Incorporating LCA

Into Your Existing

Design Workflow
Aurimas Bukauskas, PhD Michaela Harms
Embodied Carbon Expert Buildings Embodied Carbon Expert
(WBLCA) Products (EPD)

aurimas.bukauskas@oneclicklca.com michaela.harms@oneclicklca.com
Course Title: Incorporating LCA into Your Existing Design
Workflow - 1 LU|HSW

Course #: (OCL-001)
Provider Name: OneClick LCA
Provider #: 10009008

Learning Objective 1: Participants will be able to understand the

importance of embodied carbon and LCA for designing our built
environment.

Learning Objective 2: Participants will be able to identify the different

aspects and metrics of a comprehensive whole building LCA.

Learning Objective 3: Participants will learn the markets and value

proposition for LCA and more sustainably designed buildings.

Learning Objective 4: Participants will know how to utilize LCA data within
existing design workflows to assess sustainability as they design.
1. Why?
2. Why me?
3. What?
4. How?
Why?
2x in 30 Years
1 NYC per Month
 CO2
Cities expected to Creating an additional 230
double by 2050 gigatons of embodied carbon
Embodied Carbon Review, 2021
Embodied Carbon is Happening Now
Infrastructure and
Business Value
Human Rights
Why me?
 What you do at home:

Architects Declare, 2021

 What you do at home: What your employer does for you:

Architects Declare, 2021

 What you design and
What you do at home: What your employer does for you:
build at work:

Architects Declare, 2021

Architects Declare, 2021
What you do at work matters.
IStructE, 2020
IStructE, 2020
IStructE, 2020
What?
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A quantitative method for assessing the environmental impacts
associated with some or all of the life cycle stages of a building or
building product.
LCA is:
• Quantitative
• Standardized
○ (EN 15978, ISO 21931-1 & ISO 21929-1)
• Transparent
Life Cycle Stages
Embodied Carbon
Carbon (and CO2 equivalent) emissions associated with raw
materials extraction, manufacturing, transport, and end of life of
buildings and building products.
Life Cycle Stages
Architects
Declare, 2021
Architects
Declare, 2021
Architects
Declare, 2021
It’s not just about carbon.
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
A document summarizing the environmental impacts of a
building product, as determined using a life-cycle assessment.
Types of EPD’s
• Generic (industry average)
• Product-specific (single manufacturer)
• Plant-specific (single factory)
EPDs in North America
VERIFIED & UPDATED

Updated

Verified

Enhanced

QA process approved by BRE

GENERIC DATA
LOCALIZED FOR
THE WHOLE WORLD
The Market Case for Quantifying and
Reducing Construction Impacts

• Policy
• Client Demand (Corporate Social
Responsibility)
• Carbon Markets
 Policy is Changing

C2ES, 2021
 Policy is Changing
TENANTS INVESTORS
BUSINESS REGULATORS
Climate positive Carbon-priced
ENVIRONMENT Carbon regulations
facilities investments

BUILDERS DESIGNERS
PROJECT Regenerative Design for zero
DEVELOPMENT
projects carbon

MANUFACTURERS
NEW BUSINESS
OPPORTUNITIES Decarbonized &
circular products
 Demand is Growing

Forbes, 2020 – City AM, 2022 – Aureus Earth, 2022

 Building Standards are Improving

International Living Future Institute, US Green Building Council

How?
How to use LCA:
• Assess
• Compare
• Optimize
 Design Knowledge

Design Freedom

Building Project Timeline

Adapted from Mueller (2014)

 Design Knowledge

Design Freedom

Building Project Timeline

Adapted from Mueller (2014)

Assess
Ingredients of an LCA
• Project details (floor area, location, etc.)
Ingredients of an LCA
• Project details (floor area, location, etc.)
• Inventory (materials, processes)
Ingredients of an LCA
• Project details (floor area, location, etc.)
• Inventory (materials, processes)
• Environmental impact data for materials and
processes
 CAD/BIM Integrations
Energy
Software

Design
Software

File
Formats

BIM
Mgmt
Visualize Results
Compare
Optimize
1. Use less material.
1. Use less material.
2. Select more sustainable materials.
Actions beyond design:

• Write EPD’s into your specifications.

Actions beyond design:

• Write EPD’s into your specifications.

• Demand data from your manufacturers.
Actions beyond design:

• Write EPD’s into your specifications.

• Demand data from your manufacturers.
• Assess your designs and share to
benchmarking databases.
Actions beyond design:

• Write EPD’s into your specifications.

• Demand data from your manufacturers.
• Assess your designs and share to
benchmarking databases.
• Share low-impact design strategies with
colleagues.
 The Future of
Construction LCA
LCA to date:
• Complex
• Time-consuming
• Expensive
Data + Automation = Mass-market LCA adoption
MASS MARKET
PAYOFF POINT
How does One Click LCA decarbonize global construction?
SOFTWARE

BUILDING DESIGN INFRASTRUCTURE PRODUCT GHG REPORTING

& CONSTRUCTION & CITY PLANNING MANUFACTURERS FOR COMPANIES

SERVICES POLICY

TRAINING CONSULTING CUSTOM TOOLS

Fully integrated sustainability offering for construction

Americas Continental Europe UK & Nordics Asia-Pacific MEA

Free embodied
carbon tool

Early design
carbon tool

BIM integrated
LCA tool

Advanced
ecodesign tool

Product EPD
creation tool

Portfolio carbon
tool
Cross-sector Sustainability Assessment, Certification, Optimization

One Click LCA

CSR GHG LCA Designer EPD Generalist

Reporting Reporting Extensions CO2 tools Generators LCA tools

PORTFOLIOS BUILDINGS PRODUCTS

Project Supply
Energy Building Circularity Product
materials chain
monitoring LCA tools & LCC eco-design
data tracking
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD’s)

EPD TOOLs FOR

MANUFACTURERS FOR ALL CONSTRUCTION
PRODUCT TYPES
CAD/BIM Integrations
Fully Integrated Sustainability Tool
Decarbonizing the global construction sector

PORTFOLIOS BUILDINGS PRODUCTS

Weak Strong
INVESTORS & DEVELOPERS network DESIGNERS & CONTRACTORS network MANUFACTURERS
effect effect
One Click LCA for Buildings

Target setting, benchmarking, data Early design optimisation, design, Product and building level
collection, sustainable compliance & construction carbon benchmarking, product
procurement marketing
One Click LCA for Products

Preliminary product assessment, Product EPD and carbon data

product data requests generation, data publishing

One Click LCA for GHG Reporting

Scope 1-3 calculation and supply Scope 1-3 calculation and supply Scope 1-3 calculation and
chain Scope 3 data collection chain Scope 3 data collection supply chain Scope 3 data
collection

MARKET TRANSFORMATION

Decarbonisation policy Project decarbonisation Product decarbonisation

Decarbonizing the global construction sector

PORTFOLIOS BUILDINGS PRODUCTS

Weak Strong
INVESTORS & DEVELOPERS network DESIGNERS & CONTRACTORS network MANUFACTURERS
effect effect
One Click LCA for Buildings

Target setting, benchmarking, data Early design optimisation, design, Product and building level
collection, sustainable compliance & construction carbon benchmarking, product
procurement marketing
One Click LCA for Products

Preliminary product assessment, Product EPD and carbon data

product data requests generation, data publishing

One Click LCA for GHG Reporting

Scope 1-3 calculation and supply Scope 1-3 calculation and supply Scope 1-3 calculation and
chain Scope 3 data collection chain Scope 3 data collection supply chain Scope 3 data
collection

MARKET TRANSFORMATION

Decarbonisation policy Project decarbonisation Product decarbonisation

 Global Platform

100+ COUNTRIES
40+ CERTIFICATIONS
100 000+ DATASETS
10+ INTEGRATIONS
70+ INHOUSE STAFF
10+ YEARS AAA-RATED
Big Data + AI for LCA:
• Smart materials mapping
• Automated completeness and plausibility
checks
Powering your Sustainability Strategy
Incorporating LCA
Into Your Existing
Design Workflow
Aurimas Bukauskas, PhD Michaela Harms
Embodied Carbon Expert Buildings Embodied Carbon Expert
(WBLCA) Products (EPD)

aurimas.bukauskas@oneclicklca.com michaela.harms@oneclicklca.com