To initiate change of any kind, one must first be aware of the problem at hand. In the construction industry – which is responsible for 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions and countless other environmental impacts– mastering and understanding the numbers related to its processes is extremely important. But assessing the impact of a concept, process, product or a material is much more complex than one might think. It includes the exhaustive collection of data about its inputs (for example, the raw materials, energy, and water used) and outputs (such as emissions and waste) associated with each stage of the life cycle. This allows for the quantification of the embodied carbon and other environmental impacts, the identification of where performance can be improved, and provides real numbers for a comprehensive and unified comparison between materials and products.
By using modern methods of construction and modular buildings; Cosse Consultancy appreciate the Building Lifecycle Cycle Assessment (BLCA) and look to harmonise whole life building costs with energy efficiency, sustainability and value for money.
BLCA scientifically quantifies the environmental impacts of resource consumption, emissions and waste over the lifespan of a building, and is a globally accepted method for understanding the environmental footprint of products, processes and buildings. Governments and building owners are increasingly moving toward this method as a way to assess climate change and other environmental impacts of buildings.
There are a few steps that must be considered in order to develop a comprehensive study. First, it is important to define the objective and scope, such as which building components will be analyzed and the impact categories. These decisions will directly impact the parameters that will be assessed in more depth. The analysis is usually applied to advise on building design (comparing solutions, materials, or matching certain certifications), or for policy development (compiling data for benchmarks or informing research).
The second stage involves the development of the LCI, or Life Cycle Inventory, which is the compilation and quantification of the inputs and outputs of each phase of the useful life. To do this, it is important to delve into the data sources that the project has available, such as models, technical drawings, documents and others. From these, information about the building’s assemblies and material quantities can be collected and calculated. Data sources can be classified by their level of accuracy as primary, project-specific, product-specific and secondary, and the accuracy of the BLCA depends on the accuracy and completeness of the data source. Certain construction BLCA tools are only compatible with certain types of data sources and BIM models may have much of the material quantities needed to conduct the studies.
Finally, the last steps refer to the interpretation and evaluation of the results, as well as reporting them in a clear and concise manner, including the methods used, the data collected, the results and what could be interpreted. At this point, the designer can have access to the impact percentages per material used, per life cycle or per assembly, obtaining a valuable overview for decision-making.
The benefit for our customers is the knowledge they create value for money across the whole building lifecycle and achieve the most energy efficient and sustainable solution for them.
