SPECIFIER NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 13 – FEBRUARY 2022
If you’ve ever heard the life cycle of construction products being discussed and wanted to know more then you’re in the right place.
Our blog post series on EPDs continues with a look at the different stages of life cycle assessment. As always, if you’ve got any questions about anything that we cover in the newsletter, contact us and we’ll address them in future issues.
What is life cycle assessment?
A life cycle assessment, or LCA, analyses the environmental impact of a construction product across five stages: product, construction process, use, end of life, and the circular economy.
The results of the assessment are reported in a standardised document, an environmental product declaration (EPD), which can cover some or all of these stages. Currently, manufacturers can choose the scope of their reporting, but new rules are being introduced to make reporting across all stages and modules mandatory.
What life cycle stages are assessed for EPDs?
Together, the ‘product’ and ‘construction process’ stages cover everything up to the practical completion of a building.
In the product stage, the onus is on the product manufacturer to act responsibly, such as by adopting a transparent and traceable approach to raw material sourcing and processing. The construction process stage covers a product leaving the factory and being delivered to, and used on, site.
The ‘use’ stage addresses use, maintenance, repair, replacement and refurbishment, together with operational energy use and operational water use. The ‘end of life’ stage, meanwhile, covers deconstruction and demolition; transport to a disposal facility; waste processing for reuse, recovery or recycling; and disposal.
How we deal with buildings at the end of their useful life, and how the construction industry can reduce waste associated with demolition, is becoming increasingly important as we look to preserve existing resources and minimise the extraction and use of new ones.
How can LCA help us transition to the circular economy?
The final stage – ‘Benefits and loads beyond the system boundary’ – reflects a movement away from the linear economy and towards the circular economy, where the life of materials and products can be extended for use in other projects.
At the moment, many construction products are not designed with reuse, remanufacturing, or even recycling, in mind. As a result, this stage is unlikely to be reported in many EPDs.
Embodied carbon is a big focus for many within our industry, but it’s possible to choose a low embodied carbon product and still only be able to use it once. If we choose low embodied carbon products but still need to use a lot of them, is that a ‘sustainable choice’?
Polyfoam resource
We get a lot of questions about insulating cavity walls below DPC level. Designers want to reduce thermal bridging heat losses at the floor/wall junction, but are concerned about the potential for insulation products to take up moisture.
To address these questions and concerns, we’ve published a white paper that looks at detailing below DPC insulation in detail. Read more and download the DPC insulation white paper.
What’s caught our eye this month
Focus on life cycle to meet climate demands – bimplus.co.uk
Construction professionals must become life-cycle literate and understand environmental product declarations (EPDs) for the sector to meet climate change demands, the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has declared……..Continue reading
CLC sets out its plans for construction in 2022 – architecturaltechnology.com
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has set out four priorities to deliver a better UK construction sector in 2022.
The Council has picked issues where there is the greatest need for collaborative industry action, and the greatest need for collaborative industry action, and the greatest opportunity to deliver positive change. ……..Continue reading
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