Identifying the relevance of construction products for building certification

The certification of sustainable buildings can easily be seen as one of the relevant drivers for current discussions concerning sustainability in the construction sector. The quality of.a certification depends on various factors, one being the choice of the materials and construction products used. The importance of the choice of the right material is frequently emphasised, yet rarely proven or quantified. Quantitative information on the performance of products with regard to sustainable buildings certification, however, forms the basis for the selection of objectively best performing products, as well as for further optimization of construction products. This article outlines a method to analyse the influence of a construction product on the outcome of a building certification process. The method identifies links between categories of construction products and certification indicators. On the basis of these links, the relation of product properties and indicator mechanisms are described and the influence of individual products and their properties can be quantified. The use of the method is applied to the certification system of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) and demonstrated for one specific construction product, a wall-mounted acoustic absorber. The results of the case study highlight the relevance of specific indicators for the product. They indicate, on which product properties the focus of future product improvements should lie. Additionally, a thorough understanding of the systematics of the underlying certification system can be extracted from the application of the method. The method reflects a basis for further systematic analyses of the principles and mechanisms of building certification systems. It also provides a scientific foundation for an impartial discussion on the relevance of construction products or product categories for building certification. On this basis, further product developments and product innovation, as well as objective product choices by planners, may be anticipated. This article summarizes the dissertation of the corresponding author

Sustainable Building Specifier (SBS) in european research projects

In the last ten years significant progress in the development and implementation of energy efficiency measures in buildings and building equipment were achieved. Therefor the energy demand of buildings decreased tremendously. Due to the reduction of the energy needed in the use phase of a building, the production of the building itself and the building materials get more and more important. Hence in European research projects related to energy efficient buildings and building products, the European Commission asks for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies to verify the decrease of the energy consumption during the whole lifecycle of a building. So far mainly expert tools are available to perform such studies. The "SBS Building Sustainability" was developed to enable also non LCA experts to create transparently and cost effective building LCAs in order to include it not only in the very end of a research project but already in early design stages to maximize the optimization potential. Furthermore it is possible to develop not just a simplified first approach but also very detailed LCAs of buildings. In the European research projects "OPEN HOUSE" and "Cost-Effective" SBS was tested in different levels and with different goals. In "OPEN HOUSE" the tool was used by non LCA experts in different countries to set up 76 building LCAs in order to create European and national benchmarks. In "Cost-Effective" SBS was used to assess retrofit measures on building level including new energy efficient components (e.g. facade integrated PV solution). Building components (e.g. wall constructions) were modelled directly in SBS, whereas the specific energy efficient equipment was imported from the LCA expert tool GaBi. All in all, SBS showed its flexibility in practice to fit to the different goals of the two research projects and the simplification related to time and usability

Recycling options for masonry - identifying sustainable solutions

Almost 15% of the average yearly waste accumulation in Germany originates from construction waste. It mainly comprises mineral materials such as concrete and different types of stonework, like lime-sandstone, red brick, aerated concrete and lightweight concrete. Due to the heterogeneous material composition, this kind of waste often ends up in landfill or can only be used for lower-level recycling. The AiF (German Federation of Industrial Research Association) funded the national research project "Sustainability Analysis for the Recycling of Masonry" in order to show different recycling opportunities for masonry as well as respective required technologies with regard to potential occurring mineral material mixtures. Technologies identified are for example such ones to break masonry into smaller grain sizes and technologies to separate the masonry into single material fractions. Furthermore, the project has the objective to assess the sustainability performance of various recycling options. These options and the related recycling routes are evaluated regarding environmental, economic and social aspects - all three pillars of sustainability - by using the methods of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Working Environment (LCWE). The results are provided within a web-tool for operators of recycling facilities and for demolition companies. Its modular concept affords an individual sustainability assessment by several input options, like machine capacity, investment costs and achievable revenues. The tool enables the user to assess and compare different recycling opportunities concerning environmental, economic and social aspects in relation to identified material compositions and technologies applied

EeBGuide Guidance Document Part A: Products. Operational guidance for Life Cycle Assessment studies of the Energy Efficient Building Initiative

The construction industry is a large contributor to CO2 emissions, with buildings responsible for 40% of the total European energy consumption and a third of CO2 emissions. Therefore the construction sector plays a significant role fulfilling the 20/20 targets of the European Union - Reduction of the energy and the CO2 emissions by 20% and increase of the total energy share with renewable energy sources to 20%. In order to understand, address and finally reduce the environmental emissions, the method of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) plays a key role. In recent years LCAs of buildings and building products become increasingly important. Unfortunately with the number of applications inconsistencies increased as well. The "Energy-efficient Buildings Initiative" (EeB-PPP) and the European Union funded the research project "Operational Guidance for performing Life Cycle Assessment Studies of the Energy efficient building Initiative (EeBGuide)" to harmonize these approaches and to provide LCA practitioners guidance on specific LCA questions. Furthermore the EeBGuide supports building certification and EPD schemes with environmental aspects. These guidelines and instructions will form the basis for consistent and transparent high quality LCAs and therefore serve as a step leading to low environmental impact buildings and building products and to a sustainable future

EeBGuide Guidance Document Part B: Buildings. Operational guidance for life cycle assessment studies of the Energy Efficient Building Initiative

The construction industry is a large contributor to CO2 emissions, with buildings responsible for 40% of the total European energy consumption and a third of CO2 emissions. Therefore the construction sector plays a significant role fulfilling the 20/20 targets of the European Union - Reduction of the energy and the CO2 emissions by 20% and increase of the total energy share with renewable energy sources to 20%. In order to understand, address and finally reduce the environmental emissions, the method of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) plays a key role. In recent years LCAs of buildings and building products become increasingly important. Unfortunately with the number of applications inconsistencies increased as well. The "Energy-efficient Buildings Initiative" (EeB-PPP) and the European Union funded the research project "Operational Guidance for performing Life Cycle Assessment Studies of the Energy efficient building Initiative (EeBGuide)" to harmonize these approaches and to provide LCA practitioners guidance on specific LCA questions. Furthermore the EeBGuide supports building certification and EPD schemes with environmental aspects. These guidelines and instructions will form the basis for consistent and transparent high quality LCAs and therefore serve as a step leading to low environmental impact buildings and building products and to a sustainable future