Recipient: Martha VanGeem, P.E.
Grant: $20,000
PIs: Martha VanGeem, P.E. and Emily Lorenz, P.E.
Completion: 2014
Project Summary: 5
Background and Need
A life-cycle assessment (LCA) is an environmental impact statement. An LCA attempts tp quantify impacts from all phases of a product’s life cycle which includes manufacturing, construction, use, and end-of-life/disposal. LCAs were originally developed within private sector industries to identify pollution and waste and then reduce it through more efficient and cost effective technologies.
An LCA documents energy and material flows and resulting pollutant emissions data. Two ISO standards, ISO 14040 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework and ISO 14044 Environmental management—Life cycle assessment—Requirements and guidelines, govern how this data is formed into an LCA for a product or product group. The LCA process is preceded by writing Product Category Rules or a PCR for a product or product group. PCRs include requirements and guidelines for developing environmental product declarations or EPDs from LCAs. EPD requirements are articulated in ISO 21903 Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works — Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services. To create an EPD, one must first develop an LCA based on the rules in a PCR.
LEED® and the Sustainable SITES® Initiative have popularized EPDs, as have other environmental assessment frameworks. Some public agencies and private sector companies are requesting EPDs to assess and compare environmental impacts among various products. Global warming potential from carbon dioxide emissions is often viewed as the most important environmental impact.