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Tag: Study type: Complete LCA

A-12 Transport of construction workers – complete LCA

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Aspect A-12 Transport of construction workers – complete LCA
Description
 This aspect concerns the transportation of construction workers from home to work and to the construction site. Under specific goal and scope, this aspect might be interesting for, say, a construction company that needs to identify the hotspots of its construction site.

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 The transport of construction workers may be included in complete LCA if it is relevant for the goal and scope of the study (e.g. a construction company might have more interest than a building designer in this aspect).In the context of a complete LCA, the transportation of workers to site may be taken into account based on detailed calculations if relevant for the goal and scope of the study, unless this aspect falls under cut-off rules.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)
Guidance
 The practitioner should use detailed calculation based on specific data for complete LCA. For more information about the relative share of impacts of the transport of workers, the practitioner can refer to the existing literature.This aspect may be neglected for most building LCA studies, because it may fall outside the goal and scope. However, specific building stakeholders, such as construction companies, may have a special interest and thus will take it into account.

If taken into account, this aspect is likely to fall under cut-off-rules for most construction projects. Unless the energy used for transport of staff to site is likely to exceed 1% of the primary energy requirement for the site operation, it is not necessary to collect data from staff on their journey to and from the construction site. If necessary, the significance could be reviewed by considering costs as a proxy for primary energy, although it should be recognized that petrol and diesel are often highly taxed relative to electricity. Such a statement should be supported through detailed studies of the construction stage. It will be revised if more evidence is available.

A-14 Transport of construction machinery to the building site – complete LCA

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Aspect A-14 Transport of construction machinery to the building site – complete LCA
Description
 This aspect concerns the transportation of machinery necessary for the construction of a building from the storage place to the construction site. Under specific goal and scope, this aspect might be interesting, e.g. for a construction company that needs to identify the hotspots of its construction site.

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 In the context of a complete LCA, the transportation of construction machinery to site should be taken into account if it is relevant for the goal and scope of the study (e.g. a construction company might have more interest than a building designer on this aspect),.Rules for estimation should follow the recommendations of EN 15804. In this case, practitioners should refer to the cut-off rules, and use detailed calculations for the transportation distances and load factors (unless this aspect falls under cut-off rules).
Rules from:
 EN 15978:8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)
Guidance
 The practitioner should use specific data for the ancillary materials and for the processes or construction tools (which can be defined with stakeholders) for complete LCA.This aspect may be neglected for most construction projects, owing to its minor relevance.

A-16 Installation of the product into the building – complete LCA

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Aspect

A-16 Installation of the product into the building – complete LCA
Description
 The installation of products into the building needs ancillary materials and processes (e.g. energy). What should be taken into account during the installation stage (e.g. drills, screwdrivers)?

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 The inclusion of ancillary materials should follow EN 15804/EN 15978.The energy and related emissions from the construction tools and installation of ancillary materials should follow EN 15978.They should be included for complete LCA studies, and particularly for cradle-to-grave product LCA.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 

8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)

EN 15804: 

6.2.3. A4–A5, Construction process stage, information modules

7.3.2. Construction process stage
Guidance
 General guidance for product LCA studies (e.g. EPD)

According to both EN 15804 and EN 15978, the installation of products into the building, including ancillary materials and their related processes, should be taken into account. The practitioner should comply with EN 15804 as far as possible, assuming the provisions are sufficiently clear. If an aspect is not clearly defined in the standard (e.g. there is so far no list of ancillary materials for the different applications of building products), the practitioner should always document assumptions made concerning the inclusion of ancillary materials.

 

Specific guidance for product LCA studies (e.g. EPD)

For cradle-to-grave product LCA, the practitioner needs to combine a cradle-to-gate LCA with some LCA data for ancillary materials implemented in the construction stage in order to fulfil the functional unit. For example, for cradle-to-grave EPD of a glued laminated timber beam in a building, the functional unit can be as follows: the function ‘support the structural elements from the roof for 100 years’ is defined for 1 ml of a beam of 5 m for a cross-section of 0.3 × 0.1 m. The ancillary materials in this case might be galvanized steel bolts, for example. The impacts related to their manufacture and transport to the site should be allocated to Module A5, as they are not primary raw materials in the wooden beam manufacturing process.

However, in other cases, e.g. ready-mixed concrete assembled on site with reinforcing steel, as these two raw materials are not ancillary materials the impacts of their manufacture and transport to the site should be allocated to Modules A3 and A4 respectively.

For other specific cases it may be tricky. For example, for ceramic tiles that need on-site mortar to be installed in the building, the allocation of the impacts of the mortar may be not clear, as it depends on the status of the mortar: is it a raw material next to the ceramic tiles (impact allocated to Modules A1–A3) or only an ancillary product (impact allocated only to Module A5)?

The more the environmental impacts of ancillary materials (related to manufacturing and transport to the site) are allocated to Module A5, the more relative impact this life cycle stage will have compared with production and end-of-life. It should be emphasized that the ancillary materials’ upstream impacts are not direct impact of a construction site.

In this context, the results for Module A5 should be interpreted accordingly.

Specific guidance for building LCA studies

For complete LCA the practitioner should use specific data for the ancillary materials, and for the processes or construction tools (which can be defined with stakeholders) . For most construction projects, this aspect is likely to fall under cut-off-rules.

A-17 Accounting of on-site capital goods (e.g. construction ma-chinery, bungalows…)

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Aspect A-17 Accounting of on-site capital goods (e.g. construction machinery, bungalows…)
Description
 Various capital goods can be found on a construction site, such as construction machinery (skid-steer loaders, bulldozers), cranes, and the bungalows for the workers. These capital goods are generally used by a construction company on different construction projects. In this context, it is important to assess the depreciation of capital goods, and allocate the impacts of their manufacture to a certain amount for one construction site. Should capital goods be included in complete LCA studies? Is there necessarily a deviation from EN 15978?

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 The capital goods may be included in complete LCA if they are relevant for the goal and scope of the study (e.g. a construction company might have more interest than a building designer in this aspect).The capital goods may be taken into account in screening and simplified LCA using default values, or they may be optional, owing to the lack of data.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 
7.4.3.3 Boundary of the on-site processes (Module A5)
9.4.3 Criteria for the exclusion of inputs and outputs
Guidance
 The practitioner should use detailed calculation based on specific data for complete LCA, and refer to the cut-off rules guidance, if relevant.The capital goods may be assessed in screening and simplified LCA by using default values. LCA data can be calculated using LCA data for building products (as a proxy) if no more precise data are available on complete capital goods (e.g. a crane is composed of x% of steel, y%…, etc.) This aspect may be neglected for most construction projects, owing to its minor relevance.

A-19 Water and energy demand during construction – complete LCA

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Aspect

A-19 Water and energy demand during construction – complete LCA
Description
 This aspect concerns the water and energy demand on the construction site. Energy and water are consumed both for the construction of the building and for the workers’ accommodation.

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 The water and energy demand may be included in complete LCA if it is relevant for the goal and scope of the study (e.g. a construction company might have more interest than a building designer in this aspect).Water and energy consumption on the construction site should be considered for a complete LCA, if it does not fall under the cut-off rules.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)

EN 15804: 

6.3.4.3 Construction stage
Guidance
 The practitioner should use detailed calculations based on the amount of water and energy consumption from meter readings on site. These experimental data should be linked to LCA data covering upstream (potabilization) and downstream (waste water treatment) processes for the water-related impacts, and upstream processes for the energy consumption (supply) for complete LCA. Refer to the cut-off rules guidance if relevant.

A-21 Construction wastes – complete LCA

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Aspect

A-21 Construction wastes – complete LCA
Description
 The construction of a building generates considerable cutting waste. Should such waste be considered in the context of a complete LCA?

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 Construction waste should be included in a complete LCA if it is relevant for the goal and scope of the study, provided it does not fall under cut-off-rules (e.g. a construction company might have more interest than a building designer in this aspect).
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)

EN 15804: 

6.2.3 A4-A5, Construction process stage, information modules
Guidance
 Site wastage may be considerable, and has impacts both from manufacture and transport of the material and from transport and waste processing and disposal of the wastes.In some EPDs, wastes during installation into the building may be documented (e.g. in the current French EPDs, loss of product on site is reported). The practitioner should use detailed calculations for complete LCA. If a construction waste is included, the impact of production related to the loss of product should be quantified within he Module A5. Similarly, the scenario for the type of waste disposal and wastage rate used should be considered relative to the building situation.WRAP has consulted with UK industry, and has provided baseline and good practice wastage rates for most construction material types, which could be used in the absence of other data.

A-23 Prefabrication of building products – complete LCA

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Aspect

A-23 Prefabrication of building products – complete LCA
Description
 This aspect refers to the off-site construction assembly of prefabricated product such as reinforced concrete. Should the off-site construction be included in the context of a complete LCA?

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 Preprocessing should be considered in the context of a complete LCA. The manufacture of prefabricated building products should be included in Modules A1–A3, and their transport in Module A4. The impacts related to their installation (waste, machinery etc.) should be included in Module A5.
Rules from:
 EN 15978: 8.5 Scenarios for the construction process stage (Modules A4-A5)
Guidance
 The practitioner should use detailed calculation for a complete LCA, based on specific data (e.g. EPD information for Module A5).

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-05 Maintenance with complete LCA

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Aspect B-05 Maintenance with complete LCA
Description
 Maintenance is defined as the combination of all planned actions during the service life to maintain the product installed in a building in a state in which it can deliver its required functional and technical performance.

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 maintenance procedure refers only to planned action in response to anticipated losses of performance of building components and building parts. Building modifications in response to unexpected events (e.g. flood, inappropriate use, or vandalism) should be considered as reparation (B3).The overall maintenance scenario should be developed in accordance with:

  • individual EPD (cradle to gate with corresponding option, or cradle to grave);
  • client requirements and current practices;
  • product and component manufacturers’ information;
  • existing applicable standards, such as ISO 15686-1, -2, -7 and -8 [ISO 15686].

The maintenance scenario should include (EN 15804):

  • the production and transportation of any component and ancillary products used for maintenance, including cleaning;
  • the transportation of any wastage from maintenance processes or from maintenance-related transportation;
  • the end-of-life processes of any wastage from transportation and the maintenance process, including any part of the component and ancillary materials removed;
  • water and energy usage related to cleaning.

Water and energy usage related to maintenance operations other than cleaning should always be included.
Rules from:
 EN 15978:
7.4.4.1 General
7.4.4.3 Boundary for maintenance (Module B2)
8.3 Time related characteristics
8.6.3 Scenarios for maintenance, repair, replacement

EN 15804:

6.3.3. Reference service life

6.3.4.4.2  – B2 Maintenance

7.3.3.1 B1–B5 use stage related to the building fabric

Annex A
Guidance
 It is expected that not all necessary information required to develop a maintenance scenario will be included in the EPDs. Nevertheless, the maintenance scenario should encompass the planned actions for listed components (see above), based on the available information. Knowledge gaps should be filled by referring to state-of-the-art practice.In addition, LCA of existing buildings should take into account real and established practices (real-life data) specific to a particular building, but scenarios based on current practice may also be developed.When developing a maintenance scenario at the building scale, the it should be consistent with the reference service life of each component or building part.Maintenance examples (from EN 15804): Painting work on window frames, doors, etc. as well as the annual inspection and maintenance of the (oil or gas) boiler […].