Whole Life Cycle - STEEL, CONCERET AND TIMBER.PDF

7/29/2019 Whole Life Cycle - STEEL, CONCERET AND TIMBER.PDF

1/13

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2/13

ou could be orgiven or

picking up this supplement

and thinking: "Ive got

enough to worry about

with the economy the way

it is, I cant deal with this

sustainability stuf right

now". But the act youre

reading this suggests thatyou, like me, believe that its

not a binary choice between

economy and environment,

and that sustainable business

and indeed a sustainable built

environment will be central to

our recovery, growth and uture

prosperity.

Thetopicothissupplement

wholeliecycleassessment

althoughit soundslikeabit otechie

jargon,is reallyattheheartothis

challenge.Ocourse,theenergyused

inoperatingourhomesandbuildings

isa bigissue,butsustainabilityis

muchbroaderand goesmuchdeeper

thanthis.Wholeliecycleassessment

isan attempttotakeintoaccountthe

truecostandimpactothematerials

weuse,romsourcingtoendo lie,

orpreerablyreuseandrenewal

socalled "cradletocradle".

This isnt particularly new

thinking and resource eciency

is not a recent phenomenon.

Arguably were only just recapturing

a previous attitude to "waste

not, want not" that had been the

dominant paradigm or centuries.Butthecaseor movingawayrom

ourcu rrentconsumptionbased

economytowardsanew,green

economythatvaluesthescarcityo

naturalresourceshasneverbeen

stronger.Rapiductuationsinossil

Waste not, want not

uelprices,changingclimateand

growingenvironmental pressures,

marketsstillconstrainedbythe

globalnancialcrisisand increasing

demandor everdepleting

resources,areorcingustolook

closelyatthewaywedo things.Businesses that ourish in the

uture will do so not because they

have the best CSR programmes or

green PR campaigns, but because

they have made resource eciency

the challenge o doing more with

less a core business strategy and

are creating lasting value rom more

sustainable business practices. This

supplement is ull o examples o

good practice, which must become

the norm, not the exception, i we

are to begin to meet the needs obillions o people trying to live of

the interest o one planet rather

than using up all o its capital in one

or two generations.

Paul Kig, chi xcutiv, UK

G Builig Cucil

T WO STORY

eword

T

8

14

10

4-7 T BIR PICTR

8-9 CAS STY: ASAR CITY

10-13 T ACTS

14-15 SI OR I

16-17 BIR'S I18-19 CAS STY: TART zRO

20-21 BRITO & OV COCI

22 COT

23 CRA- TO-RAV ATA

Y


3/13

"osuas a srs arsar o masur wo-fmpas su as mbo arbo"

SRY

tssomethingthatinstinctively

weallknowis true.hisocuson

creating"lowcarbon"buildingsin

operationisa seriouscaseo tunnel

vision.heimpactso constructing

thatbuilding,withall itsmaterials

andcomponents sourcedrom

aroundthe world,andtheateo

therubbleattheend oitslieare

convenientlyignored.

Butitsnotembodiedcarbon

emissionsorresourcedepletionthat

arekeepingthepropertycompany

directorsawakeatnight.hat

concernsthemis risk:isyourportolio

worthwhatyouthinkitis?

Anythingthatsariskto theuture

valueoapropertywillconcentrate

peoplesminds, saysDavid elord,

whoheadsupurleyPalmerFlatts

sustainabilitydivision.hatchiefy

concernspropertyundmanagersis

thatthereisa potentialoratipping

point:atsomepointabuilding

justwontbeleasableiit isnot

sustainable.

Andwhilemanypropertyowners

justread"energyecient"or

sustainable,themostorward

lookingarerealisingthattheyneed

totakeamuch morestrategicview

owhatbringsvaluetoa building:its

plannedlengtho service,fexibility

ospace,abilitytorereshand

reurbishand eventuallyhow

preciouscommoditiessuchas copper

nlightened client e tting t diclt qetint hlelie ict ch edied cn ndecyclle cnent

why the future matters

oucon

willbereclaimed.Andin response,

consultantsanddesignersare

startingtomeasure whole-lie

impactssuch asembodiedcarbon

(seebox,below)andcreating

measurementtools, databasesand

benchmarks.

hereis somecleverthinking

goingonas thisdebatemovesout

ouniversitiesandintothe hands

opractitioners, saysChris rott,

partnerand sustainabilityengineeratFoster+Partners.Itsprobably

thebigportolioownerssuchas

educationauthoriti es,NS rusts

andlarge commercialportolios

thatarestartingtoasktheright

questions.

hisapproachis stillverymuchin

itsinancy,though,saysrott:he

bigpropertycompaniesknowhow

tolookatertheirbuildingsonce

theyhavegotthem,butthebrieng

partoitand theeedingbackin

astructuredwayis stillrelatively

immature.

herearea selectewwhoare

KSSE

I I were lissues I w

as important, I wat the embodieyour asset. Butyour asset to besae, be responand you shouldensure it demoresource ecieall aspects whiclooked at on a lemightsaythlonger,they aredoesnotmeantalsodemonstrawhichwouldenberecycledor,ecomponentsorre-used.

KristianSteeleisas

consultantatArupM

impactoproducin

avirginmaterial.

hinkingothe

alwaysthe preera

Steele.Cradle-to-g

waytogetstarted

moreamiliarandca

cradle-to-gravetyp

Steeleand other

advocatelookinga

buildingslie mat

andmanuacture, t

andconstruction,o

interestedinlookingatthe impacts

andbenetsoverthewhole liecycle,

romextractionrightthroughto

end-o-lie,saysKristian Steele,

seniorconsultantatArupMaterials.

Manypeoplearejust tryingtoget

theirheadsroundit.

hereareclientswho are

interestedinshowcasebuildings

wheretheyaretryingtounderstand

whatli ecycleassessment (CA)

meansandlearnromtheprocesssothattheycandealwithit ina better

wayastheirknowledgeprogresses.

Muchotheuseulworkat the

momentis aroundeducationand

understandingasopposedtospecic

changeodesigndecision.

e ig deate

neothe bigareasodebateis

whetherembodiedimpactsshould

takeintoaccountwhathappensto

amaterialattheend oa buildings

lie.Isomethingcanbere-usedor

recycled,thenmuchothe carbon

spentinproducingthatproductin the

rstplacehasbeensavedwhich

istakenintoaccountina

cradle-to-graveassessment.

Itis, ocourse,easierto lookonly

atwhathappenstoa productup to

thepointitleavesthemanuacturer;

aso-called cradle-to-gateliecycle

assessment.hebenetothisis

thattheseprocessesaredenedand

dontchange,whereaswhathappens

onceaproductleavesthe actory

gatevariesromprojecttoproject.owever,the downsideis thatthis

approachcan misinormdecisions.

hetroublewiththe

cradle-to-gatemetricis thatyou

maydrawthewrongconclusions

istudyingtheembodiedcarbon

otheinitialconstructionphase

only,saysJamesFiske,headothe

conomicResearchUnit atMott

MacDonald.e thereorestrongly

recommendthattheindustry

adoptsa cradle-to-graveapproach

tostudyingembodiedcarbon,

linkingthisatthe sametimetothe

calculationoemissionsoverthe

lie,causedbyenergyconsumption

orevencarbonabsorptioninsome

cases.Measurementocarbonand

costshouldbelinked,saysFiske,to

savedierent constructionteams

measuring theseitems separately.

MottMacDonaldsapproachisto

usea cradle-to-gatemeasureor

embodiedcarbonandmodelwhat

isdoneto amaterialorcomponent

duringandateritslieseparately,

combiningthemtogivea

cradle-to-graveinsight. he

maintenance,replacements,

transportation,disposal andrecycling

processesshouldbemodelled

individuallyin ordertoimprove

accuracy,asyoucanonly evaluate

whatyouaredoingatone pointin

timewithanyaccuracy,saysFiske.

egoeson tosaythati thematerial

isroma recycledsourcethenthe

cradle-to-gatemetric should refect

therecyclingprocess,ratherthanthe

mbodiedcarbonisthe amountoC2

emittedduringaproductsentire

liecycle,includingraw material

extraction,transport,manuacture,

assembly,installation,maintenance,

disassemblyor demolitionand

decomposition.owever,peopleoten

usetheterm "embodiedcarbon"toreer

toemissionsduringthe earliestphasesoaproductslieonly.

Manuacturerscan providedataonthe

carbonthathas beenembodiedupto

thepointit leavestheactory,so-called

cradle-to-gateembodiedcarbon.hat

happensnextmayvarydependingon

productbutthoseuture eectsare

lockedinassoonastheproductisused.

Becausethecradle-to-gateguresare

easytogethold o BathUniversitys

Inventoryo Carbonandnergy(IC)

listsembodiedimpactonlyto theend

othemanuacturingprocess these

areotentheonly onesconsidered.

owever,theembodiedcarbonduring

laterpartsoa productsliecyclecanbe

signicant:orexample,imaterialsor

smallprojectsaretransportedroma

longwayawayor ia componentneedstobereplaced,repairedor maintained

manytimesduringa buildingslie.

Similarly,otherembodiedimpacts

suchas greenhousegasemissions,

wateruseorlandusecanalsobe

considerablein laterphasessuchas

disposalandrecycling.Andwhilethe

currentpoliticalocusis oncarbon,

theseotherimpactswill beconsidered

equallyimportantinthe uture.

WhEn S EmboE cAbon noEmboE cAbon?


4/13

" mark w a sfor sma a r-uso -vau ms"

Re-useandrecyclinghavebeenkeyconcernsortheDA onthelympicpark.

heaquaticscentre,pictured,thelympicstadiumandthewaterpoloarenaall

havetemporaryelementsdesignedsotheycan bedismantledandre-used

SRY

oucon

maintenance,dismantling andre-use

ordisposalin ordertopinpoint

wherethebiggestimpactsare

andthereorewherethebiggest

improvementscan bemade.

raillazers

hileullCAstudiesthatconsiderthecradle-to-gravei mpactsor

wholebuildingsarerare,andmay

becarriedoutaterabuildinghas

beendesignedas adatagathering

exercise,designers arestarting

touseCA-relatedinormationto

helpmakedecisionson material

andproductselection.Foster+

Partners,orexample,is addingCA

dataintoitsmaterialsdatabaseso

thatarchitectswillautomatically

havetheinormationwhentheyare

researchingspecications.

Inreurbishment,CAcanbea

veryuseultool.Steeleanalysedthe

replacemento damagedacade on

Guysospitaltoworkout thatthe

carbonspenton thenewrainscreen

wouldbepaidbackbythe energy

savedwithin12.5 years(let).

CAcanalsobe usedasa weapon

againstbu ilding controldepartments,

reportsoneconsultantwhodidnot

wanttobenamed.Sometimesit

doesntmakesenseto insulateand

upgradea buildingtocurrentPart

standardswhenyouarespending

morecarbonthan yousave.

hileCAconsidersa widerange

oenvironmental impactsthrough

aproductorcomponentslie,

inevitablytheocusis oncarbon.

Climatechangeis thedening

environmentalissueo ourtime,

saysSteele.So inthe UK,mucho

theworkbeingdonebyclientsin this

areaocuseson abuildingscarbon

ootprint:embodied, operationaland

end-o-lie.

hereareaewtrailblazers.In

theMiddleast,thedevelopers

oMasdarCityaremakingserious

attemptstoconsidertheimpactso

abuildingoveritsentireliecycle

includingre-useandrecycling(see

page8).Foster+Partnersusedtheir

CA-inormedmaterials databasewhencomparingandselecting

materialsorthebuildingsand

public spaces.

Closertohome,theDAhas made

greatstrides.Manyothe main

venues theaquaticscentre,the

lympicstadiumandthe waterpolo

arenahavetemporaryelements

designedso theycanbedismantled

andpossiblyre-usedandthe park

alsoeaturesthelargestever

temporarysteelramedbuilding,the

basketballandhandballarena.

Intheutilitiessector,ater

regulatorwathasorcedwaterand

sewagecompaniestoconsiderwhole

lieratherthanjustoperational

carbon.he resultorcompanies

suchasAnglianater(seebox,

right)isa newapproachtoprocuring

componentsandsystems,takinginto

accountembodied andoperational

carbonalongsidecost.

Inprivatesectorclientbries,

mentionsoCAsor whole-lie

carbonareconspicuousbytheir

absence.heprivatesectorremains

interestedinonething:getting

thelowestcapitalcost withaew

notableexceptions,says Robambe,

whoheadsupillmottDixons

sustainabilityconsultancy

Re-hinking.here'sabit odebate

aboutenergyeciencybutitis

havinglittleimpactin termsoactual

decision-making.Apartromone

currentschemethatis outtotender,

theFQ,we haven'texperienced

anyseriousattemptataccountingor

whole-liecarboninbidsissued.

Consideringonlycapitalcostsleads

todecisionsbeingbasedonapartial

picture,saysambe,a actthatis

recognisedinthe reasurysGreen

Book,whichsaysallprocurement

decisionsshouldbe basedon

whole-liecostratherthancapitalcost.ambethinksweshouldgo

onestepurthertoalsoconsider

environmentalimpactovertheentire

liecycle:verall,weshouldbe

addressingwhole-lievalue,which

isa combinationoenvironmental

impact,includingcarbon,embodied

andin use,costs,includingcapex

andopex,unctionalityandabilityto

meetperormance requirements.

Anotherpotentialtrial groundor

whole-liecarbonthinkingisthenew

ecotowns.owever,the planning

policystatementissuedbythe

governmentin relationto ecotowns

doesnotlistwhole-liecarbonas a

consideration.

Attheecotownin north-west

Bicester,housing association

A2Dominion,whichis partoP3co,

anewl yormed eco-development

companyresponsibleorthetown,

isgoingsomewaytowardsthatgoal.

ContractorsillmottDixonandill

Partnershipshave beentargeted

withreducingtheembodiedcarbon

by40%comparedwitha standard

new-buildhouse.[his]would

bethesorto orderomagnitude

thatwouldtakeustowardsthe low

carbonootprint thatwe want,

saysNicoleazarus,sustainability

consultantto A2Dominion.

market fres r reglati

Chrisrottseesmarketorcesrather

thanlegislationasthe strongest

driverorclientstowardsliecycle

thinking. igh-valuearteacts

anditemsaremuchmorelikelyto

bereadilyplannedortheirwhole

liecyclebecausetheyhavearesidual

valueatertheirrst lie,he says.

Parto thesecrettoeectively

designingbuildingsisto design

componentsand assemblieswhere

itemsohighvaluecanbe separated

andrecycled.

Designerswhodontconsider

end-o-liein theirdesignsrisk

lockingincommoditiesthatwould

havebroughtvalueurtherdownthe

line.hemarketwillleaddesignor

dismantlingandre-useonthese

high-valuei tems,providing designers

risetothechallenge,saysrott.he

designand proessionalraternities

havearoletoplay too.Itsnotso

muchaboutinventingnewthings,

itsabouthowyougothroughthe

processodesign.(seepage14).his

isalreadyhappeningtosome degree,

reportselord:on datacentres.

hesebuildingshaverelativelyshort

livesseventoeightyearsbeore

retting.Butthecopperusedorthe

busbarsis extremelyvaluable.e

havestarteddiscussionswith some

othemanuacturerswhowantto

rentratherthansel

sayselord.

izGreen,seniors

consultantatMottM

thatCA should bec

IntheUKitisstilln

enorcedaspolicy,

doesneedtochang

CraigJones,asen

atSustain,agrees:

regulationorlegisla

ramainstreamg

includesembodied

carbon.eneed ah

rottis lesssure:

minimumbartoent

somanypeopletha

setveryhigh.her

mightbesuccessu

assessmentstobe

inormationbeing r

governmentor oth

Ultimatelyboth m

andlegislationwill

amorewhole-liep

carbonand otherim

suchasArup,Foste

MottMacDonaldan

recentlybought DC

smartenoughto re

commercialadvant

buildinguptheexp

datanow.

Inresponseto watsclimatechange

policy,Anglianateris takingwhole-lie

carbonaswellas costintoaccount.

orkingwithitsintegrateddesign-builddeliveryprovider

@oneAlliance,thewaterrm is

developinga catalogueoproducts

thatgivebothcost andcarbonsavings.

mbodiedandoperationalcarbonare

calculatedwithaspeciallydeveloped

CarbonModellerandthe goalisto halve

embodiedcarbonby2015compared

withsimilarassetsbuilt in2010.

Innovativesystemsdevelopedbythe

teamincludecreatinga curvedtrench

orstructuredplasticwaterpipes

usinga specialshapedbucket.his

reducestheamounto beddingandsur-roundmaterialrequired,cuttingcosts

by38%and reducingembodiedcarbon

50%.Soar 60productshavebeen

developedwith150 moreidentied.

@oneAllianceincludesAnglian

aterServices,BalourBeatty

UtilitySolutions,Barhale,Black&

Veatch,Grontmij,M,andSkanska

AkerSolutions,andis supportedbyMott

MacDonald.

cASE Su y: AnGLAn WAE

iecycleassessment(CA)studiescan reallycomeintotheir

ownonreurbishmentprojects,whenwhole-liecarboncan be

consideredalongsidecosttohelpinormdecisions.

orkingorthe GuysandSthomasNSFoundation

rust,replacingailingcladdingonGuysospital,Arupwas

abletousesimpleliecycletoolsto comparesixdierent

claddingsystems.

Guy'S hoSpAL

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Climate

Change

Hu

man

Toxicity

Toxicityto

Land

Embo

died

Water

Non-renewable

Resource

Use

Frame

Glazing

Spandrel

Guys Hospital - Impact Reduction

Over50% of the carbonis attributable to theframing

Reducingthe amount offramingwouldbe themost eective way ofreducingthe embodiedcarbon

Move to sticksystem

Cost benets as well

ArupseniorconsultantKristianSteelelookedata broad

rangeoimpactsorthecladdingsystems,althoughhe

saysthatclientswillalmostalwaysocuson carbon.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Years

-

Guys Hospital - Cleaning and Maintainance

Carbon usedto refurbishthe faade

Carbon usedin cleaning& maintainance

0

000

000

000

000

000

000

000

000

000

000

ArupbuiltsimplemodelsusingCAtoshowcarbonin

use.hesemodelsarenotreadilyavailablebutarevital

tohelpclientsanddesignersmakewhole-liedecisions.

No.Years

-

Guys Hospital - Carbon Payback

TotalCarbon Saved

InititalCarbonSpend

PaybackPoint

-10000

-8000

-6000

-4000

-2000

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

012 3 4 56 789 1011 12 1314 1516 171819 202122 2324 2526 2728 29 30

CAalsoallowedAruptoworkoutwhenthe carbon

spendwouldbepaidbackbythe operationalcarbon

improvements,ameasurethatwasusedin planning.


5/13

fyouwanted

tochallengedecision-makingon

sustainable development,

AbuDhabimightbethe place.In a

countrywherefreshwateris

createdin desalinationplantsand

materialsmustbetransportedfrom

afar,competing environmental

pressurescouldnotbemoreevident.

MasdarCityaims tonda way

throughtheseissues.Itsambitionistobe theworldsrstcarbon

neutral,zero-waste citypowered by

renewableenergy.

DeveloperMasdar,awholly

ownedsubsidiaryoftheAbu Dhabi

governmentsMu badala Development

Company,is pushingtheboundaries

acrossarangeof sustainabilitytargets.

Indoingso, itwill makenewdiscoveries

andsetstandardsthatthe restof

theworldwillfollow.Amongitsgoals

isreducingthe embodiedcarbonof

constructionmaterials,including

theuseof recyclableand recycled

materials.

Thecountryitselfdoesnothave

verymuchinthe wayofbuilding

resources.They recognisethat

theabilitytorecycle,designfor

dismantlingandembodiedcarbon

areimportant, saysDavid Telford,

directorofHurleyPalmerFlatts

energyand sustainabilitydivision,

whoworkedontheconceptdesign

fortheSprinterBuildingin theSwiss

VillageinMasdar.On siteinJanuary

nextyearandduetobe completed

inearly2013,the SprinterBuildingis

oneoftherst togoup inMasdarCity

andwillhousethe Swissembassy.

DesignedbyFoster+Partners,

Masdaris basedona traditionalidea

ofcompactcities:highdensitybut

nothighrise.Constructionstarted

ociallyin February2008andthe

heartofthisresearch-basedcity,the

MasdarInstitute,isalreadybuilt.

Oncecomplete,thecitywill be

hometoabout40,000people,with

50,000commutingin.A lightrapid

transitsystemwilltakeworkers

intothecityand unusuallyforthis

partoftheworld Masdarhas been

designedwithgreenpedestrian

streetstotemptpeopletowalk.

Asa sustainablecity,Masdaris

beingdesignedsoits buildings

canrenewthemselvesasthecity

changesanddevelopsovertheyears.

FortheSprinterBuilding,futurelivesbeyondits rstuseasan ocehad

tobeconsideredinitsdesign.Ithad

tobeveryexiblesothatit could

accommodatelotsof dierentuses

overits life,saysTelford.Themain

structureremainsthesamewhilethe

internall ayoutchanges.

Thenextstepisto planforthose

partsofthebuildingthatwillbe

replaced.Itsthinkingaboutthebits

thatwouldneedtoberenewedand

designingthemforrecycling,says

Telford.Forexample, thedesi gn

teamlookedatthe chilledbeams

toexaminewhetherthevaluable

commoditieswithinthemcould

beeasilyseparatedandrecycled.

Welookedat thesteel,aluminium

andcopperhowtheywerejoined

togetherandwhetheryoucanget

thosematerials back.

Majorplantmustalsobedesigned

foreaseofreplacementandpipes

andwiresmustbesizedto take

intoaccountdierentloadingsand

requirementsin thebuildingsfuture

lives.Iftheinternallayoutofthe

buildingchanges,wouldthebasic

infrastructurebeableto beadapted

andused? saysTelford.

Thedesignteamalsohada whole

rangeof sustainability targets

tohitwith theirconceptdesign.

Economically,the buildinghadtobe

higheciency,achievinga netto

grossofover75%;specicationshad

touselocalsupplierswherepossible;

embodiedcarbonhadtobe reduced

by30%,operationalenergyand

carbonby50%,operationalwater

by30%andrecyclableandrecycled

materialsusedwherepossible.

Ithadtobe amulti-disciplinary

approach,says Telfordwhos et

theM&Edesignandsustainability

strategy.So ata veryearlystage

thedesigners SwissarchitectBGP

whoprovidedthe conceptdesign,

local deliverydesigners A+Dyer,

andHurleyPalmerFlatt lookedatdierentoptionstondthebestt.

Thereweretwoor threeconcepts

andwealldidalittlebitoneachand

ratedthemagainstwhateachof us

wastryingtoachieveandgotthe

bestcompromise.Andatthesame

timewedida quickcostassessment.

Onthisproject,theclientwasnot

necessarilylookingforlowestcost.

Theclientwasinterestedinthe

shapeofthecurves:forexample,

howmuchextracostwoulditbe

togetan extraamountofcarbon

reduction,says Telford.

Telfordrecognisedthe challenges

ofcompeting environmentaltargets,

sodevelopedananalysistoolto help

ndtheoptimumsolutions.Therst

stepinusingthe toolisto takeall

theenvironmental parametersand

workwiththeclienttoweightthem

accordingto mandatorytargets,

strongdesires andgood-to-haves.

Dierentscenarioscan thenbe

runthroughthetool,witha score

indicatinghowcloseto theclients

valuesthatsolutionhasreached.

Telfordbasedthe

environmental,eco

culturalsustainabi

ofEstidama,Abu D

buildingframewor

beadaptedto mee

requirementsof an

Likeeverybuildin

theinformationfro

Buildingwillbefed

databasesandtoolfuturephases ofde

Tohelpdesigners

Masdarhas setupa

calledTheFutureB

eectivelya directo

materialsandprodu

UnitedArabEmirat

onthedatabasemu

independentlyasse

surethatitlivesup

benetslistedthat

Masdars15 environ

Theplanis thatpr

begintousethe po

projectsin AbuDha

ArabEmirates and

itwill beusefultob

professionalsaroun

TheMasdarInstitueb

inMasdarCity

TheSprinterBuildingisbeing

designedwithwhole-life

useinmind

t ablty t cycld f dmatlad mbdd caba mtat

this pioneering au dhi eo-i oers

unique opporuni o eveop ws o

iprove uiing's susinii

THE WHOLE STORY

STUDY: new rulesSTUDY: new rules

TH

CASE STUCASE STU


6/13

tsnotrocketscience.Iyou wanttocomparethe

embodiedimpacts odierent structuralmaterials,

justlookup theimpactfguresperkg,multiplyby

theweightothatmaterialand heypresto!Theres

youranswer.

Ionlyit werethatsimple.

Whilenobodyisclaimingthatliecycle

assessmentison apar withrocketscience,there

arecertainlya ewknottyissuestotacklebeore

designersandengineerscanmakeinormed

comparisonsbetweenmaterials.Ignorethem,and

youreonlylookingat apartialpicture.

Inthetableopposite,youwillfnd background

inormationandexplanationstohelppeopleto

understandwhattheyarereadingwhentheylook

throughtablesodatasuch asBathUniversitys

InventoryoCarbonandEnergy(ICE).Andonpages

12and13 youwillfnd illustrationsthatshowwhat

proportionsoourmainstructuralmaterialsare

currentlyre-used,recycledorsenttolandfll.

I you need a quick briefng on what liecycle

assessment is all about, turn to page 16 or

our Beginners Guide.

Beore you start comparing the impacts o diferentmaterials over their liecycles, there are a ew thingsyou need to know ...

BEhind ThE FiGURES

whats in a lifecycle?How approaches and assumptions vary between the materials

CB FI IQualityodata Thegeneralqualityodataisgood.

Steelmakershaveahighprofleandhaverespondedtopressuretomakeull andcomprehensivestudiesotheir impacts.

Thequalityodatais variable,somethingwhichboththeindustryandthegovernmentadmits.Hugevariationsin resultscanbecalculateddependingontheassumptionsmadeandnocommonagreementsexisttoassistinthis.

Thegeneralqualityodatais gooomixcan haveasignifcantbeacarbon intensity.

Methodsoanalysis

Thesteelindustry,alongwithmostmetalsproducers,avourtheuseoa cradle-to-graveapproach,whichrecognisesthebeneftsouturerecycling.

Timbermanuacturerstendtouseacradle-to-gateapproach,whichstopswhenthematerialleavestheactorygate.Sequestrationtheabilityo thetimbertostorecarbonoveritslietimeis usuallyassumedtooccur.

Concretemanuacturers tendtocradle-to-gateapproachwithnooendo lie.WithintheUK,an amadethattherebarin reinorcedmaderom100%recycledsteel

Whatarethevaluesusingthese

methods?

Onthebasiso acradle-to-graveapproach,takingintoaccountthe beneftsouturerecycling,thesteelindustryusesfgures

between0.76kgCO 2/kgorstructuralsectionsand1.35kgCO

2/kgorgalvanisedstrip.

TheInventoryoCarbonandEnergy(ICE)databaseis cradle-to-gateandtakesnoaccounto end-o-lieissues.Itadmits

thedicultyincalculatingtheburdensotimberbutcalculatesthoseoglulamtobe0.84kgCO

2e/kgotimber.

TheICEdatabasecontainsa fguo0.163kgCO

2e/kgorC40concr

Reinorcementburdensadd0.43

osteeltothis fgure,accordingtCentredata.ThisassumesallrebintheUK.

Whatarethevaluesusingacradle-to-graveapproach?

Asabove.Onthebasiso acradle-to-graveapproach,takingintoaccountthebeneftsouturerecycling,thesteelindustryusesfguresobetween0.76kgCO

2/kgand1.35kgCO

2/kgo

steel,dependingontheproduct.

Onthebasis opublishedTRADAdataonend-o-lieoutcomesortimberin theUK,thecarbonintensityoglulamis 1.1kgCO

2/kg.

Basedonrecyclingandlandilldatagovernment,aigureo0.153kgCO

2

C40concrete.Tothismustbeaddeoreinorcement.TheWorldSteelAcalculatedthisas0.82kgCO

2/kgost

Otherissues Steelmanuacturedromironoreproducesaby-productcalledblasturnaceslag.Becauseitis classedasaby-product,LCArulesstatethatthemanuacturercantakecreditorsubsequentuse.A creditorthisis includedinthefguresorsteelmentionedabove.

Thebeneftsotimberinconstructionarebasedonassumptionsthatthe timberissustainablysourced.Careneedstobetakentoensurethatthisis so.Inot, thecarbonburdensotimberwillincreaseconsiderably.

Blasturnaceslag,aby-productomaking,iswidelyusedasa cemereplacement. Concretemanuactcreditorthis.However,this iscothesteelmanuacturersalsolayccredits.Thisissuehasyetto bere

steel timber concrete

-F-IF C

Recycling Steelscraphasahigh valueandhasanecientcollectionandcaptureinrastructure.Globally,itis estimatedthat80%o steelscrapiscaptured.Inthe UK,94%is capturedromconstructiondemolitionand,orheavyramingproducts,99%is capturedor re-used.

TheBREGreenGuideestimatesthat23%otimberromdemolitionsitesis recycled.In2008,TRADAestimatedthatapproximately10%otimberwastewasusedto makechipboard,suggesting13%isrecycledtoitsoriginalorequivalentuse.

Approximately20%oaggregatdemolitionsitesis thoughttobeHowever,thecement,thatpartothataccountsorupto75%o COislost permanently.

Re-use Astudycarriedoutin 2003estimatedthat13%ostructuralsectionsarere-used.Thisisthoughttobe highandtheactualfgureisprobablybetween5-10%.Sectionsre-usemainlyoccursintheagriculturalsector.

Mostre-usedstructuraltimberis intheormobeams,joistsandstudwork.Salvagedtimberissometimesre-milledandsold toconsumersintheorm otimberooring,beamsanddecking.Littleinormationisavailableonthepercentageotimberre-usedinthis way.

Structuralconcretedoesnotgenitseltore-use,mainlydueto itsnatureandthesubsequentdicseparatingcomponents.Thereistore-useprecastcomponents.

Landfll Theamountosteelthatendsup inlandfllrombuildingdemolitionisa unctionotheeaseorecovery.Itis greatestorreinorcingbar,estimatedat6%, andleastorrolledsections,wherea nominal1%lossis assumed.

TheBREGreenGuideestimatesthat58%otimberrombuildingdemolitionendsupin landfll,whichmaybeduetothedicultyinseparatingtimberwith valueromcontaminatedtimber.A 2008TRADApublicationputsthefgureat 80%.

Increasesin landflltaxhaveresustridesinreducingtheconcreteginrecentyears.Constructionwasproblem,however,andis currenoa projecttoreduceby50%theendingupinlandfllby 2012.

Downcycling Steelscrapismanuacturedintoproductswiththesamevalueas theoriginalmaterial.Downcyclingdoesnottakeplace.

Agreatdealotimberwasteis cycledbackintoproductso lowervalueandutility.TRADAhasestimatedthatover1 milliontonnesowoodwastegoesintothemanuactureochipboard.

Mostconcreteromdemolitionshardcoreandfllwhereit replacewhichisotherwisewonromgraCement,whichaccountsormosproduction,islost indemolition.

Incineration Not applicable. About 6% is incinerated at end o lie. Energyrecoveryisrestrictedbylacko inrastructure.

Notappli cable.

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7/13

enD-of-life scenarios

concRETE TimBER STEElThegreatmajorityoconcreteromdemolition

sitesiscrushedandusedassub-baseorfll.Thisis

downcyclingrather thanrecycling, iea secondary

usewhichisnotothe samevalueasthefrst.

Aggregatesromdemolitionmaybere-usedin

concreteproductionbutitsuseis restrictedbothby

rulesgoverning maximumpercentagesallowed and

alsobysupply,sincetheamountoaggregatethat

canberecoveredorthispurposeislimited.Where

aggregatesare re-usedin concrete,newcement,

thesourceomostotheCO2

emittedin concrete

production,isstillneeded.TheConcreteCentreis

thesourceothedowncyclingfgure,withtheother

fguresestimated usingvarious sources.

Deinitive inormation on what happens to

timber waste ollowing building demolition

is diicult to ind. Recent publications

rom TRADA indicate that up to 80% o

timber waste in the UK goes to landill. The

inormation presented here is rom the BRE

Green Guide.

Thedowncyclingfgureisan estimatebased

onpublishedinormationonhowmuchtimberis

divertedromthewastestreamorthemanuacture

ochipboard.

Problemswithcontaminationinthewastestream

inparticularrestrictopportunitiestodivertwaste

orre-use andrecycling.

Steelbeneftsromhavinga highintrinsicvalue

supportedbya welldevelopedandecientscrap

collectioninrastructure.It canbe recycledat

endolietoormproductsthatareothesame,

orhigher,standardand qualityas theoriginal

materialand moststeelcomponentsare largeand

easilycaptured.

Captureratesvarydependingon

oextractionromthedemolitions

alwaysabove90%andaverage94

components.Forsections,itis99%

Theseratescanbe oundinMate

analysisotheUK steelconstructi

J.Ley,2001.

What happens to a buildings structuralrame once it is demolished?

94%CC

13%CC

20%CC

5%

58%

6%

10%

13%

1%

5%

75%

THE WHOLE STORY

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8/13

Dsignrs should think not only about gtting a buildingup, but also hn and ho its lmnts ill b rtird, saysFostr + Partnrs sustainability xprt Chris Trott

hris Trott

doesnotbelievein designing

buildingsthatlast.Well,not unless

youreallyneedthemto.WhatI am

notarguingforislonglife,says

theFoster+ Partnerspartnerand

sustainabilityengineer,"butfora

goodlongthinkaboutthelifeof a

buildingandthenactuallyplanning

forthelifeyouhaveagreedon.

Formostclients,this willrequirea

paradigmshiftin thinking,saysTrott:Clientsneedto bemoreanalytical

aboutwheretheirvalueslie. Dothey

wantabuildingthatwilllast for150

years?Or willtheyonlyneedit for

20yearsbecausethingsaremoving

quickly?Youmightrettwoor three

timesinthattime.Afterthat,takethe

buildingdownandrecyclethesite.

Forinspiration,Trottsuggeststhat

designersshouldlookto theworldsof

sportandentertainment.If youfollow

FormulaOne,everywheretheygo,

theytaketheirown pavilionbuilding

fortheirentertainmentwiththem.

Theycandisassembleawhole building.

Alot canbelearned fromtechnology

transferfromother sectors.

Fordesigners,thisapproachalso

requiresfreshthinking.Trottguesses

thatintheUKonlyahandfulof

buildingsarebeingdesignedfor

decommissioningatthe endoftheir

life,in contrastwith countriesincentral

continentalEuropeand Scandinavia.

InSwitzerland, designers have

ninephasesofservicebrieng,the

ninthbeingdeconstructionor

decommissioning,says Trott.There

isa requirementfortheretobea

planonhowbuildingswill be

deconstructedandtakenoutof use.

Greenthinkinganddesigninthese

countrieshasadvancedfasterthan

intheUK duetonecessity,suggests

Trott:Theyhave beenenergy

resourcepoor,soenergytendstobe

alotmoreexpensive.Thataects

buildings'costsandthe costsoftheirmaterials,sotheyhavehadtothink

aboutissuesinthegreendebate

alotearlierthanus.Trottthinksit

wouldbesensibleiftheplanning

processin theUKtookthis approach

too:Weliveina severelyresource

constrainedworld.Weare running

outofnaturalresourceswiththe

conventionalonce-through model.

Probablynowoneofour greatest

resourcesiswaste.Wehavetotake

theviewthatwasteisa resourceto

bere-usedwhethernewspaper,a

tincanor apieceofa building.We are

probablynowstartingtoapproach

thepointwherethemajorityof

naturalresourcesarealreadyin the

thingsweuse.Eventuallywewill run

out.Aplanningsystemthatsupports

re-usewouldbe agoodmove.

Beforeplanningcomesthebrief:

therststepin decidingon asuitable

lifeforabuildingis todrawoutwhat

aclientsvaluesare,saysTrott:We

wouldhavea dialoguetoestablish

whatisimportantforthem.Itsabout

usexplainingtheopportunitiesand

themreactingtowhich ofthesethey

thinktheyvalue.

Itis notjustthebuildingslife

whichmustbedecidedatthisstage,

butthelifeof itscomponentstoo.

Ifleasesonocesgetshorterfor

example,theavailablecycle-timefor

refurbishmentwill beshorterandthe

elementsthatneedtobe replaced

orrefreshedshouldaimto have

liveswhichcoincidewiththeleaselengths.Ifsomebodyissayingwe

aremovingtoa15-yearlease,then

componentswould legitimatelybe

reviewedinthe samecycleandthat

wouldfeedintothedesignprocess.

Conversely,if youareworkingtoa

25-yearlease,whatdoyou dowith

componentsthathaveto comeout

after15years?

Oncethissortofbriefhas beenset,

itsacaseof designingyourbuilding

sothatthebits thatdoneedtobe

replacedcanbe easilydisassembled

andchanged.Andcrucially,this

shouldbepossiblewhilethebuilding

or mostofit remainsinoperation.

Foundationsare prettymuch

thereforlife,asarethe structural

frameandstructuraloorsystems,

saysTrott.Cl addingsystems might

bereplacedafter20years.Thatis

perfectlylegitimateandshouldbe

thoughtaboutfromthebeginningso

theycanbedemountedand recycled.

Ihavepersonallybeeninvolved

withanexistingbuildingwhere

thecladdingcouldnotbetakeno

becauseit wasastructuralcladding

systemand thebuildingwouldhave

fallendown.Thebuildingwasa

completeconstructionsiteinorderto

bringitbackintouse. Whatyouneed

isan ongoingassetwithincome

cominginasthe workhappens.

Similarly,M&Esystemsshouldbe

easytoreplace.Quitea lotofthings

tendtogointomodularplantrooms

andrisers.Itsentirelylegitimateto

expectthesethingstocomeout in

thesamewaythatt

withalittle bitofth

Inthenew ordero

disassembly,conne

fastenerstakeona

Dontmixthingsup

advisesTrott.Andw

cometogether,thin

comeapart.Things

wellfordismantling

andthingsthatnee

Afewcommoditi

copper arealread

towarrantdesignth

easyextractionwh

refreshedordisma

resourcesaredeple

applymorewidely.

Withhighvaluet

willlead,providing

tothechallenge,sa

aboutrecognisingw

peoplewouldrecov

andnotsinkingtha

Thatchallengeis to

meetrequirements

Otherwiseclientsw

we e v evee eCeCTeD wD

CHRIS T

One of ouresources is wasto take the viewis a resource to bwhether it's a tinpiece of a buildiChrisTrottisa susta

andpartneratFoste

100years?years?

100years?years?

25years?25years?

50years?50years?

Designinplains.Thestructureandthe claddingshouldbeseparate,ason SwissRe,

sothatcladdingcanberefreshedevery20yearswhilestillkeepingmostofthe

buildingoperational,andthereforemakingmoney.

PI

TE WOLE STORY

w lOng IS a lIfe? HOw

T


9/13

Whats the dierence between

cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-

gate LCAs?

Cradle-to-graveassessments cover

thewholeliecycleromextractionto

disposalandend olie.

Cradle-to-gateassessments area

partialLCA,whichstopsat theactory

gate,ie beorethe fnishedproduct

hasbeen transportedanywhere.

What are the benets of using

cradle-to-grave LCAs?

Cradle-to-graveLCAs provideacomprehensiveanalysisothe

resourcesusedandthesubstances

emittedthroughaproduct'swhole

liecycle.Thisallowsdecisionsto

bebasedona trueassessmentoa

productsimpact,andalso meansthat

manuacturersor usersoa product

cantargetthephasesina products

liecyclewherethemostsignifcant

improvementscould bemade.

Cradle-to-gateLCAs only provide

apartialpicture.Decisionsmade

basedonthesealoneignoreimpacts

duringtransport, construction,

maintenance,disposal andrecycling

andcouldmeanmaterialsor products

withaworseoverallimpactonthe

environmentare selected.

Cradle-to-gatecalculations can

evenleadtononsensicalresults.

Forexample,materialsthatare

responsibleortakingincarbon or

sequestration aregivena negative

emissionsvalue.Soin theory,the

moreothatmaterialyouuse, the

moreenvironmentallyriendlythe

building becomes.

Why are cradle-to-gate

LCAs more common than

cradle-to-grave LCAs?

Thesimpleansweristhatit iseasier

toconsiderimpactsonlyas arasthe

actorygates. Manymanuacturers

providecradle-to-gate LCA

inormationanddatabasessuchas

BathUniversitysInventoryoCarbon

andEnergy(ICE)(seebox,above

right)containdatatothe gateonly.

WhatS CONSIDERED IN aN LCa?

Emissionstoair,water

andsoil

Transportandconstruction


andsoil

Operationandmaintenance

Eto

a

Deand


andsoil

Extractionandmanuacture

hat is lifecycle assessment?

Liecycleassessment(LCA)isa way

oassessingtheenvironmental

impactso allstagesina products

lieromextractionoraw material

throughprocessing, manuacture,

transport,construction, maintenance

anddisposalorrecycling.

Where did it come from?

SomesayCocaColawasthefrst

companytodo LCAsin1969,but it

wasntuntilthemid-eightiesand

early-ninetiesthatitreallytook

o.TheSocietyoEnvironmental

Toxicologyand Chemistry( SETAC)

coinedthephrase"liecycle

assessment"in1990and in

1997/1998,ISOproducedaserieso

standardswhichwereupdated

in2006.

What environmental impacts do

LCAs consider?

Thesecanincludeglobalwarming,

The best wy to juge the envionment eentisof pouts n mteis is to ook t the impt theywi hve fom the e to the gve

ozonedepletion, acidifcation,

eutrophication,smog, heavymetals,

carcinogenic substances,waste,

respiratoryeects, ionising radiation,

ecotoxicsubstances,landuseand

rawmaterials.

How do you do one?

Thisiswhat ISO14040saysyouneed

todowhen carryingouta LCAstudy:

1. Defnethegoalandscope

understandingtheaimsothe study

andsettingboundaries.

2. Carryoutaliecycleinventory(LCI)

analysismappingowsowater,

energyandrawmaterialsrom

natureandthereleasestonature.

3. Do a liecycle impact assessment

look at the materials and

emissions in the LCI, decide how

you will look at environmental

impacts (eg all ozone depleting

gases) and work out how much

each set o emissions contributes

to each o the impacts. There are

many methods or assessment.

4. Interprettheresultswithin

thescopeothestudyand the

methodologyused.This stageshould

alsoi dentiyareas orimprovement.

Is it all about carbon?

As carbon dioxide is emitted by

ossil uelled power stations to

generate energy or the grid,

carbon has become the currency o

energy eciency. CO2

is accepted

as a major cause o global warming,

but it is not the only greenhouse

gas. Timber, which many people

consider truly sustainable since

it takes in CO2

while growing,

decays to orm methane, which

is 21 times more potent than CO2

as a greenhouse gas, according to

Dera/DECC. Decay is one o the

possibilities or timber at the end

o its lie and a ull liecycle analysis

should consider to what extent that

is likely to happen.

CAI j

Cradle-to-gate fguresgive you an idea o what

it takes to make a product. Itvery much depends on whathappens to that product as towhat its cradle-to-graveimpact will be.

cradl-T-ra lca lTarT T a r TrT cld ad

tO LIfECyCLE aSSESSmENt

W Energyandrawmaterials Energyandrawmaterials Energyandrawmaterials Enraw

DrCraigJonesisoneotheauthorso

theInventoryoCarbonandEnergy

(ICE),whichhedevelopedwithProessor

GeoreyHammond whileat Bath

University.Heis nowa seniorassociateat

carbonreduction consultancySustain.

Jonesstartedworkingonthe

ICEattheendo2004,andwithin

aboutninemonths thefrst

versionothe databasewasready.Hisuniversityhomepagemade

reerencetothe databaseandsoonhestartedto receivea ewemails.

Thesteadystreamo emailsgrew

andnowthere isan automated

distributionsystem.Todate12,000

peoplehavedownloadedthe ICE.It

stillsurprisesProessorHammond

andmyselhow widelyithas beenpickedup,saysJones.

Thechallengesinbuildingthe

databasewerethevariabilityo

resultsandthe dierentmethods

usedbydierentsectorsto

calculateembodiedcarbonand

energy,althoughthe

datahasimprovedo

hesays.The newEU

methodwhichis com

soonwillhelp withco

commentsJones.

Whenhe frststar

thedatabase,Jonesa

cradle-to-siteversiobecameapparentth

workbecauseitwas

makeassumptionswapplytoall cases.Cr

fguresgiveyouani

takestomakea prod

Itverymuchdepend

happenstothat pro

itscradle-to-graveimThere is a risk pe

the ICE data as is wh

the subject, but as t

more in this area, th

that ull liecycle as

not just cradle-to-g

cradle-to-grave.

THE WHOLE STORY

A I LCA?

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10/13

tsaquestionthatsomepeople

dontwantyoutoask:whycan you

getsuchdierentanswersifyou look

atembodiedcarbonoverthewhole

lifeofa building,ratherthanjustup

tothepointwherethematerialsin

thatbuildingleavethefactory?

Fortheanswer,we canturn

toTargetZero:a detailedstudy

intothecarbonfootprintsofve

buildingtypes schools,oces,

supermarkets,warehouses and

mixeduse. SponsoredbytheBCSA

fedtheinformationintoan

LCAmodeldevelopedin-houseby

TataSteel: CLEAR(Construction

Life-CycleEnvironmental Assessment

Resource).Thebuildingswere

splitdownintodierentelements:

foundations,bearing structure,

roofandsoon. Youneedto break

itdowntogivemeaningfulresults,"

saysAvery."Ifyougroupedthemall

together,you wouldnotknowwhere

themostsignicantimpactswere.

BestpracticeforLCAis touse

currentdataforinformationsuchaswastageandrecyclingrates

saysAvery.Ifyoudontuse current

data,youarereallyopeningacan

ofworms:youcanjustifyanything

basedona futurescenario.You

havetotakecurrentmanufacturing

impactsandcurrentendof life

performancenowandsay:Thisis

whatthecurrentsnapshotlookslike.

Sourcingsomeofthe dataneeded

forthemodeltooktime.Wedid

quitealotof worktotryand dene

wastageratesontheconstruction

site,saysAvery.Wethen hadto

factorin additionalmaterialrequired

tocover thewastage. Wherever

possibletheyusedpublisheddata,

muchofit fromWRAP.

TheCLEARmodel,whichhasbeen

independentlyreviewedbyArupto

ISO14040and14044,takesinto

accountrecyclingat endoflife,which

sometoolsdont.Thefactthat99%

ofscrapsteelismelteddownand

usedagain,givesasignicantbenet

totheenvironment:thedemolished

buildingiseectivelyproducingsteel,

whichwilltakelessenergytore-melt

thananequivalenttonnageofvirgin

material,argues Avery.Similarly,

whereconcreteiscrushedandused

foraggregate,somebenetsshould

betakenintoaccount.

Wearetryingtoaccountforthe

valueofthatmaterial,tryingtodene

whatthatvalueis,saysAvery.Using

alimitedcradle-to-gateLCAanalysis,

thebenetofrecyclingis ignoredand

thereforeconsidered nobetter than

sendingwasteto landll.

Themostsurprisingndingfor

Averywasthe largeproportionof

embodiedcarbontiedupin the

buildingsfoundationsandoorslabs.

Ifyouwanttoreducethecarbon

footprintofyourbuilding,youshould

focusonyourfoundationandoor

slabs,saysAvery.Itsreallydown

totheamountofconcreteused.

Reducingthatsomehowwouldyield

greatimprovements.

Whatthendingsalsoclearly

highlightis thatusingcradle-to-gate

LCAs,whereonlytheembodied

carbontiedupin thematerialsby

theendof manufactureis counted,

canleadtoverydierentanswers.

Lookattheschoolstudybuilding

(seegraph,above).Atthe endof

constructiontheconcreteand

steeloptionslookcomparable,

buttakingintoaccountendoflife

considerationsthesteelframeis

clearly ahead.

Timber,too,can tellaverydierent

storywhenitsfulllifecycleis

considered,says Avery.Some people

consideronlythe rstpartoftimbers

lifecycleandso thinkofit ascarbon

negativebecauseitabsorbscarbon

asit isgrowingbut thiscarbon

willeventuallybe returnedtothe

atmospherebyburningorrotting.

"IGNORING END OF LIFE, YOURE SAYINGRECYCLING AND REUSE IS NO BETTERTHAN LANDFILLING"

TargetZeroisa freeresourcefor

clientsanddesignersto helpwith

theearlystages ofdecision-making.

Itconsidersvedierentbuilding

typesschools,oces,warehouses,

supermarketsandmixeduseand

spellsoutthe mostcost-eective

routestowardsachievingzero

carboninoperation,consideringlow

andzerocarbon technology.

Thestudyalso looksatthe most

cost-eectiveroutestoachieving

thehighestBREEAM ratingsand

considerstheimpactof dierent

framingmaterialsonthe carbonfootprintofabuilding,lookingat the

wholelifecyclefrommaterial

extractionrightthroughto

demolitionandrecycling.

Goto: www.targetzero.info

WHAT ISTARGET ZERO?

Anothercomplica

currentlyupto 80%

tolandllinthe UK

methane,someofw

capturedandsome

Itsa complicateda

noagreedmethodo

it,saysAvery.The

cametoonTargetZ

emissionsarehighl

Theseareallissue

addressed.Unlessw

careaboutwhatha

thenext20years,o

materialsshouldbe

impactsor benets

isdismantledor de

thebestwaystoco

ofglobalpopulatio

resourceconsumpt

thereuseandrecyc

withminimallossin

Avery.Youreallys

intoaccountwhath

materialatend ofli

benecialtothe pla

Avery.Ifyouignore

sayingisit doesno

theplanetwhethe

recycledor landlle

See page 23 for

embodied carbon

the materials con

Target Zero stdy

andTataSteel,the studylookedinto

theoperationalcarbonofveactual

buildings,consideringhowtheycould

beadaptedtoreachzerocarbonin

operation.Italsoworkedoutthe

embodiedcarbonforeachbuilding

carbonemittedin themanufacture,

transport,construction,andend-

of-lifephasesandconsideredthe

impactofchangingframematerials.

Theaimof theresearch,ledby

lifecycleassessment (LCA)expert

NickAvery,principalresearcherin

TataSteelsenvironment group,was

todevelopa betterunderstanding

ofhowthedierentelementsand

lifephasesofabuildingcontributeto

itscarbonfootprint.Whilethemain

studylookedat operationalcarbon,

Averysremitwastoconsiderthe

beginningandend ofthestory.

Informeddecision-making should

reallyconsiderthefull lifecycle,

saysAvery,whositson technical

committeeCEN/TC350whichis

developingEuropean standardsfor

LCAsinconstruction.Weshould

alsondoutwhatsgoingtohappen

atendoflife, whenabuildingis

demolishedor dismantled,because

tryingtolivesustainablymeans

tryingtosaveresourcesforfuture

generations.Itsaboutbeing

forward-lookingandnotjust

consideringwh atshappening now.

TheTargetZerostudytookve

actualbuildingsandusedan LCA

modeltocalculatethe wholelifeor

cradle-to-graveembodiedcarbon

ofthemainstructure,lookingatphasesfrom materialsextraction

throughto demolitionandrecycling.

EngineersatAecomthenredesigned

thebuildingstoconsiderthe same

structureswithconcrete,steeland

whereappropriate, timberframes,

tocomparetheembodiedcarbon

results.

Usingbillsofquantitiesproducedby

CyrilSweett,Averyandhisteamthen

5,000

4,000

3,000

1,000

0

-1,000

Tot al l if ec yc le E nd of c on st r ct io n

Emissions by lifecycle phase (tCOe), showinghow end-of-life impacts change the answers

-2,000

2,000

Only considering embodied impacts as

far as end of construction can seriously

distort the answers, as the Target Zero

study shows

TE WOLE STORY

TheTargetZeroschoolstudybuilding

wasbasedontheChrist theKing

CentreforLearning,Knowsley,Merseyside

s

T

CASE STUSTUY: EMBODIED CARBOSTUY: EMBODIED CARBO CASE STUY: EMBCASE STUY: EMB


11/13

w SRY

rview

rom July this year, any

planning applicationsfor ne build housing

n Brighton and ove must provide

mbodied carbon information as

art of the application process.

while other councils' local planning

olicies say that embodied impacts

hould be considered, Brighton

nd ove is the rst to make such a

alculation a mandatory part of thelanning process

hisisreallyimportantforus,

ayssustainabil ityocer Francesca

ie.Aspartofourdutyto deliver

ustainable development,e

nderstandthatsomeofthe

iggestimpactsarearoundcarbon

missions.All ofthefocusis onPart

,hichseeksto reducein-use

arbonemissions,buta signicant

roportionofemissionscomefrom

mbodiedcarboninmaterials.

Brightonandovecouncilorked

ithlocalenviromentalconsultant

hlorumto producea simpletool

hatestimatestheembodiedcarbon

fthematerialsandproducts

eingused,uptothe endofthe

manufacturingphase,usinga fe

basicpiecesof informationaboutthe

house.hetoolisfreeto useandhas

beendesignedtotakeno morethan

10minutestollout.

weorkedithPhlorumto

reallysimplifythis.we didnotant

ittobe onerous,saysIlie.odo

afulllifecycleassessmentforthe

buildingandgetreallyaccurate

dataouldmorethanlikelyinvolve

usingconsultants.histoolisbased

onaccuratedata,butprovidesan

estimate.

Atthemoment,Brightonandoves

onlyrequirementisforapplicantsto

submittheirpartialembodiedcarbon

gures:thereareno targetssetand

nosuggestionyetthatplanning

decisionsillbe basedontheresults.

Althoughthe toolconsidersonly

cradle-to-gatecarbon, Ilifehopes

thatintroducingitill bea step

toardsconsidering hole-life

impacts:Itis certainlyouraspiration

atBrightonand ovethattherebe

acradle-to-graveapproach andthat

theseissuesbeconsideredasearly

aspossiblebylocalarchitectsand

developers.ur intentioniththe

toolisto signalthatthecouncilsees

embeddedcarbonasa signicant

impactofdevelopmentandto initiate

abasicmeasurementofhatcomes

throughthe planningsystem.

weareaarethatthereillbe

inaccuraciesbutthistoolill provide

moreinformationthanehaveever

hadbeforeandisa rstattemptat

quantifyingcarbonimpactsin aay

ehavenottriedbefore.

MarkPellant'shouseandstudioin

ovehasabouthalftheembodied

carbonofatraditionalbrickand

blockhouse

Initially, the council ill be using

the information to build up a

database. Its online sustainability

checklist, hich as introduced

in electronic form in 2008, allos

the council to store a ide range of

relevant information, and its latest

version also includes a free tool

for estimating operational carbon,

hich ill allo for comparisons

beteen cradle-to-gate embodied

and in-use emissions.

he2011checklistcontains15headingsunderhichapplicants

mustsubmitinformation,although

notallare mandatoryforevery

development.heyrangefromC2

to

ater,foodgroingtoparking,ith

theembodiedcarboncalculation

comingunderaheadingofmaterials.

wecangetreallyfantastic

dataaboutthesustainabilityof

developmentas itcomesthrough

theplanningprocess,Iliesays.All

planningauthoritieshaveadutyto

deliversustain abledevelopment. But

ifyouarentmeasuringit,hodo you

knoifyouare deliveringit?

Brightonandovecouncilhas

alaysbeenambitiousaboutits

sustainable developmentgoals.

Itsadoptedlocalplanpolicysays:

Planningpermissionsill begranted

forproposalshichdemonstratea

highstandardof e

ofenergy, ateran

In2008it introdu

supplementaryplan

onsustainablebuild

calledforzerocarb

use,astandardtha

recessionbusting

Asellashelping

thecouncilsfuture

sustainability,Ilifeh

toolillhelpeduca

planningagentsanaboutembodied ca

andplanningagen

optionsthensee

theirembodied car

herequirement

embodiedenergyis

buildresidential c

commercialbuildin

morecomplextool

ove'spictureillb

heotherlimitati

measuresonlythe

makeaproduct,no

during transportat

maintenanceor dis

lookedat cradle-to

asanextralevelo

saysIlie,hoadd

tool,fromhichBr

asdeveloped,do

odatetherehav

planningapplicatio

includedthe embo

butmanymorepeo

onlinetotrythe to

Itis tooearlytosa

if anythe embo

measurementtool

interestsofarhas c

academicinstitutio

otherlocalauthorit

will other local a

suit? Perhaps not i

embodied impacts

the local governme

hen more mainst

policy does turn to

carbon, Brighton a

ahead of the game

Steps towardssustainabilityBrighton and Hove council now requires embodiedcarbon data or all new build housing applications.Sustainability ocer Francesca Ilife tells us why

MarkPellantisapartnerinove

practiceKoruArchitects.ehas

experienceofbuildinghousesithlo

embodiedcarbon.ishouseand studioatloydsRoadin ove(pictured)as

completedlastyearandhas abouthalf

theembodiedcarbonof atraditional

brickandblock house.

PellantissupportiveofBrightonand

ove'smovetorecordtheembodied

energyofnebuild housingat

planningstage,butquestionshether

itill haveanyimpacton thematerials

architectschoose.

Youhavetohavetheill anddesire

toreducetheembodiedenergyor the

environmentalimpactor toimprove

theenvironmentfortheoccupants,hesays.hechecklistis agoodidea,but

hodoyouencouragethe useofthese

materials?Inevitablypeopleillgo for

thecheapestoption.

Clientsarenotasking forloembodied

carbonmaterials,saysPellant.But

somearelookingfor naturalmaterials

forhealthreasons,to avoidogassing,

andthesetendto beloin embodied

carbon,hesays.

An Architects view

FrancescaIlie


12/13

w SRY

ver the past decade,the drive to reduce the

environmental impact of

construction has resulted in

some of the most exciting

innovations and dramatic

changes that our industry

has ever seen. And as all

parts of the industrys

supply chains orkincreasingly to targets and

requirements set by construction

clients and by the government, the

means of measuring and assessing

environmental performance is

developing and improving too.

hereislittledoubtthatlifecycle

assessment(CA)isthemost

sophisticated,useful environmental

measurementapproach developed

todate.CAis notane concept

forconstruction,butitis becoming

increasinglyrenedtomakethe

resultsasusefulandaccurateas

possible.Standardsthatarebeing

developed,suchasCN/C350in

theUK andurope,shothe

importanceofcarryingoutanCA

assessmentcorrectly.

Bystudyingtheenvironmental

aspectsand potentialimpacts

fromramaterialextractionto

manufacture,use anddisposal,

aholeCAprovidesdatafor

eachpointina materialslife.Itis

themostcompleteayto assess

environmentalimpact, andenables

truecomparisonstobemade

beteenthe environmentalimpacts

ofmaterialsandbuildingapproaches.

oeverthere arecurrently

someareasofconfusionand

uncertaintyassociatediththe

holeCAapproach:theterm"CA"

isappliedattimesto cradle-to-gate

assessments,hichdo notinclude

dataforamaterialinuse oratthe

endoflife.Assessmentsthatare

limitedtojustsomeofthe elements

ofa materialslifecyclecanonly

givepartofthepicture,andpose

ariskthatimportantsustainability

decisionsmaybe madeiththebest

intentionsbutithoutthelonger

termenvironmentalimpactshich

canbebothpositiveandnegative

beingtakenintoaccount.

Bothcradle-to-gateand hole-life

cradle-to-graveassessmentsrely

ona numberofassumptionsintheir

underlying methodology.oever,

asthe cradle-to-graveapproachis,

bydenition,foundedonthecorrect

principleofconsideringthefull

lifecycle,itshouldsurelybe treated

asa moreaccurateassessmentthan

anyapproachthatexcludeskeyparts

ofamaterial'slifecycle.

wholeCAarebeginningtofeature

moreandmoreinthe mediaasell

asin therequirementsofclients

'We're on thecusp of amajor change'The steel sector is committed to helping theconstruction industry assess the environmental

performance of materials in an accurate andmeaningful way. Alan Todd, director of marketdevelopment at the British ConstructionalSteelwork Association (BCSA), explains why

andprojectteamsat theleading

edgeofourindustryit isthe ay

thatthesustainabilityofour built

environmentillbemeasuredinthe

future.But beforeereachthe point

hereitis ourstandardsystemof

evaluation,therearesomeobstacles

thateillneedto orkontogether

toovercome.

Primarily,the informationabout

hathappensto majorconstruction

materialsattheend oftheir

usefullife mustbemademore

idelyavailable.withoutthis,the

journeyto properholelifecycle

cradle-to-graveassessments

becomingthestandardacrossthe

industryill beverychallenging.

helimitedinformationthat

isneededfora cradle-to-gateassessmentismorereadilyavailable,

sothistypeof assessmentis

currentlyeasiertocarryout.here

isa dangerthatthisapproachill

beacceptedbysomepractitioners

as"goodenough".Shouldthis

becomean attitudethatprevails,the

constructioni ndustrysconsiderable

eortsto reduceits environmental

impactillbelesseective.

hequestionfororganisations

andindividualsho trulybelieve

inthesustainabilityagenda,is

hatcanedo tofacilitatethe

processofchange?heBCSAand

ataSteelarecommittedto making

dataavailablethatillfacilitate

cradle-to-graveassessmentsof

steelsolutionsbutpractitioners

musthaveaccesstocomparable

dataforallthemajorconstruction

materials.his supplementprovides

cradle-to-graveemission guresfor

steelandothermaterials,alongith

theassumptionsthatebelieve

arereasonable fortheir end-of-life

treatment.

wedelcomeviesandinputfrom

otherorganisations pleasecontact

JohnDoling(BCSAsustainability

manager)at cradletograve@

steelconstruction.orgif youare

interestedingettinginvolvedand

playingyourpartin construction's

journeytoardscradle-to-grave

holel ifecycleassessment. were

onthecuspof amajorchangeand

thisisan opportunitytohelpshape

thatchange.

"ASSSSTS T T STS ATS A ATASCC CA AT T CT"

Cradle-to-grave embodcarbon of materials

MENT

MTE ril DT SOu rC E END Of li fESSuMpTiON

SOurCE

Fabricatedsteelsections

wor ldsteel(2002) 99%closedloop r ecycling,1%landll

MFAoftheUK steelconstructionsector

S te el p ur li ns w or ld st ee l (2 00 2) 9 9% c lo se d lo op r ec yc li ng ,

1%landll

MFAoftheUK steel

constructionsector

rganiccoatedsteel

wor ldsteel(2002) 94%closedloop r ecycling,

6%landll

MFAoftheUK steelconstructionsector1

Steelreinforcement

wor ldsteel(2002) 92%recycling,8 %landll M FAoftheUKsteelconstructionsector

Concr ete(C25) GaBiCIdatabase2006-PInternational

77%openlooprecycling,23%landll

DepartmentforCommunitiesandocalGovernment

Concrete

(C30/37)

GaBiCIdatabase2006-PInternational



Concr ete(C4 0) GaBiCIdatabase2006-PInternational



Glulam GaBi CI database2006-PInternational

16%recycling,4%incineration,80%landll

RADA

Plyood GaBiCIdatabase2006-PInternational

16%recycling,4%incineration,80%landll

RADA

Plaster boar d GaBiCIdatabase2006-PInternational

20%recycling,80%landll

wRAP

Ag gr eg at e G aB i C Id at ab as e2006-PInternational


DepartmentforCommunitiesandocalGovernment2(a)

armac GaBi CI database2006-PInternational



1 Materialoanalysisof theUKsteel

constructionsector,J.ey,2001

2 SurveyofArisingsand UseofAlternativesto

PrimaryAggregatesinngland,2005Construction,

Demolitionandxcavationwaste,

.communities.gov.uk/publications/

planningandbuilding/surveyconstruction2005

[a]Adjustedformaterialleftin groundat

endoflife.

3 RADAechnologyood info

Sheet59 Recoveringand minim

revisedJune 2008.

4 wRAPNetwasteoolRefere

2008(goodpracticerates).

5 DataexcludesC2

uptakeorC

frombiomass.

Beloisa tableshoingthefull lifecycle(cradle-to-grave)embodiedcarbon

ofsomecommonconstructionmaterials.hesevalueseregeneratedforthe

argetZerolo-carbonbuildingstudy(seepages18-19)usingrecognised

informationsources.heyarepresentedasan appendixithinthe argetZero

guidancedocuments. See .targetzero.info

full l


13/13

The future is not completely

beyond our control. It is the

work of our own hands.

Robert F Kennedy (1925-1968)

Whole Life Cycle - STEEL, CONCERET AND TIMBER.PDF

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