Land use impact assessment in the construction sector: an analysis of LCIA models and case study application

Purpose: Land use is a potentially important impact category in LCA studies of buildings. Three research questions are addressed in this paper: (1) Is land use a decisive factor in the environmental impact of buildings?; (2) Is it important to include the primary land use of buildings in the assessment?; and (3) How does the environmental performance of solid structure and timber frame dwellings compare when assessed using different available models for quantifying land use impacts? Methods: This paper compares several operational land use impact assessment models, which are subsequently implemented in an LCA case study comparing a building constructed using timber frame versus a solid structure. Different models were used for the different research questions. Results: The results reveal that different decisions may be supported by LCA study results, depending on whether or not and how land use is included in the assessment. The analysis also highlights the need to include the footprint of the building in the assessment and to better distinguish building locations in current land use impact assessment models. Conclusions: Selecting land use assessment methods that are most appropriate to the goals of the study is recommended as different models assess different environmental issues related to land use. In general, the combination of two land use assessment methods for buildings is recommended, i.e. soil organic matter (SOM) of Milà i Canals and Eco-indicator 99.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

The European Commission Organisation Environmental Footprint method: comparison with other methods, and rationales for key requirements

PURPOSE: The European Commission (EC) is currently developing a reference methodology for organisation environmental footprinting (OEF) in support of improving the sustainability of production and consumption. This methodological development is guided by four core criteria. Specifically, the methodology will provide for a (1) multi-criteria, (2) life cycle-based approach that considers all organisational and related activities across the value chain, (3) provides for reproducibility and comparability over flexibility, and (4) ensures physically realistic modelling. METHODS: Here, we review a subset of existing organisation environmental footprinting methods. We identify key areas of convergence and divergence between these methods, and the extent to which the methodological specifications they provide satisfy the four aforementioned criteria for a harmonised EC OEF methodology. On this basis, we specify where the EC OEF method must necessarily diverge from and/or go beyond the reviewed methods. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We specify recommended methodological norms for, among other things, definition of the unit of analysis (the organisation) and reference flow; organisation and analytical boundaries; cut-off criteria; impact categories and models; allocation solutions; and data quality management. We further provide a rationale for the recommended alternative requirements to be adopted for EC OEF compliant studies. CONCLUSIONS: The final EC OEF methodology is foreseen to be made public in 2013.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Developing scientifically-sound Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules: development options, challenges and implications

The Environmental Footprint (EF), launched by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in cooperation with Directorate-General for the Environment, provides general guidance for comprehensive, scientifically-sound and consistent environmental assessment of products and organisations. The aim of the EF is to ensure science-based decision support for industry and policy making. To make the general-level rules of the EF more relevant and applicable to specific product categories and sectors, the EF guides provide requirements to develop the so called PEF Category Rules (PEFCRs) and OEF Sector Rules (OEFSRs). PEFCRs and OEFSRs are seen as corner stones for consistent and robust assessments instrumental to specific environmental communication forms, namely business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) intended to be used for comparisons. The focus of this paper is on the key challenges in developing PEFCRs.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

The need for a comprehensive and consistent approach in sustainability assessment of buildings - the EC Product Environmental Footprint

To date a proliferation of sustainability claims in architecture is noticed with a main focus on energy during the use stage of buildings. Although this is highly relevant, a more comprehensive life cycle approach is needed to support decision making in order not to overlook relevant environmental burdens such as respiratory effects and land use. As a base for addressing the current confusion in the market, the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) was developed and has recently been adopted by the European Commission. This method provides specific guidance for comprehensive, robust and consistent environmental assessment of products. It is based on four main principles: (1) multi-criteria, (2) life cycle thinking, (3) consistency and (4) ensuring maximally physically representative modeling. This paper presents the PEF in the specific context of buildings.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

The development of Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules

The European Commission's “Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe” proposes ways to increase resource productivity and to decouple economic growth from both resource use and environmental impacts, taking a life-cycle perspective. One of its objectives is to: “Establish a common methodological approach to enable Member States and the private sector to assess, display and benchmark the environmental performance of products, services and companies based on a comprehensive assessment of environmental impacts over the life-cycle ('environmental footprint')”. The European Council invited the Commission to develop supporting methodologies. The Environmental Footprint (EF), launched by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in close cooperation with Directorate-General for the Environment, gives specific guidance for comprehensive, robust and consistent environmental assessment of products and organisations. This is an important step forward to ensure robust decision support for business and policy. However, for to be more relevant to the situation and problems of specific product categories more specific guidance on how to conduct the EF study is required. The guides on Product EF (PEF) and Organisation EF (OEF) provide more specific requirements that need to be defined in so called Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs). These PEFCRs are seen as crucial for EF studies aiming at business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) communication intended to be used for comparisons and comparative assertions. The role of PEFCRs are to increase the reproducibility, consistency, comparability and relevance of EF studies, but also to increase the efficiency (reduce time, efforts and costs) of EF studies by directing the focus on the most important processes and impact categories. First steps are taken by the European Commission to develop PEFCRs through several pilot studies. These will build on: • The recent development of guidelines on the development of Product Category Rules (PCRs) by the United States Environmental Protection Agency • Existing PCRs and specific sector guidance such as the European Food Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Round Table , PAS2050, GEDNets PCRs for Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and the Repository of good practice in France (related to BP X 30-323) • Knowledge and experience from a broad spectre of stakeholders For the development of PEFCR there are at least three major challenges that will be discussed in the presentation: definition of the Product Category/Sector in a way that allows for meaningful comparison of products fulfilling an equivalent function, definition and modelling of an average product(s) and identifying and focussing on what matters most. This contribution gives an overview of what PEFCRs are and highlights some issues relating to their development.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Using life cycle based environmental assessment in developing innovative multi-functional glass-polymer windows

The HarWin (Harvesting solar energy with multifunctional glass-polymer windows) FP7 project focuses on the development of innovative windows and their integration in buildings. These innovative windows aim at improving significantly the energy efficiency of windows and buildings and performing environmentally well on a life cycle base. The improvements are based on reduced material usage and weight, reduced thermal conductivity and energy consumption and hence, reduced environmental life cycle impacts. The innovation lays in the integration in the window of intelligent phase changing materials and novel glass-polymer composites with wavelength management capability. As windows are multi-component and multi-functional systems, an appropriate Life Cycle Environmental Assessment (LCEA) method is needed. Based on an evaluation of best available methods and tools for LCEA an adapted method for windows is proposed. This paper furthermore discusses how the method proposed can be used efficiently during the development process of the innovative window.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Allocation solutions for secondary material production and end of liferecovery: Proposals for product policy initiatives

This paper aims at analysing how secondary materials production and end of life recovery processes are modelled in life cycle-based environmental assessment methods in order to discuss their suitability in product policy-support contexts, with a focus on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) policies. The equations prescribed in three published, widely-recognised standards are evaluated. In addition, more recent modelling approaches that have been adopted in the context of two EU product policy initiatives (the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) and the Resource Efficiency Assessment of Products (REAPro)) are similarly analysed. All of the methods are scrutinised against eight criteria which we deem to be important in product policy-support contexts, including comprehensiveness, accommodation of Open-loop and Closed-loop product systems, and consideration of recyclability/recoverability rates, to name a few. Based on this analysis, it is suggested that the PEF and REAPro modelling approaches appear to be better suited for use in product policy-support contexts than do the currently widely-endorsed methods that we considered.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen

Guidance for Product Category Rule Development

This guidance document is a response to an internationally recognized need for additional instruction on the development of rules specific to a category of products for making claims based on a life cycle assessment (LCA). The purpose is to supplement existing standards for LCA-based claims that require the development of product category rules (PCRs) or their equivalents. The aim is that PCRs can be developed in a consistent manner and used to support claims based on multiple standards. The scope of the Guidance is global. The Guidance embodies the efforts of individuals with expertise in LCA and LCA-based product claims from more over 40 organizations in 13 countries and regions under the name of The Product Category Rule Guidance Development Initiative. The Initiative received no financial support from any standard or other product claim program and this Guidance reflects no bias toward any particular standard or program. The Guidance is intended to be a living document and we hope that it will continue to improve as the application of product claims based on LCA expands and diversifies.JRC.H.8-Sustainability Assessmen