Factors Influencing the Environmental Performance of Prefabricated Buildings: A Case Study of Community A in Henan Province of China

Various problems of traditional cast-in-place buildings, such as heavy energy consumption, severe environmental pollution, and low labour productivity, have hindered the development of the construction industry. Prefabricated buildings have a direct bearing on national economic development and transformation of people’s lifestyles because of their high economic, environmental, social, and safety benefits. The technological research and development level for prefabricated buildings and system policies in China are still in the initial stage, and the environmental performance and influencing factors of prefabricated buildings limit their large-scale implementation. The literature in developed countries regarding the environmental performance and influencing factors of prefabricated buildings was first reviewed in this study. Community A in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province was used as the case study. AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was applied to measure the factors influencing the environmental performance of prefabricated buildings, and policy suggestions were proposed to improve their environmental performance. Results indicate that developed countries tend to construct prefabricated buildings in large areas because of their remarkable economic, environmental, social, and safety benefits. Measurement results of Community A in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province show that the main environmental pollution factor of prefabricated buildings is waste discharge, accounting for 40%, followed by noise pollution, energy consumption, and dust pollution. The environmental performance of prefabricated buildings can be improved by promoting their development, reducing their environmental pollution, establishing a standard prefabricated concrete system, enhancing the environmental standards for buildings, expanding the application scope of prefabricated concrete, encouraging environmental technology innovation of buildings, cultivating prefabricated building bases, and strengthening environmental governance of construction sites. The findings will serve as reference in determining the main factors influencing the environmental performance of prefabricated buildings, establishing an evaluation system for the environmental benefits of prefabricated buildings, promoting their improvement and optimized development, and enriching and perfecting an evaluation research system for their comprehensive benefits.