The Project Smart Built Environment (SBE) Lifecycle Perspective develops support, implements and evaluates how a future digital environmental calculation for a construction work can be made as efficiently as possible. The future life cycle assessment (LCA) calculation is assumed to be made as part of the ICT tool already used in the construction or real estate sector for other purposes, as an additional environmental performance based information. An LCA makes it possible to calculate the environmental impact during the entire life cycle of any construction product or works. This report focus on how Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) can be digitalised in a machine-readable format to facilitate unbroken information value chain from the product manufacturer, to the program operator publishing the EPD, the buyer of the product and construction product as part of any construction works, and finally as part of a digital model of the same construction works – like a digital twin. The de facto xml format specification for a digital LCA or EPD result for a construction product is based on a European format, ILCD, originally designed for exchange of life cycle inventory data between different LCA application tools. This report describes the possibilities to add additional information, not necessary included in the ‘graphical’ pdf version of the EPD, but in the machine-readable format referred to as ILCD+EPD+. The extra plus “+” indicates that the format includes additional information in order to facilitate its use as a digital information source. The report includes an example on how the generic format with the potential extension format can be implemented as defined by the project Smart Build Environment (SBE) Lifecycle Perspective. The suggested aspects to be included in an SBE extension are called ILCD+EPD+SBE.
Den här studien har utforskat potentialen för utveckling av en digital plattform som möjliggör utbyte av plastspill som uppstår i produktionen. Rapporten innehåller analyser av mängder plastspill med potentiella miljövinster, samt rekommendationer för utveckling av plattformen.
As part of a Smart Built Environment (SBE) project, ways to increase availability of machine-readable Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) through an open-source software tool, called EPD Editor, by using the ILCD+EPD+ structure were analysed. The aim of providing independent verified EPD information in a machine-readable format is to facilitate the seamless flow of information between different actors downstream in the value chain. A prerequisite for this is to use a format and structure that enables data exchange through application programming interface (API).
In this project, a defined data format (xml) and structure (ILCD+EPD) is used as the base for the EPD exchange format. The structure has been extended through work in a previous Smart Built Environment project to include a possible classification of the quality of the background LCA (Q metadata). This project focussed on the integration of this format and structure into the free open-source tool EPD Editor to facilitate transfer of EPD information in the machine-readable format. 17 EPDs were transferred into the machine-readable format including Q metadata. In addition, ways to create and export machine-readable EPD files directly from existing commercial LCA software were analysed.
Purpose Life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered a robust method to analyse the environmental impacts of products and is used in public and private market applications such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS). Despite the usefulness of the methodology, difficulties exist with the interpretation of LCA results. The use of benchmarks can facilitate this process, but there is yet little research on the definition of environmental benchmarks. The aim of this paper is to analyse the distribution of environmental performance used for the definition of the benchmark and how it effects the use in selected product categories. Method LCA results from 54 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for insulation materials and 49 EPDs for bakery products are tested for their distribution. The outcome from the statistical analysis is used to compare and evaluate three calculation methods for a benchmark. Results and discussion The results of the study show that distributions and mid- and end-points of environmental performances of the studied indicators differ significantly for the two product categories. While some indicators for bakery products were closer to a normal distribution, most of the indicators are not normally distributed. This is reflected in the comparison of the chosen calculation methods for a benchmark, which showed that the distribution of the data affects the classification of the benchmark as well as the position of values on the benchmark. Conclusion The results emphasise that analysis of further product groups and the associated distribution of the environmental performance is needed to understand the implications of calculation methods on a benchmark. The availability of comparatively large datasets in a common structure is crucial for these analyses and can be facilitated through the digitalisation of LCA- and EPD-information. Furthermore, more research is needed on the communication formats for different benchmarking options, which must be applied for the different intended audiences to be effective.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) represent important sources of information in applications such as ecodesign and process optimization. However, their use in comparisons and communication is still limited. Therefore, this article aims to understand the use of LCA- and EPD-information from the perspective of the practitioners, that is, professionals with experience in dealing with this type of information. A survey was built consisting of two questionnaires and two webinars, with questions related to core themes: frequency and purpose of use, comparability, and advantages and disadvantages for practical use and reliability of different presentation formats. Also, two suggested benchmarking frameworks were presented and discussed, later being commented upon and evaluated. Out of the 55 respondents, 76% stated that they use both LCA- and EPD-information, primarily to fulfill requirements from customers, in environmental management systems and for marketing purposes. It was also stated that they use LCA (73%)- and EPD (56%)-information to make comparisons but presented different responses and there were no established patterns as to the procedures. Methodological limitations and the need for harmonization of Product Category Rules (PCRs) were mentioned as limiting factors for comparisons between studies. Regarding the benchmarking frameworks, both were indicated to be potentially applicable in communication with consumers and between companies. It is concluded that LCA- and EPD-information is used by the practitioners in different applications and that there may be a need to increase standardization efforts of benchmarking procedures in order to improve communication with nonspecialist audiences.