The new face of long-term building performance
Courtesy of Pioneer
Last week we introduced the USGBC’s new Building Performance Initiative, a method of pinpointing performance gaps within building systems year over year. With this initiative in place, green building certification must not simply be achieved, but measured and maintained over time. Life Cycle Assessments are a key technique for assessing a product’s performance within a building system over the long term, ensuring the continued development of the highest performing buildings.
Not sure where to begin? Let the experts at BuildIntel walk you through the ins and outs of LCA’s so you can continue to make better sustainable decisions in your building practices.
What is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?
According to the EPA, LCA’s are a technique to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service by:
· Compiling an inventory to relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases
· Evaluating the potential environmental impacts associated with identified inputs and releases
· Interpreting the results to help make a more informed decision about he human health and environmental impacts of products, processes, and activities
Life Cycle Assessments look at products from “cradle-to-grave”, meaning all stages of a product’s life are taken into consideration. It begins with the raw materials needed to produce the product, the manufacturing of the product, including packaging and transportation, use of the product and disposal of the product after it’s used.
Conducting an LCA
The LCA process is broken down into four main phases:
· Goals and Scoping – Defines the product and determines which processes will be included, which environmental concerns will be addressed and what economic or social good is provided by the product.
· Inventory Analysis – Identifies and measures all environmental inputs and outputs from all parts of a product’s life
· Impact Assessment – Assesses the potential human and ecological effects of energy, water and material usage and the environmental releases identified in the inventory analysis
· Interpretation – An analysis of impact data, which determines whether the goals and scope can be met
The Following software programs can be used to complete lifestyle assessments
· SimaPro7
What can conducting a LCA do for you?
As the demand for green in the building marketplace increases, LCAs are a strategic tool for promoting the positive environmental impact that a product may have. From a marketing standpoint, completing a Life Cycle Assessment enables building product manufacturers to bolster their marketing claims with quantifiable results, which then improves your product’s image and credibility. Also, LCAs may lead to finding better ways to design or manufacture a product that will reduce it’s impact to the environment.
Whole systems thinking is becoming a bigger and bigger trend, and architects are demanding products that will perform in that system over time. Similarly, thinking about a building performance over the long term is now a requirement to maintain LEED certification. Be sure to check out these other helpful LCA resources to ensure that your long-term building performance is truly sustainable.
· Integrating LCA Tools in LEED: First Steps
· Conducting a Life-Cycle Assessment
- Green Building does not equal Sustainable Building
- Green Building: Where Are We Going and How Will We Get There?
Tags: EPA, LEED, Life Cycle Assessment, USGBC