| Title | End-of-life modelling of buildings to support more informed decisions towards achieving circular economy targets |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 6076 |
| Authors | Mirzaie, S; Thuring, M; Allacker, K |
| Title | End-of-life modelling of buildings to support more informed decisions towards achieving circular economy targets |
| Year | 2020 |
| Published | International Journal Of Life Cycle Assessment, 25, 11 |
| Abstract | Purpose Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally accepted method to assess the environmental impacts of buildings. A major methodological challenge remains the modelling of the end-of-life stage of buildings and allocation of benefits and burdens between systems. Various approaches are hence applied in practice to date. This paper compares the two methods widely renowned in Europe-the EC product environmental footprint (PEF) method and the CEN standards: EN 15804+A1 and EN15978-and offers insights about their fitness for achieving circularity goals. Methods The EC PEF method and the CEN EN 15804/EN 15978 standards were methodologically analysed with a focus on the end-of-life modelling and allocation approach and were applied to a building case study. The EN 15804+A1 standard explains the guidelines but does not offer a modelling formula. Accordingly, this paper proposes a formula for the CEN standards using identical parameters as in the end-of-life circular footprint formula (CFF) of the EC PEF Guidance v6.3 to increase consistency among LCA studies. The calculation formulas were then applied to a newly constructed office building. A comparative analysis of both the implementation and results are described, and recommendations are formulated. Results In the absence of databases compatible with the two LCA methods and comprising all building products, the Ecoinvent datasets had to be remodelled to enable a comparative modular assessment. This proved to be a laborious process. The EC PEF method and CEN standards showed similar impacts and hotspots for the case study building. The module D in the CEN standards includes a significant share of positive impacts, but due to collective accounting, it does not clearly communicate these benefits. The summation of burdens and benefits in the EC PEF method reduces its transparency, while the allocation and quality factors enable this method to better capture the market realities and drive circular economy goals. Conclusions The construction sector and the LCI database developers are encouraged to create the missing LCA databases compatible with the modular and end-of-life allocation modelling requirements of both methods. More prescriptive and meticulous guidelines, with further harmonization between the EC PEF method and the CEN standards and their end-of-life allocation formula, would largely increase comparability and reliability of LCA studies and communications. To improve transparency, it is recommended to report the module D impacts per life cycle stage as per the CEN standards and the burdens and benefits separately for each life cycle stage as per the EC PEF method. |
Similar Articles
| ID | Score | Article |
|---|---|---|
5040
|
Larsen, VG; Tollin, N; Sattrup, PA; Birkved, M; Holmboe, T What are the challenges in assessing circular economy for the built environment? A literature review on integrating LCA, LCC and S-LCA in life cycle sustainability assessment, LCSA(2022) | |
| 4147
|
Eberhardt, LCM; van Stijn, A; Rasmussen, FN; Birkved, M; Birgisdottir, H Development of a Life Cycle Assessment Allocation Approach for Circular Economy in the Built Environment(2020)Sustainability, 12, 22 | |
| 15196
|
De Wolf, C; Cordella, M; Dodd, N; Byers, B; Donatello, S Whole life cycle environmental impact assessment of buildings: Developing software tool and database support for the EU framework Level(s)(2023) | |
| 2358
|
van Stijn, A; Eberhardt, LCM; Jansen, BW; Meijer, A A Circular Economy Life Cycle Assessment (CE-LCA) model for building components(2021) | |
| 28537
|
Eberhardt, L; Birgisdottir, H; Birkved, M Dynamic Benchmarking of Building Strategies for a Circular Economy(2019) | |
| 4646
|
Khadim, N; Agliata, R; Thaheem, MJ; Mollo, L Whole building circularity indicator: A circular economy assessment framework for promoting circularity and sustainability in buildings and construction(2023) | |
| 22853
|
Fregonara, E; Giordano, R; Ferrando, DG; Pattono, S Economic-Environmental Indicators to Support Investment Decisions: A Focus on the Buildings' End-of-Life Stage(2017)Buildings, 7.0, 3 | |
| 3872
|
Hossain, MU; Ng, ST Critical consideration of buildings' environmental impact assessment towards adoption of circular economy: An analytical review(2018) | |
| 20950
|
Krause, K; Hafner, A Relevance of the information content in module D on circular economy of building materials(2019) | |
| 4247
|
Eberhardt, LCM; Ronholt, J; Birkved, M; Birgisdottir, H Circular Economy potential within the building stock - Mapping the embodied greenhouse gas emissions of four Danish examples(2021) |