Life-Cycle Analysis

of
Buildings/Products
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 “We must develop production and
consumption policies to improve the products
and services provided,
while reducing environmental and health
impacts, using, where appropriate, science-
based approaches, such
as life cycle analysis“.

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 LCA-examples

Fast-moving consumer goods

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(FMCG)
LCA-examples

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LCA-examples

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LCA-examples

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The Infrastructure and Urban Development industry not only
underpins the global economy, providing crucial
infrastructure facilities, commercial buildings and industrial
plants to drive economic activity; it also has a powerful
influence on the environment and society.

•The engineering and construction industry is the largest

consumer of raw materials worldwide

•30% of greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to buildings

•50% of the solid waste is produced by the construction industry

•About 180 million people globally work in construction – in

many developing countries, the majority of these jobs are
informal
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Equally important, sustainable projects should be financially
viable to contractors and operators.

This is feasible if we consider:

(a) reduced life cycle costs

(b) long-term benefits and

(c) society’s demands.

For commercial buildings, the market has matured with

sustainable buildings being in demand, with higher rent and
higher re-sale value. Sustainable buildings also have lower
operating costs.
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Construction is not an environmentally friendly process
by nature. The cumulative environmental impacts of
construction processes have been increasing in the
world due to a large number of ongoing construction
projects. Most of these impacts are related with the
operation and maintenance phases of a building.
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Analysis Versus Assessment
There is a difference between an analysis and an assessment
while it might sound minor or like just a semantic difference,
the words do have specific and very different meanings.

an “analysis” is defined as the careful study of something to learn

about its parts, what they do and how they are related to each
other. To analyze something is to separate a whole into its
component parts, which allows a person to break something
complex down into simpler and more basic elements.

an assessment is defined as the act

of making a judgment about
something. To assess something,
you are estimating the value or
character of the object.

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An Environmental Product Declaration is a complete report,
prepared according to international standards like such as IGBC
Green Pro, ISO 14025, etc., that documents the effects a product
has on the environment throughout its entire life cycle, by
measuring these effects according to standardised LCA ,
(Life Cycle Assessment) methods.

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Products are considered to have numerous effects on the environment: from
the most widely known effect of global warming caused by greenhouse gases
(Global Warming Potential, known also as Carbon Footprint), up to effects such as
eutrophication (anomalous growth of aquatic organisms, such as algae, due to a
decrease in the density of aquatic fauna), the reduction in the thickness of the
ozone layer, the transformation of pollutants into acidic substances (which then
causes acid rain), a reduction in the amount of natural resources, and many more.

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In the construction sector, Environmental Product Declaration
-EPD’s help architects, design engineers and other buyers have a
better understanding of a product’s sustainability characteristics and
its impact on the environment. Certification bodies and protocols for
buildings, such as LEED - Leadership in Environmental and Energy
Design, an American protocol and IGBC Green Pro –Indian protocol
have implemented criteria for sustainability and imposed specific
requirements for constructions based on the LCA method.

EPD’s are the best way of demonstrating and presenting the environmental performance
characteristics of a product.
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 There are various types of
Environmental Product Declaration
standard, average and model.
Standard EPD
Individual EPD’s covering a specific
product prepared by an individual
manufacturer. It carries information
specific to that particular product and the
preparation and maintenance of each
document is costly, in that it has to
updated and a new edition needs to be
published every time its formulation and
raw materials are modified.
Average EPD
An EPD prepared and calculated to cover a
particular range of products with similar
functions. It can include products from
different manufacturers and are usually
published by Trade Associations to cover
certain categories of product. It contains
the average impact on the environment of
the products and manufacturers that have
taken part in collecting and analysing the
relative data.

Model EPD
This type is structured according to chemical composition and covers all products that
fall within a certain range of formulations and applications. Since the environmental
impact inside a building of one of these aforementioned products is generally very low, a
more refined differentiation of the products would not give architects any more
significant information due to the enormous complexity of a building system.
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An analysis of the life cycle of a product, therefore, is an evaluation of the
environmental impact of the product during all the various phases of its life:
from extraction of the raw materials that make up the formula, to their transport
to the production plant, to the production cycle, to its packaging, to waste
materials, to transporting the finished product to distributors &Its final disposal.
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 Life-cycle phases

A typical life cycle of a building can be separated into three distinct

phases, each consisting ofs one or several life cycle stages. 16
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 The assembly phase refers to
the collection of raw materials
through resource extraction or
recycling, the manufacture of
these raw materials into
products, the assembly of
products into a building, the
replacement of building
products and assemblies, and
intermediate transportation.

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 The operation phase
refers to heating and
electricity
requirements, water
services and other
services excluding
material replacement.

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The disassembly phase refers to the decommissioning and
demolition of the building, the disposal/recycling/reuse of building
products and assemblies, and intermediate transportation steps.
Each life cycle stage can consist of many unit processes.

The LCA database for building technologies covers the “cradle-to-

gate” impacts, i.e. the environmental impacts from the raw
material extraction to the manufacturing of building products and
assemblies and the disassemblys pphase.
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 Life Cycle Management
Life Cycle Management allows to identify life cycle stages, processes
or single contributions that contribute most or have the highest
potential for improvement.
Based upon the user needs survey, a series of workshops, and
communication with interested parties, priority topics can be;
Life cycle based product development, Communication of life cycle
information, Management and Stakeholder engagement along the life
cycle, Capacity building in developing countries, Integrating economic
and social aspects into LCM which includes:
- Life cycle costing methodology
- Life cycle costing in business
-Life cycle costing and its link to life cycle inventory
-Life cycle costing and its link to sustainability and externalities
& Integrated waste and materials management
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Life Cycle Impact Assessment.

In the LCIA User Needs Assessment, the following are

the key user themes :

• the need for transparency in the methodology

• the need for scientific confidence
• need for scientific co-operation
•a recommended set of factors and methodologies
should be developed

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 Life Cycle Inventory Analysis
Three needs are considered very important;

• the need for data characteristics (for example:

documentation, verification, inclusion of statistical and
quality data information)

• the need for more representative data sets (for example:

country or region specific data sets, data to
address new material or processes)

• the need to increase the capacity for performing LCIs globally

(for example to provide skills and
training, better access to data, etc.)
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Typical example of a small Building

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Work break dawn diagram

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 Conclusions
All of us are increasingly interested in the world behind the
product they buy.

Life cycle thinking implies that everyone in the whole chain of a

product’s life cycle, from cradle to grave, has a responsibility
and a role to play, taking into account all the relevant external
effects.

The impacts of all life cycle stages need to be considered

comprehensively when taking informed decisions on
production and consumption patterns, policies and
management strategies.
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THANK YOU
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