Life Cycle Assessment in the Built Environment. Dr Robert H. ;~~~, :.;.~~~ Francis LONDON ANDNEWYORK

Transcription

1 Life Cycle Assessment in the Built Environment Dr Robert H. ;~~~, :.;.~~~ Francis LONDON ANDNEWYORK

2 Contents List of figures List of tables Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations xi xiii xvii xix xxi xxiii 1 Global environmental issues and the built environment Global warming and c1imate change Pollution Resource depletion Production and disposal of waste The built environment The built environment life cycle and its related environmental impacts Raw material extraction Manufacturing Construction Operation and maintenance End-of-life (demolition, disposal, reuse and recycling) Summary 22 2 Towards a sustainable built environment Minimizing the environmental impact of the built environment Designing for the environment: strategies for a sustainable built environment Resource efficiency Minimizing non-renewable resource consumption Minimizing pollution Designing for disassembly Minimizing solid waste production Designing for recyclability 29

3 vi Contents Designing for durability Designing for adaptive reuse 2.3 An integrated approach to environmental design 2.4 Environmental assessment: an essential component of environmental design 2.5 Origins and historical perspective of environmental assessment 2.6 Environmental assessment in the twenty-first century 2.7 Approaches to environmental assessment Assessment tools Simulation tools Checklists and guidelines 2.8 Summary Life cycle assessment What is life cycle assessment? Life cycle assessment framework An iterative approach Types of life cycle assessment Baseline life cycle assessment Comparative Iife cycle assessment Streamlined life cycle assessment The four phases of Iife cycle assessment Goal and scope definition Goals Scope Functional unit System boundaries Data quality and scope Life cycle inventory analysis Data types Quantifying inputs and outputs Life cycle impact assessment Selection and definition of impact categories Classification Characterization Normalization, grouping and weighting Data quality analysis Interpretation Identification of significant issues Evaluation of results - completeness, consistency and sensitivity Conclusions, limitations and recommendations How can life cycle assessment be used? Environmental improvement Strategie planning 62

4 3.4.3 Public policy making Marketing and eco-iabelling 3.5 International LCA standard -ISO series 3.6 Limitations of life cycle assessment Lack of knowledge and awareness Methodological gaps Geographie issues Availability and quality of life cycle inventory data Time and cost-intensive Interpretation of results 3.7 Summary Contents vii Quantifying environmental impacts of the buht environment Life cycle thinking in the built environment Why is a life cycle approach important? Using Iife cycle assessment in the built environment Supporting decisions across the life cycle A streamlined life cycle assessment approach Goal and scope definition Goals Scope Functional unit System boundary Life cycle inventory analysis Quantifying inputs and outputs Compiling a life cycle inventory using input-output-based hybrid analysis Input-output analysis Process data collection Integrating process and input-output data Using material coefficients Avoiding sideways truncation of the system boundary Comparison of life cycle inventory approaches Reuse and recycling A credit for recyclability or reuse potential? Life cycle inventory studies Life cycle impact assessment and interpretation Selection of impact categories Classification Characterization Normalization. grouping and weighting Study limitations Interpretation Evaluation of results Conclusions, limitations and recommendations 104

5 viii Contents What to do with the results Life cycle assessment tools for the built environment Built-environment-specific life cycle assessment tools ATHENA Impact Estimator for Buildings by the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) tool by NIST Integrated design tools General life cycle assessment tools Limitations of existing life cycle assessment tools Summary Case studies Building case studies Casestudy 1: Selecting a building structural system - steel or reinforced concrete Life cycle inventory of steel and concrete-framed building construction Interpretation - evaluation of results Case study 2: Commercial office building Life cycle inventory of commercial office building Impact assessment - Iife cycle greenhouse gas emissions Interpretation - evaluation of results Casestudy 3: Construction assemblies Life cycle inventory of assembly construction, maintenance and refurbishment Impact assessment - life cycle greenhouse gas emissions Interpretation - evaluation of results Transport infrastructure case studies Case study 4: Railway sleepers Life cycle inventory of reinforced concrete and timber sleeper production Impact assessment Interpretation - evaluation of results Case study 5: Road construction Life cycle inventory of road construction and maintenance Interpretation - evaluation of results Renewable energy technology case studies Case study 6: Residential building integrated photovoltaic (PV) system Life cycle inventory of photovoltaic system production and operation 151

6 Contents ix Impact assessment - net life cycle greenhouse gas emissions avoided Interpretation - evaluation of results Case study 7: Wind turbine Life cycle inventory of wind turbine construction and operation Impact assessment - net Iife cycle greenhouse gas emissions avoided Interpretation - evaluation of results Summary Opportunities for reducing the environmental impact of the built environment Reducing environmental impacts ofthe built environment Barriers to optimizing environmental outcomes Market demands and spfit incentives Accessibility to consistent environmental data Lack of regulation What can designers do? Education and training Maximize resource efficiency Understand the broad range of potential impacts Optimize opportunities through design Wh at can owners and occupants do? What can governments do? Incentives Penalties as incentives Implications of a penalty-based system for improving the environmental performance of the built environment Where to from here? Implications of the limitations of current assessment techniques for achieving optimaloutcomes in the built environment Future development of Iife cycle assessment Integration of life cycle assessment into industry Conclusion 177 AppendixA Appendix B Glossary Notes References Index