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A-04 Transport of products to the construction site – screening and simplified LCA

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Aspect

A-04 Transport of products to the construction site – screening and simplified LCA
Description
 This aspect is related to the transport of building products from the manufacturer’s production plant (or from regional storage) to the construction site. In practice, the assessment of transportation impact depends on the number of manufacturers or the number of regional storage providing a given building product. Such detailed information may be impossible to obtain without close cooperation with the building industry.Should the transport of products to construction site be included? What could the transportation distance be for each building product? Should losses be allowed for?

Related study objective

 ☒ stand-alone LCA ☒ comparative assertion

Related study phase

 ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
goal and scope definition inventory analysis (LCI) impact assessment (LCIA) interpretation reporting

Relevant for
new buildings existing buildings building products screening LCA simplified LCA complete LCA
Provisions For screening and simplified LCA, transport to the construction site is optional, because of both potentially missing data and minor relevance at the scale of full building LCAs.If data are available, transport of products to the construction site may be included in a screening or simplified LCA unless they fall under the cut-off rules. The practitioner should use average transport distances and load factors. Rules should follow the recommendations of EN 15804. This includes the impacts of the transport and the impacts of any transport-related losses of material and its disposal (i.e. the impact of manufacturing material that is wasted as a result of transport, and the impact of disposing of the waste). Losses should be documented, where they occur.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 
7.4.3.2 Boundary of the Transport to and from site (Module A4)

EN 15804: 
6.2.3 A4-A5, Construction process stage, information modules
Guidance
 Modelling of the life cycle stage ‘Transport to the site’ should be iterative, and linked to corresponding cut-off rules defined e.g. in EN 15804/EN 15978.

1) Specific guidance for building LCA studies
For building LCA, transport may be not significant in terms of environmental impact, allowing proxy data to be used. As a default transport distance, average transport distances of 300 km can be assumed for all building products, based on previous work [Nemry 2008]; [Lasvaux 2010]. However, most building products, particularly bulk products such as aggregates or ready-mixed concrete, are likely to travel shorter distances. For example, Eurostat freight transport statistics show that, for almost all member states, more than 50% (by mass) of ‘Other non-metallic mineral products’ travel less than 50 km per trip.

2) Specific guidance for product LCA studies
Previous studies have shown that for cradle-to-grave product LCA transport represents up to 15% of the usual life cycle impact indicators in median values [Lasvaux 2010]. The highest share is for the photochemical ozone potential (POCP), this indicator being more linked to air emissions of lorries than the other ones. Other studies have shown for ‘cradle-to-gate with options data’ (including only transportation to the building site and the construction installation process related to the product) that transport is of relevance, as well as the ancillary products, compare with minor aspects, such as cutting waste or the building process [Kellenberger 2009].

Other studies, e.g. from the UK, have estimated that carbon emissions from freight transport of building products represent at least 5% of the embodied carbon from manufacture. For building LCA (accounting for replacement of building products during the use stage and the end of life), it does not represent more than 5% of the non-renewable primary energy, owing to the higher share of the use phase in building LCAs, based on a French case study [Lasvaux 2010].

A-05 Transport of products to the construction site – complete LCA

Written on .

Aspect

A-05 Transport of products to the construction site – complete LCA
Description
 This aspect is related to the transport of building products from the manufacturer’s production plant (or from regional storage) to the construction site. In practice, the assessment of transportation impact depends on the number of manufacturers or the number of regional storage providing a given building product. Such detailed information may be impossible to obtain without close cooperation with the building industry.Should the transport of products to construction site be included? What could the transportation distance be for each building product? Should losses be allowed for?

Related study objective

 ☒ stand-alone LCA ☒ comparative assertion

Related study phase

 ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
goal and scope definition inventory analysis (LCI) impact assessment (LCIA) interpretation reporting

Relevant for
new buildings existing buildings building products screening LCA simplified LCA complete LCA
Provisions Transport of products to the construction site should be included for complete LCA.The practitioner should use specific transport distances and load factors, or average distances and load factors if data are missing. The rules provided in EN 15804 should be applied. This includes the impacts of the transport and the impacts of any transport-related losses of material and its disposal (i.e. the impact of manufacturing material that is wasted as a result of transport and the impact of disposing of the waste). Losses should be documented, where these occur.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 
7.4.3.2 Boundary of the Transport to and from site (Module A4)

EN 15804: 
6.2.3 A4-A5, Construction process stage, information modules
Guidance
 The practitioner should use specific data, such as that available in national EPD programmes (e.g. such specific data are available in France). Data on distance traveled and mode of transport (road, rail, sea container etc.) should be collected for each input material and waste generated. Transports should be covered all the way from the producer or to waste treatment, not just from a depot or storage warehouse. For example, the transport of timber from the sawmill in Scandinavia should be included, not just from the local timber merchant’s depot. Unless transport is likely to be very significant, generic datasets for transport per tonne-kilometre can be used. These take account of typical vehicle size, fuel efficiency, typical loading, and percentage of empty return journeys. More detailed data on the number of deliveries, size of truck, Euroclass, actual load, return journey etc. can be gathered and used to generate more specific data, but this is rarely useful unless the transport phase is particularly important. Impacts of waste that is created within the transport phase should be considered. This means that if material is wasted during this phase, its manufacturing impact and the impacts of disposal should both be considered in Module A4.

1) Specific guidance for building LCA studies
Specific distances should be collected and used for complete LCA of buildings, otherwise default average transport distances of 300 km can be assumed for all building products, based on previous works [Nemry 2008; Lasvaux 2010]. However, most building products, particularly bulk products such as aggregates and ready-mixed concrete, are likely to travel shorter distances. For example, Eurostat freight transport statistics show that, for almost all member states, more than 50% (by mass) of ‘Other non-metallic mineral products’ travel less than 50 km per trip.

2) Specific guidance for product LCA studies
The practitioner interested in obtaining detailed guidance on transport distances and load factors of lorries can look for PCR documents of national EPD programmes, and in national transport statistics.

7.1 Overview

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This chapter addresses aspects that are related to life cycle stage B. The aspects of this chapter all provide provisions, rules and guidance for the goal and scope definition and the inventory analysis steps according to [ISO 14040] and [ISO 14044].

The following list describes the addressed aspects in Module B.

7      Aspects concerning Module B – Use stage

B-01 Emissions of dangerous substances to indoor air during the use stage

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Aspect B-01 Emissions of dangerous substances to indoor air during the use stage
Description
 This aspect concerns the emissions of regulated dangerous substances from building products into indoor air, which can have an impact on health.

related study objective

 ☒ stand-alone LCA ☒ comparative assertion

related study phase

 ☒ ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
goal and scope definition inventory analysis (LCI) impact assessment (LCIA) interpretation reporting

relevant for
new buildings existing buildings construction products screening LCA simplified LCA complete LCA
Provisions The emissions of health-related substances into indoor air during the use stage should be assessed in the context of a complete LCA, according to the European standards from CEN/TC 351: see guidance below.
Rules from:
 EN 15978:

7.4.4.2 Boundary of the installed products in use (Module B1)

EN 15804:

7.4 Additional information on release of dangerous substances to indoor air, soil and water during the use stage

7.4.1 Indoor air

ILCD:

“ISO 14044 names ‘emissions to air, water and soil’ as top-level classification, while recommending further differentiation as required for the given goal and scope of the LCA work.” ILCD Handbook: Framework and requirements for LCIA models and indicators: “This guidance document provides a framework and requirements for the models that are used to analyse the emissions into air, water and soil,…”
Guidance

The boundary of Module B1 includes impacts such as the release of substances from the façade, roof, floor coverings, internal finishes and other products that affect indoor air quality, which should be assessed according to the CEN/TC 351 standards, once these are available. The use stage starts at the point of practical completion of the construction work and runs to the time when the building is deconstructed or demolished.

EN 15804 is clear that the effects of health-related emissions and indoor air quality are not part of LCIA, but are considered and reported separately.  An emission, for example of a volatile solvent, from a product manufacturing process, installation process or product during use can be assessed as part of LCIA (e.g. POCP impact), irrespective of where and when the emission happens; the impact will be reported in the life cycle stage in which the impact occurs. But the effect of the emission from the product during use into indoor air where occupants are living or working can have separate health-related impacts that will be dependent on time and location, and are different from the impacts measured in LCIA. TC 351 provides guidance on how to report information on the health-related emissions from products in use, and covers emissions to air, water and soil (the emissions to water and soil are covered separately by Aspect B-02).

The guidance provides information on how to collect consistent data on indoor air emissions, and how they can be used in impact assessment methodologies.

The emissions of dangerous substances into indoor air during the use stage should be assessed according to the CEN/TC 351 standards.

The robustness programme is in progress in 2012, and the validated standards will be available in 2013. A list of regulated dangerous substances possibly associated with building products under the CPD (Construction Product Directive) Regulation has been established at European level [EC 2011]. This list indicates the substances and parameters that the evaluation should focus on. No aggregation is foreseen. For each pollutant, limit values can be defined at national level. At present, regulations exist in some European countries, such as Germany [AgBB 2010] and France [JORF 2011], and many voluntary labels exist at the European level [EC 2005a]. The results from CEN/TC351 tests will be integrated into the CE marking scheme, and allow products to meet CPR basic requirement No. 3 on Hygiene, Health and Environment [EC 2005b]. They are complementary to the results obtained using the LCA methodology.

Further work is necessary in order to establish scientific and pragmatic links between the data obtained by an LCA approach (CEN/TC 350 work) and that obtained by using emissions protocols (CEN/TC 351 work).

Some information on this issue is given in the LoRe-LCA project [LoRe-LCA 2011]. For more information on the link between LCI data on air emissions and LCIA method please consult the ‘Human toxicity and ecotoxicity indicators’ aspect.

For comparative assertions, simulation data are comparable if based on the same scenarios and hypothesis. All the parameters and hypotheses should be mentioned and explained together with the results in order to improve comparability.

 

B-02 Release of dangerous substances to soil and water during the use stage

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Aspect B-02 Release of dangerous substances to soil and water during the use stage
Description
 The release of dangerous substances to soil and water during the use stage concern the on-site water pollution induced by leaching (water contact with the built environment). These are expressed in mg of the released substance per m2 or kg of the exposed product, per time unit (e.g. year) and service life.

related study objective

 ☒ stand-alone LCA ☒ comparative assertion

related study phase

 ☒ ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐
goal and scope definition inventory analysis (LCI) impact assessment (LCIA) interpretation reporting

relevant for
new buildings existing buildings construction products screening LCA simplified LCA complete LCA
Provisions The release of dangerous substances to soil and water during use stage should be assessed in the context of a complete LCA, according to the European standards from CEN/TC 351.
Rules from:
 EN 15978:
7.4.4.2 Boundary of the installed products in use (Module B1)EN 15804:
7.4 Additional information on release of dangerous substances to indoor air, soil and water during the use stage
7.4.2 Soil and water

ILCD:
“Mandatory for both technical and non-technical target audience: ‘elementary flow categories’ by receiving/providing environmental compartment: ‘Emissions to water’.” “ISO 14044 names ‘emissions to air, water and soil’ as top-level classification, while recommending further differentiation as required for the given goal and scope of the LCA work.” ILCD Handbook: Framework and requirements for LCIA models and indicators: “This guidance document provides a framework and requirements for the models that are used to analyse the emissions into air, water and soil,…”
Guidance
 The boundary of Module B1 for buildings includes impacts such as release of substances from the façade, roof and other surfaces, which should be assessed according to the CEN/TC 351 standards.The release of dangerous substances should be provided for products exposed to soil and water after their installation in buildings during the use stage according to the horizontal standards issued from CEN TC 351, once these are available.The release of dangerous substances, expressed in mg/m2or kg per time unit and service life, should be assessed according to the CEN/TC 351 standards. The following draft documents are available: CEN/TC351/WG1/TS2 ‘Generic horizontal dynamic surface leaching test (DSLT) for determination of surface dependent release of substances from monolithic or plate-like or sheet-like building products’ and CEN/TC351/WG1/TS3 ‘Generic horizontal up-flow percolation test for determination of the release of substances from granular building products’ [CEN 2010b] (a third test method deals with the determination of the release of volatile organic compounds into indoor air by means of test chamber [CEN 2010c]). The robustness programme is in progress in 2012, and the validated standards should be available in 2013.A list of regulated dangerous substances possibly associated with building products under the Construction Product Directive (CPD) Regulation has been established at European level [EC 2011]. This list indicates which substances and parameters the evaluation should focus on . No aggregation is foreseen.For each pollutant, limit values are or can be defined at national level (at present only a few Member States have quantitative requirements on this issue, e.g. the Dutch ‘Soil Quality Decree’ [VROM 2007] and the German ‘Principles for assessing the effects of building products on soil and groundwater’ [DIBt 2009]). The results from these tests will be integrated into the CE marking scheme and make it possible to meet the RPC basic requirement No. 3 on hygiene, health and environment [EC 2005b]. They are complementary to the results obtained using the LCA methodology.Further work is necessary in order to establish scientific and pragmatic links between data obtained by an LCA approach (CEN/TC 350 work) and by using leaching tests (CEN/TC 351 work). Some proposals are available, as for example in [Lupsea 2012].For comparative assertions, simulation data are comparable if based on the same scenarios and hypothesis. All the parameters and hypotheses should be mentioned and explained together with the results in order to improve comparability.

B-03 Maintenance – product LCA

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Aspect B-03 Maintenance – product LCA
Description
 Product LCAs can have different system boundaries, which can include or exclude maintenance.

related study objective

 ☒ stand-alone LCA ☒ comparative assertion

related study phase

 ☒ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
goal and scope definition inventory analysis (LCI) impact assessment (LCIA) interpretation reporting

relevant for
new buildings existing buildings construction products screening LCA simplified LCA complete LCA
Provisions The consideration of maintenance is subject to the study type definitions. For complete LCA studies, the aspect should be considered in line with the cut-off criteria; for screening and simplified LCA studies, this aspect is optional.
Rules from:

EN 15804

 6.3.4.4.1 General
6.3.4.4.2 B1-B5 Use stage information modules related to the building fabric6.3.5 Criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs
Guidance
 For many construction products, no predictable maintenance procedures exist during the product life cycle, e.g. for the studwork in an internal wall or a concrete floor structure. However, for some products, such as flooring, regular cleaning is required. Many products (e.g., windows, internal walls, ceilings) also require regular surface maintenance, e.g. repainting.For complete LCA studies: Maintenance should be considered where it is likely to have a significant impact based on the cut-off rules. Specifically, if maintenance is likely to have more than 5% input by mass of total inputs over life cycle stages B1–B5 it must be considered.Where it is unclear whether an activity should be considered as maintenance, repair, replacement or refurbishment, the most suitable module should be chosen and justified (refer to aspect B-32 ‘Distinction between Modules B2, B3, B4 and B5 for further guidance’).

Maintenance processes at the product level should be considered on the basis of the most likely scenario or scenarios (e.g., Scenario 1, window in Finland vs. Scenario 2, window in Slovenia, other aspects being the same, e.g. orientation, exposure etc. – the likely recommended intervals for repainting the same window will vary depending, on this scenario).

See the section 3.4 on service life planning for guidance on the development of scenarios.

In cost terms, regular maintenance visits to check equipment can be significant, although the only environmental impact is associated with the transport of staff to the site. See aspect A-02 (transport of staff) for more information.

All processes B1 to B5 should include the impacts associated with the process. For maintenance, the impact of producing and transporting the materials used, the impact of the maintenance activity, e.g. water and energy used, and the impact of disposing of any waste produced, e.g. waste water from cleaning, need to be considered. These impacts may be aggregated, and reported as a single process, or broken down and reported separately to enable alternative scenarios to be generated. This may be helpful where there are significant variations between scenarios.