Use of the Green Guide BREEAM and The Code

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1 Measuring the environmental performance of construction materials: LCA, Environmental Profiles and the Green Guide to Specification Andrew Dutfield BREEAM Materials, BRE Global February 2009 Overview Sustainability context and buildings LCA and Environmental Profiles Methodology The Green Guide to Specification Impacts of UK construction elements Use of the Green Guide BREEAM and The Code 1

2 Sustainability Why are we here? Construction industry and buildings Large impacts Construction and demolition waste alone represents 32% of total UK waste (DEFRA) the energy used in constructing, occupying and operating buildings represents approximately 50% of greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. (Environment Agency 2007) Passenger transport vehicles account for a further 15% of CO 2 emissions. (EST) 2

3 Sustainability: How does this apply to buildings? Sustainability is a complex & political agenda Generally no agreed consensus Likely to always change depending upon context Lots of Greenwash No single tool for measuring sustainability Industry using many tools/methods/systems; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) BREEAM Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) Carbon Labelling & Footprinting Whole Life Costing (WLC) Environmental Product Declarations (EPD s) Many others Looking at the product level How do we measure environmental performance? Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) 3

4 Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Extraction Disposal Environmental impacts Creation Maintenance How can LCA be used in the Industry? To measure existing performance and monitor improvements To assess benefits of innovative processes To compare materials which offer the similar functions, eg external wall constructions To compare building designs over their expected lifetimes Used in the Environmental Profiles Methodology Applied in tools like Green Guide to Specification 4

5 What is an Environmental Profile? Measurement of the environmental performance of a material, product or system over a set time period. Extraction of raw materials & transport ( cradle to gate ) Production ( gate to gate ) Transport, installation and end of life ( gate to grave ) Achieved using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Outcome is a Type III Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Environmental Profiles Methodology in UK Originally published in 1999 Updated in 2007 LCA method for built environment Scope is cradle to grave Multiple indicators (13 categories) Founded on principle of industry consultation and consensus Developed as a transparent approach Level playing field Independent governance process Developed to enable comparability Type III Environmental Product Declarations compliant with ISO

6 Environmental Profiles 2008 Impact categories Environmental Issue Climate Change Water extraction Mineral resource depletion Stratospheric ozone depletion Human toxicity Ecotoxicity to water Nuclear waste Ecotoxicity to land Waste disposal Fossil fuel depletion Eutrophication Photochemical ozone creation Acidification Weighting (%) Derivation of Ecopoints Issues Measurement Weighting E C O P O I N T S 6

7 The Environmental Profile An independent product declaration BRE Global: Certified Environmental Profiles Sister company to BRE (previously BRE Certification) Data verification process evidence Supports external claims Environmental Profiles valid 3 years An independent environmental product declaration Green book Live Red Book - Envest2 BREEAM & EcoHomes The Green Guide 7

8 The Certified Environmental Profiles Process Various stages involved Different responsibilities throughout Whole process revolves around: Product manufacture data Data verification (Factory site audit) Data modelling LCA methodology The Environmental Profiles Process Application and Proposal Client and BRE Data collection Client Data review BRE with Client support Verification site visit Client and BRE Producing the Environmental Profile BRE Annual Verification Client and BRE 8

9 What do you do with an Environmental Profile? Comparison at a building element level Bricks vsbricks Wall specifications Blocks vsblocks vs 9

10 The Green Guide to Specification Ecopointsfor building materials placed into specifications Environmental impacts of building elements Based on LCA A+ to E rating The Ecopoint and A+ to E ratings Maximum Ecopoint rating E High relative environmental impact Ecopoints per m m years Minimum Ecopoint rating D C B A +A Low relative environmental impact 10

11 Ecopoint scale Different scale of ecopoints for each building elements Based on generic profiles Element type 1 A + A B C D E Element type 2 A + A B C D E Element type 3 A + A B C D E Ecopoints per m 2 of element The Green Guide to Specification Green Guide update Online & Paper publication generic specifications each with summary Ratings Ratings A+ to E 13impact category ratings Six building types FREE access Ongoing development 11

12 Building Type? 12

13 Element? Element details 13

14 Sub-Section of Elements Element Sub-Section Specification ratings 14

15 Summary Issue Category Ratings Construction system impacts Green Guide Ecopoint/m 2 ranges for each element (2002 Green Guide, ABC ranges) Largest impacts - Floor Finishes & Roofing Lowest impacts Internal paint finishes Summary A B C Ranges for Elements Ecopoints per m 2 of Element Floor Finishes Roofing External Walls Doors Landscaping: Boundary Protection Windows Internal Walls and Partitions Landscaping: Hard Surfacing Upper Floor Construction Substructural Floor Systems and Surfacing Ceiling Finishes Insulation (ZODP) Insulation (inc.hcfcs) Internal Paint finishes A Rating B Rating C Rating 15

16 Elemental impacts within a typical office building (UK, 2002) Typical Building Floor Finishes Upper Floors Substructure Floor Surfacing External Walls Roof Ground Floor Windows Superstructure Internal Walls Ceiling Finishes Green Guide 2002 Elemental impacts within a typical office building (UK, 2002) Floor finishes Highest impact ~ 40% whole building impact Frequently replaced Upper floor structure ~ 15% whole building impact High mass element number of storeys dependant External walls and windows ~ 10% whole building impact Roof and ground floors Each ~ 5% whole building impact High mass element number of storeys dependant Superstructure (structure supporting floors above ground) Only ~ 2% whole building impact Choice of structure makes little difference Typical Building Floor Finishes Upper Floors Substructure Floor Surfacing External Walls Roof Ground Floor Windows Superstructure Internal Walls Ceiling Finishes 16

17 The Use of the Green Guide to Specification Architects and building specifiers Part of BRE s Environmental Assessment Methods for buildings BREEAM & EcoHomes (BRE) Code for Sustainable Homes (BRE & DCLG) Materials specification credits What is BREEAM? BRE - Environmental Assessment Method Voluntary Certification scheme for Buildings (but often specified as part of planning) Provides an environmental label for buildings Pass, Good, Very Good, Excellent, Outstanding Independent & credible Holistic and Issue based broad range of environmental concerns Ensures best environmental practice above regulatory minimum Large scope many different types of buildings assessed Used mainly in UK but also growing Internationally 17

18 The Code for Sustainable Homes The Sustainable Buildings Task Group (SBTG) Set up by DEFRA, DTI, DCLG, EA, EP and others Launched April 2007, revised May 2008 A single national standard for England Based on BREEAM -EcoHomes (replaces EcoHomes in England) Mandatory rating for all new homes in England (May 08) Materials Specification One of the many issues assessed in BREEAM and The Code Credits available -variable Whole life environmental impact Key building elements Green Guide to Specification Ratings A+ to E Higher scores for better rated elements Code Minimum D rated specifications Based on LCA and Environmental Profiles Methodology envest2 software tool can be used Bespoke ratings Certified Environmental Profiles 18

19 BREEAM - Materials Specification Credits awarded based on Green Guide ratings Total combined rating score for assessed elements Area weighted Elements assessed varies by BREEAM scheme (type of building) The Code also assesses on same scale Minimum D ratings Green Guide Rating A+ Max aggregated credits 3 A B C D E Elements & BREEAM schemes 19

20 Conclusions Sustainability becoming increasingly important for the construction industry LCA and Environmental Profiles are tools for assessing environmental performance The Green Guide to Specification is a useful tool for architects and specifyers Green Guide increasingly being used in the UK due to BREEAM and The Code for Sustainable Homes Thank you Katie Halls Consultant Andrew Dutfield Tel: dutfielda@bre.co.uk