CO2 study in swimming pool construction

iGUi also encourages scientific programs, such as: “Project to develop a methodology for comparative calculation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions between the construction processes of fiberglass pools (GRP) and concrete pools.” This project, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Jorge Alberto Villwock (Institute of the Environment), Prof. João Marcelo Ketzer (Center of Excellence in Research on Carbon Storage – CEPAC) and Eduardo Bandeira Maia (CEPAC) from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, was carried out in 2007.

It is now known that greenhouse gases (GHG), mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), are mainly responsible for retaining heat and maintaining the temperature of the earth's surface. Human-generated GHG emissions result in “abnormal” warming of the atmosphere, causing changes in the global climate on the planet. Through reports, the IPCC (acronym in English for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has been alerting the world to the causes and consequences of human activities on the planet's climate.

There is currently a correct understanding of the cause-effect relationship involved in global warming, and, therefore, mitigation actions are being increasingly disseminated and implemented, whether in the public sphere (governments, states and even municipalities), business and civil, in order to reduce its impact on the increase in GHG concentrations in the atmosphere.

Companies are seeking to reduce their emissions through changes in their activities, either directly, through knowledge of sources, through an inventory of emissions, and thus create a portfolio of mitigating actions (which include the adoption of more efficient processes and materials and fewer emitters), or indirectly, by encouraging the reduction of emissions from other spheres or by offsetting emissions from common carbon sequestration practices (e.g. planting trees).

This project's main objective is to apply the methodology for calculating the amount of CO2 emitted in the manufacturing and construction processes of a 4 meter by 8 meter swimming pool made of fiberglass reinforced plastic (GRP.), from the company iGUi, and compare it with GHG emissions from the traditional method of building pools, in concrete.

The emissions calculation tools used by the GHG Protocol are compatible with the standards of ISO 14064, (International Organization for Standardization), and follow the purposes created by the IPCC (UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).

The final analysis of the results shows a large difference between GHG emissions related to the P.R.F.V. pool construction process. and the reinforced concrete swimming pool. According to this study, the pool in GRP. emits approximately 223 kg of CO2 during its construction process; Meanwhile, a swimming pool built in reinforced concrete emits around 7,290.2 kg of CO2 during its construction process. In other words, a concrete pool emits around 32 times more CO2 than a GRP pool in its construction process.

Learn more about iGUi Ecology (in Portuguese)