institute, Griffith University Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia.

PMID: 39577588
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.177699

Abstract

Green infrastructure can enhance and complement aspects of sustainable urban development, such as water management, climate change mitigation, urban heat island effects, and energy consumption in buildings. This study explores environmental performances and sustainable development benefits of green wall systems, emphasizing their role in urban settings, increasing public awareness of their benefits and leading to optimal environmental design for developers, investors, and designers. This study aims to contribute to the knowledge on the environmental performance of green wall systems, using life cycle assessment (LCA), available in different markets. A life cycle assessment has been performed for a case study in Australia (APB-GW) using local designs, materials, and environmental settings, and then it has been compared to the environmental performance of green wall systems in Italy (IPB-GW and IFB-GW). Challenges in implementation, such as material sustainability and public awareness, are discussed, alongside potential solutions. The Australian solution is characterized not only by the lowest global warming emission (64.7 kgCO₂eq) compared to 163.2 and 144.9 kgCO₂eq of the other solutions but also by an impact reduction across all categories, attributed to use of eco-friendly materials and production techniques. Urban surfaces often absorb and retain large amounts of heat, contributing to UHI effect. Using materials and technologies with lower GWP that also have higher solar reflectance can help to reduce surface temperature of buildings and streets. It is possible to work towards an increase in sustainability of the technology itself, using research findings to promote innovative design and exchange of knowledge and technologies between different markets, which then reflects lower carbon footprint at the level of building design and higher sustainability at urban planning. Then, as urban realities continue to grow, climate change adaptation, reduction of environmental impacts integrating GIs, like these ones, will be essential creating resilient, sustainable and livable urban spaces.

Keywords: Environmental performances; Green walls; Life cycle assessment (LCA); Nature based solutions; Sustainability.