Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment

of a mass timber office structure

including & excluding biogenic carbon

Tally, a software for WBLCA, can include or exclude

biogenic carbon in an assessment. For mass timber
excluding biogenic carbon including biogenic carbon buildings, this can have a large impact on the global
warming potential. When biogenic carbon is included, the
biogenic stored carbon in the wood materials is initially

District Office Embodied Carbon District Office

3/16/2019 Embodied Carbon 3/15/2019
counted as a credit that reduces GWP. At the end-of-
life, biogenic carbon leaves the system (expressed as
emissions) through incineration, landfill, or recycling.
District Office Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment Some biogenic carbon is assumed to be permanently
District Office Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment sequestered in a landfill; that amount of carbon remains in
building size 9,837 gsm (105,890 gsf) building size 9,837 gsm (105,890 gsf) the total GWP reduction.

Results per Division

Results per Division Global warming potential (GWP) is a climate change
7,678,661
kg
2,580,566
kg CO₂eq
global
12,491
kg SO₂eq
warming
1,390 potential
166,538
kg Neq
kg CO₂eq
2.253E+007 per m2
kg O₃eq MJ
global warming potential kg CO₂eq per m 2 indicator of the sum of greenhouse gas emissions over a
period of time, typically expressed as kg CO2 eq. Including
7,711,030 1,986,978 12,758 1,435 168,700 2.277E+007
100% biogenic carbon results in a lower global warming potential.

GWP 246 GWP 97

kg kg CO₂eq kg SO₂eq kg Neq kg O₃eq MJ
10% 100%
15%
22% 11%
16% Initial GWP is the net CO2 eq emissions associated with
initial 28%
initial 29% material extraction, material manufacturing, and transport
46% to the construction site.

GWP 300 GWP 204

48%

Total GWP is the net CO2 eq emissions associated with

total 72%
total 73% material extraction, material manufacturing, transport to
the construction site, future deconstruction, and disposal of
50%
50% building materials.
96%
88% 88%
80%
81%
75% 68%
69%

51%
total GWP per material 49%
total GWP per material
image courtesy of Hacker When including biogenic carbon, glulam and CLT reduce
Glulam
27%
and CLT 22% Glulam26%and CLT -7 % the GWP.
Concrete & CMU 0% 76% Concrete & CMU 96%
Whole Building Life District Office 0%
Mass Global Warming
Acidification Metals
Eutrophication
Smog Formation Non-renewable
Mass 2%
Global Warming
Acidification Metals
Eutrophication Smog Formation Non-renewable 3%
Potential Potential Potential Potential Energy

Cycle Assessment Location: Portland, OR

Potential Potential Potential Potential Energy

Several whole building life cycle assessments Architect: Hacker Architects

(WBLCA) were carried out for the BC Passive KPFF
Structural Engineer: Legend
House Factory using two different WBLCA Gross Area: 105,890 ft² (9,838 m²) CLT and Legend concrete metals
softwares: Tally software (from KT Innovations), Height: 85 ft (26 m) Divisions
Use: commerical office, retail, and parking
glulam Net value (impacts + credits)
CMU 3% concrete
and the Athena Impact Estimator for Buildings 03 - Concrete Divisions
04 - Masonry
(from Athena Sustainable Materials Institute). Reference Service Life for WBLCA: 75 years 22%
03 - Concrete
05 - Metals 04 - Masonry 3% CLT and glulam are not shown because they contribute to a
This poster details the results calculated using 06 - Wood/Plastics/Composites 05 - Metals
KT Innovation’s Tally® software, with a result 22% 06 - Wood/Plastics/Composites net reduction in the GWP when including biogenic carbon.
including and excluding biogenic carbon.

Scope is limited to the building’s structure and

metals
2%
foundations: 3%

CLT roof structure

CMU

CLT panel cores

A1-A3 includes CO2eq emissions from extraction of raw
materials and manufacturing of building products.
glulam columns and beams
75%
75%
96% A4 is the CO2eq emissions from transport of materials from
CLT floors manufacturing to construction site.
96%

Global Warming Potential B encompasses the CO2eq emissions from maintenance

concrete foundations & one level of Global Warming Potential
underground parking
GWP per material GWP per material and replacement of materials during the building’s use.
Because this WBLCA was purely structure, it was assumed
that the structure would not be replaced during the
building’s life.
Scope excludes:
C2 shows the CO2eq emissions from transportation to

building envelope, finishes, mechanical, 4

electrical & lighting, plumbing,
connections, fasteners, concrete
formwork and sitework
this WBLCA includes
GWP per life stage 4 GWP per life stage disposal site, C3 shows emissions from waste processing,
and C4 shows emissions from final disposal. Tally averages
A1-A3 242.4 kg/m2 81% A1-A3 93.2 kg/m2 46% multiple end-of-life scenarios for glulam and CLT. In this
image courtesy of Hacker WBLCA, it is assumed that 14.5% of glulam and CLT is
A4 3.361 kg/m2 2% A4 3.38 kg/m2 2% recycled, 22% is incinerated with energy recovery, and 63.5%
is landfilled.
B not included B not included
D indicates benefits beyond the system boundary. For
C2-C4 53.98 kg/m2 18% C2-C4 106.7 kg/m2 52% wood, it shows potential credit for utilizing waste products
for energy; it is expressed by the equivalent avoided
D -37.4 kg/m2 D -16 kg/m2 emissions of US average grid electricity. The incinerated
energy from wood products (or any landfill gas that is
captured for energy) results in avoided production of
energy from fossil fuels. Because avoided energy product
material extraction material extraction cannot be directly attributed to the material use, it is
this WBLCA excludes this WBLCA includes expressed as a separate module “D,” which is considered
end-of-life and production end-of-life and production beyond the system boundary.

Including biogenic carbon results in the impacts being

more heavily weighted towards end-of-life, when the
Potential biogenic carbon leaves the system.
Benefits and 18%
Loads
transport
Product Stage Transport Construction Use End-of-Life 1% District Office
Portland, OR
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1-B5 C1 C2-C5 D
raw material manufacturing transport construction use, deconstruction, recovery, 46%
supply & production to site & installation maintenance, waste processing, & reuse, & 52%
repair, and disposal recycling 321 km (200 mi)
replacement transport distance

D.R. Johnson Factory

Riddle, OR
81% 2%

B6-B7 transport
operational
energy & water
GWP per life stage module GWP per life stage module Transport distance assumptions
CLT & Glulam: 321 km
Concrete: 24 km
Steel: 434 km

WBLCA: a Method for Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Buildings

cradle-to-cradle

cradle-to-grave LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY IMPACTS REPORT

SYSTEM BOUNDARIES cradle-to-handover

cradle-to-construction site gate

cradle-to-gate
acidification
Potential
Benefits and
Loads eutrophication Whole Building:
Product Stage Transport Construction Use End-of-Life
Inputs: fuel, electricity, WBLCA (whole building life cycle assessment)
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1-B5 C1-C5 D ozone depletion EBD (environmental building declaration)
water, raw materials, etc.
raw material manufacturing & transport construction & use, deconstruction, recovery, reuse,
LIFE CYCLE STAGES & supply production to site installation maintenance, waste processing, & & recycling smog formation
repair, and disposal Outputs: air emissions, water
MODULES replacement
emissions, solid waste emissions global warming potential
(embodied carbon)
Individual Product / Material:
primary energy demand LCA (life cycle assessment)
(embodied energy) EPD (environmental product declaration meeting
B6-B7 the requirements of a specific product category
operational rules document)
energy & water

Conducted under a research grant from the TallWood Design Institute, funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service under award # USDA-ARS #58-0204-6-002 Research Team: Alison Kwok, Hannah Zalusky, Isabel Rivera, Lindsay Rasmussen, and Hannah McKay