Executive summary: Piloting SBA Common Metrics

Transcription

1 Executive summary: Piloting SBA Common Metrics Towards international feasibility and comparability of building environmental performance Funded partners: CSTB (France): Julien Hans (reporter of the group), Sylviane Nibel and Boris Bosdevigie - QUALITEL (France): Ana Cunha Cribellier and Jean-Yves Colas - DGNB (Germany): Eva Schmincke, with the help of Katrin Lenz from Fraunhofer IBP - VTT (Finland): Hannele Ahvenniemi, Pekka Huovila and Tarja Häkkinen - USGBC (USA): Scot Horst, Chris Pyke, Jeff Kuziemko and Lauren Riggs - IVE (Valencia Institute of Building, Spain): Andreu Llambrich, Teresa Soto Vicario, Laura Soto Francés and Marta Borso di Carminati Non-funded partners: Contributors: TZUS (Technical and Test Institute for Construction, Czech Republic): Jiri Sobola and Martin Vonka Observers: BRE (United Kingdom): Martin Townsend GECINA (Building construction and management, France): Stéphane Carpier AGBC (Australian Green Building Council, Australia): Andrew Aitken, David Clark and Romilly Madew 1

2 1. Introduction The SB Alliance has prepared a draft framework for common metrics for the assessment of buildings 1. The indicators used in this assessment are global warming potential, water consumption, solid wastes production, indoor environment quality and the use of nonrenewable primal energy. The common metrics are environmental and are calculated by a life cycle assessment of the building. The framework needs to be pilot-tested to analyse the feasibility of these indicators and allow for improvements. The work carried out in this report is complementary to previous studies 2. The detailed objectives of this pilot test are: practicality in the application, consistency and comparability of results, anticipation of future common metrics development and usability of the results for stakeholders. 2. Section one: technical and operational feasibility a. Feasibility: methodology When looking at the concept of feasibility, each element of the framework needs detailed study because of the complexity of the LCA 3 -oriented approach. It is also important to distinguish between technical and operational feasibility 4. Work has been carried out through detailed feasibility tables, to be filled country by country, regarding the technical availability of data as well as the current operational use. The principles of the tables were defined collectively and CSTB produced the templates that gathered each country s or scheme s information. Three tables were produced using this method (see original document). 1 The framework is available at 2 These previous research projects are EeBGuide and CEN TC LCA: life cycle approach. 4 Technical feasibility: Indicates the availability of tools, data and methodologies (scenarios, etc.) to assess the impact of the contributor on the indicators on the market or in the R&D sectors. Operational feasibility: Indicates how the impact of the contributor on the indicators is taken into account in the existing certification schemes. The goal is to analyse the current capability of calculating the indicators in the existing schemes, and applying them in the respective rating scheme. For this task it was necessary to specify how the indicators are made operational (tools, data, methodology and scenarios used). 2

3 b. Template for synthetic results Once the situation in each country is described it would be interesting to research what would be the conditions and the time interval necessary in order to achieve a harmonized practice of SBA Common Metrics through Europe and beyond. In this section, the availability of methods, data and tools are analysed because they are of crucial importance to assess feasibility of SBA Common Metrics implementation. It is also interesting to look at the shift in terms of technical and operational feasibility to the SBA framework. The report represents the results through a summary table. 3. Feasibility: results a. Results from France (CSTB and QUALITEL) HQE Certification covers all main fields of sustainability and follows a performance-oriented approach, considering entire life cycle of the buildings. It also includes a framework for international use. In this section, a comparison is made between two frameworks, SBA indicators and HQE performance indicators. The tables show that for almost all indicators there is information available. The French reference database is public and free for registration and access, and it contains numerous Environmental Declarations of Building Products. The method is also available. The calculation of the indicators takes into account the life cycle of the building. Of course, for both data and method, there are considerations to be made. b. Results from Germany (DGNB) The DGNB certificate was developed for the assessment and planning of sustainable buildings and covers all essential aspects of sustainability in building context. Also, an international DGNB core system has been established. This occupancy system is the most developed and used profile in the German certification system. The table in the report illustrates that calculation methods are available based on international or national regulations. Mostly, the methodologies referred to within the DGNB system are similar to the ones referred to within SBA or are even the same. The national LCA data base Ökobau. dat provides the LCA data and is published by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) and the tools used to decrease the calculation effort for different indicators within DGNB are the GaBi software and database or LEGEP. 3

4 c. Results from Finland (VTT). This method for assessing building products and elements is quantitative, by adding environmental values from cradle to the factory gate. The data can be extracted from Finnish EPDs provided by the Building Information Foundation RTS5. The information can be completed with data developed by VTT, which has created own databases of products and environmental calculators together with Finnish manufacturers. ILMARI is the tool used to estimate the environmental impacts of a building design developed by VTT. BeCost is also a tool for life cycle assessment of building structures and for the whole building. For the technical feasibility a large number of EPDs are available regarding the building products and elements. Energy service related impacts can be easily calculated as energy consumption calculation is required by the Finnish Building Code and operational water be calculated with help of consumption simulations and statistical data. For operational feasibility, most SBA framework indicators are compatible with the Finnish environmental certification scheme PromisE but there are differences in the amount of contributors that are taken into account and in the assessment methods. d. Results from Spain (IVE) The research work done by IVE has been based on a realistic approach adjusted to the Spanish market environmental methods, data and tools. Currently, The Quality Profile is the only Spanish certification scheme that is supported by the Government and it is assessed by IVE Entity Evaluation Department. This method uses a quantitative assessment. It also uses a transposition of the Energy Efficiency Certification according to EPBD for the reliable evaluation of the main energy services. The sources for data and tools used in this case are numerous and different for building products, energy services, water services and indoor air quality. Concerning technical feasibility, few products are labelled with EPD so reliable environmental information is very limited. Also, the indoor environmental quality cannot be quantitatively assessed. But for other (non) building-related appliances linked to energy and water services consumption data can be easily found and the main energy services can easily be evaluated by CERMA software for Energy Efficiency Certification nationwide according to EPBD. Also, Spanish software tools for the environmental assessment of buildings are currently in progress. Concerning operational feasibility, the Quality Profile certification scheme is based on awarded qualitative requirements adjusted to a viable approach to the Spanish building sector. 4

5 e. Results from USA (USGBC) The US uses different methods for different subjects. For example: they use the LCA framework for building products, equipment, energy and water services but also use the EQ IAQ assessment method and more. The availability of data is ensured through different sources: U.S. Lifecycle Inventory Database, The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and Environmental or IAQ data for building products. Currently there are no comprehensive EDP databases in the US. Therefore, they use other environmental databases 5. As well as for the operational as for the technical feasibility, there is a shift in both concepts in the SBA framework. f. Results from Czech Republic (TZUS) Czech Republic has its own certification national scheme called SBToolCZ 6, providing an assessment method for the design phase. SBToolCZ is not only an assessment methodology that provides a certificate, but it is possible to use it as a guideline for the better design of a building in concordance with sustainable construction principles. Currently, there is no public data available related to environmental profiles of building materials and structures for the Czech Republic. To fill this gap, a catalogue of environmental profiles, Envimat 7, was developed. Envimat is an online tool that compares building structures and elements through their environmental and physical parameters with respect to the their function in the building. Also, there is no public LCA tool used for assessment. SB- ToolCZ uses calculations in spreadsheets form (MS Excel) to cope with this inaccuracy. Concerning the technical feasibility, there are good methodologies for calculations of energy consumption, indoor environmental quality and availability of emissions and conversions factors. With regard to operational feasibility, most SBA framework indicators are compatible with the SBToolCZ. 5 Athena Impact Estimator, Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES), etc. 6 This certification scheme is available at 7 Envimat can be consulted at vimat.cz 5

6 4. Section two: practical modelling of case studies The objective is to study the applicability of SBA Common Metrics to real buildings using available input data. a. Modelling and results from France (CSTB and QUALITEL) The modelling of real buildings was carried out in order to test the practical application and calculation of SBA indicators, comparing their results and framework to the practical application of HQE Performance Indicators in France. This approach allowed the French Certification body (QUALITEL CERQUAL) and CSTB to identify the potential differences of results obtained when referring to the existing French approach. The SBA Pilot test in France showed that the integration of the SBA Indicators calculation in the HQE Certifications is a reality feasible in 2012, which will allow commencing the generalization of the use of the SBA Indicators. The modelling process showed that for certification purposes, the calculation of the SBA indicators need to be submitted to additional controls in order to harmonize the results and compare data calculated with the same procedure. With regard to the coherence of results other conclusions emerged during this pilot-test: the need for completing the EPD data-base, the need for analyzing the results of the SBA indicators when using different data-bases of EPDs and the need for developing targeted controls, by a third- party, regarding the calculation of the SBA indicators. Overall, the test concluded that the differences of the results between HQE Performance and SBA global framework are insignificant. b. Modelling and results from Germany (DGNB) The case study was conducted to evaluate the applicability of the SBA LCA indicators GWP, energy, water and waste. The results of a LCA for a certified office building were compared to LCA results obtained by including, either only required SBA elements or required and optional SBA elements. The help of a simplified calculation method, which does not include all building elements and equipment, derived the DGNB results of the LCA. All in all, it can be stated that the total results for the case study according to SBA framework differ in a tolerable way 8. For the future, it is recommended to conduct further case studies to be able to evaluate the whole range of applicability, technical and operation feasibility of the SBA framework for all types of buildings. Furthermore, SBA should be aware that the current framework and its requirements are only valid for new built buildings. All in all, tools and databases state no major problem for LCA. Most of the SBA life cycle stages and the indicators are feasible within the DGNB system. 8 Range: between 5% to 20%. 6

7 c. Modelling and results from Finland (VTT) The purpose of the study was to assess the environmental impacts of an office building during its whole life cycle. The SBA indicators that were used are global warming potential, non-renewable primary energy, water consumption and waste production. In the planning stage a preliminary assessment has been carried out, and the following environmental classification targets have been set: for PromisE target a Class A result, for BREEAM Europe an outstanding 86% result and for LEED a Platinum 82/110 result. Only a preliminary plan has been done so far and no detailed design is available yet. d. Modelling and results from Spain (IVE) The case study was an isolated four-story building including basement for garage. For further information, see tables in original document. e. Modelling and results from US (USGBC) LCA is used as pilot credit available to certain project types and circumstances. The SCS team used LCA to analyze the CALTRANS Inland Empire Transportation Management Center in Fontana, California. The team used LCA to model 24 impact categories. The SCS study is presented as one of many LCA-based studies of LEED projects. It demonstrates current technically feasible modelling practices. These approaches could be applied to many different project types. However, the widespread use of this type of analysis is limited by a number of factors, including the lack of skilled analysts, the significant soft costs associated with custom modelling, the lack of regulatory demand for associated disclosures and poorly defined value propositions for owners and investors. These limitations mean that detailed, whole-building LCA studies are relatively scarce. This situation could change quickly if the limitations mentioned above were taken care of. f. Modelling and results from Czech Republic (TZUS). The test case was a new office building in Prague. For further information, see tables in original document. 5. Conclusion Regarding the feasibility and modelling results and their heterogeneity, different levels of SBA common metrics are suggested, allowing an improvement of maturity versus time. The current intersection between all the partners results is a narrow frame, including only nonrenewable primary energy and GHG emissions and only during operational phase. After testing the technical and operational feasibility of the indicators in each country, it is now necessary to analyse their comparability when calculating the LCA-oriented environmental indicators for a same building. This can be done in future research. 7