Indian construction industry is one of the largest in terms
of employing manpower and volume of materials produced
(cement, brick, steel and other materials). Construction
sector in India is responsible for major input of energy
resulting in the largest share of CO2 emissions (22%) into
the atmosphere [5]. Apart from the office, commercial and
industrial buildings, >2 106 residential buildings are built
annually, in India. Demand and supply gap for residential
buildings is increasing every year (20 million units in 1980
to 40 million units in 2000 [6]. Cement (>75 million tonnes
per annum), steel (>10 million tonnes per annum) and bricks
(>70 billion per annum) are the largest and bulk consumption
items in the Indian construction industry. Minimising
the consumption of the conventional materials by using
alternative materials, methods and techniques can result
in scope for considerable energy savings as well as reduction
of CO2 emission. This paper presents a detailed account
of embodied energy in alternative building materials and
techniques and comparison of embodied energy in buildings
built with conventional and the new building methods.