The Evolusion Building Physics team can now provide BREEAM 2018 compliant Building Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as part of our BREEAM and Building Physics services. A building LCA is a method to evaluate the environmental impacts of construction materials used in the building fabric over the lifespan of a building.
WHY LCA?
The type of construction products and materials used can greatly influence the environmental impact of a building over its life cycle.
Improvements in Part L have led to reductions in the operational energy consumption of buildings, with the result that environmental impacts associated with construction products can sometimes outweigh those from operational impacts. Therefore, considering the embodied emissions of building materials is becoming more important in reducing the overall emissions of a building over its lifetime.
Calculating and optimizing building carbon footprint is demanded by certification schemes like BREEAM or LEED.
Carrying out an LCA:
Can help project teams assess the overall environmental impact of a building.
Takes a whole life cycle approach to the assessment of the environmental impact of a building – whole life cycle Greenhouse gas emissions are accounted for, not just operational emissions.
Can encourage decisions that reduce the environmental impact of building materials (including embodied carbon) over the lifespan of a building.
Can be used to analyse design options and encourage the selection of products with a lower carbon footprint.
LCA and BREEAM
LCA related credits are core credit for BREEAM 2018 (up to 7 credits/7.49% of the total score). To be eligible for full credits, an LCA should be carried out from concept stage (RIBA Stage 2). Late adoption means that a number of BREEAM credits will not be achieved.
To assist you with a building LCA, our team can:
Use IMPACT compliant LCA software to evaluate the environmental performance of a building.
Conduct an LCA at concept stage and technical design stage.
Assess the impacts of different design options and identify optimal solutions to reduce the environmental impact over the life cycle of a building.
Provide analysis of design options to enable the outcomes of the LCA to be integrated into the design process.
Identify products and solutions that cause less stress to the environment.
Need a quote? Please contact us on +353 (0) 21 470 1599 or + 44 (0) 20 30265940