One Click LCA

Construction LCA
Bootcamp - Session 2
19th March 2024

Your hosts

Leonardo Poli, LCA Expert

leonardo.poli@oneclicklca.com

Thomas Mattizioli, Senior EPD CS Specialist

thomas.mattinzioli@oneclicklca.com
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 Bootcamp Rules
• Please keep your microphones
muted.

• Ask questions using the Zoom Q&A

function. Moderators may answer
your questions during the session.

• Questions will be answered live

during the live Q&A parts

• Recordings and slides are made

available the next workday on the
Academy Page.

2
Session 2
Life-cycle Assessment & Data

• Life-cycle stages and how to assess them

• LCA standards & legislations
• Impact indicators and assessment methods
• Construction LCA process
• Overview of EPDs, Program Operators and
database structure
• Q&A + Self-study assignment

19.03.2024
Hosts: Leonardo Poli
& Thomas Mattinzioli
 Visit academy.oneclicklca.com
Check My dashboard to access recordings,
learning content, and exercises.

Check the One Click LCA Community page

• Post your questions

• Take part in the conversation

• Keep up to date with news on all things LCA

4
 Time for a menti ?

5
 Yesterday’s agenda
BOOTCAMP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION TO ONE CLICK LCA
INTRODUCTION TO EMBODIED CARBON & LCA
BUSINESS CASE FOR CONSTRUCTION SUSTAINABILITY
EXERCICE PRESENTATION
Q&A + SELF-STUDY ASSIGNMENT

6
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

7
 Time for a menti ?

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The system boundaries follow the modularity
principles from EN 15978
Which life-cycles stages do we measure?

Cradle to Gate Cradle to Grave Cradle to Cradle

A1 to A3 A1 to C4 A1 to D
Product LCA according E.g. LEED E.g. BREEAM, RICS,
to EN 15804:A2 GLA, RE2020

• In One Click LCA we support calculations of all life cycles from Cradle
to cradle as defined in EN 15978.
• However, in most tools that target certifications and calculation
schemes, the available life cycle stages are restricted to meet the
scheme requirements.
What most regulations focus on at the moment
Cradle to gate
Cradle to completion or upfront carbon
Cradle to Grave
Cradle to Cradle
Embodied Carbon Assessment
Life-cycle stages over a 60 year period

Helene, Level(s) pilot, calculated using One Click LCA

 Example

1. Level(s) Results page

 Example

2. LEED International Results page

 Example

3. Klimatdeklaration (Sweden) & YM

Method (Finland)
A1-A3 (Product Stage)
Reporting of different life-cycle stages
depend on the certification or scheme,
A1-A3 is mandatory in most cases.

A1-A3 consists of three stages, which are

often declared aggregated:
▪A1: Raw material extraction / supply
▪A2: Transport to manufacturing site
▪A3: Manufacturing
 How is it assessed in One Click LCA

▪ We include our material quantities (either manual or

through import options), which are then linked to EPDs to
give us emission values.
▪ A1-A3 emission values are sourced directly from EPDs
(Environmental Product Declarations)
A1-A3 Results in One Click LCA
A4 & A5 (Construction process)
Stages A4 & A5 include all impacts and aspects related to any fluxes and
losses during the construction process stage (e.g. production, transport,
waste processing and the disposal of lost products and materials).
▪A4 stage includes environmental impacts from the transport to the
construction site
▪A5 stage include environmental impact from the installation / assembly of
the building
As neither of these life-cycle stages are mandatory in EPDs, they are often
calculated separately.
 How is it assessed in One Click LCA

▪ A4 is calculated based on default distances and modes of

transportation, which are adjustable. These can be set in the ‘LCA
Parameter’ setup of a project, which dictates used calculation rules.
▪ A5 is calculated based on scenarios or inputting actual construction
data.
A4-A5 Results in One Click LCA
 B1 – B7 (Use Stage)
The use stage phases are not mandatory in some cases. Use-phase stages are difficult
to estimate as not all have existing methodologies which allows them to be estimated
accurately.
● B1 impacts include the use or application of installed products (e.g. refrigerants)
● B2 impacts include maintenance
● B3 impacts include repair
● B4 impacts include replacement
● B5 impacts include refurbishment (often grouped with B4)
● B6 impacts include operational energy usage (heating, ventilating, cooling, services)
● B7 impacts include operational water use
 How is it assessed in One Click LCA
Some calculation tools report on just B4 or B4-B5, and others may report on
all of them.
▪ B1 is calculated based on user input of quantities
▪ B2 is calculated only in the RICS / GLA tool, based on user input of
quantities
▪ B3 is calculated with a repair rate in the building materials query, based on
user input of percentage
▪ B4 & B5 are calculated using default material service life settings and the
asset calculation period. Can be user adjusted.
▪ B6 & B7 are calculated based on user input of consumption quantities.
B1-B7 Results in One Click LCA
 C1 – C4 (End of life stage)
End of life stages are emissions which happen after and during the building or
asset is demolished. The emissions of these stages depend heavily on how
materials are handled during this phase.
Under the old standard EN15804-A1, C1-C4 data was not mandatory in EPDs,
the majority of EPDs did not have data on these stages.*
▪C1 emissions include those related to demolition and deconstruction
▪C2 emissions include the transport of the materials to the waste reprocessing
center or disposal
▪C3 emissions include waste processing
▪C4 emissions include waste disposal

*Under the new EN15804:A2 end of life data will become mandatory to report on in EPDs
 How is it assessed in One Click LCA?

▪ C1 is either included in a grouped scenario, or included with a

demolition scenario.
▪ C2 is either included in a grouped scenario, or calculated based on
the project material mass and the chosen end of life scenario.
▪ C3 is either included in a grouped scenario, or calculated based on
the project material mass that will be processed for recycling.
▪ C4 is either included in a grouped scenario, or calculated based on
the project material mass that will be disposed off. (landfilled)
 C1 – C4 (End of life stage) Continued
End of life stages are present in most of our calculation tools, and
are mandatory in the majority of them.
Depending on which end of life method you choose, there are
different ways to assess these.
C1 – C4 Results in One Click LCA
D – (Benefits and loads beyond
the system boundary)
Module D includes the reuse, recovery and or recycling
potentials. These are expressed as net impacts and benefits.
Module D is often an additional module which is not included in
the totals of the life cycle assessment.
Module D allows supplementary information beyond the building
lifecycle to be considered and is consistent with a
Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) approach.
 How is it assessed in One Click LCA?

▪ D stage emissions are often reported as ‘External Impacts’ and

are often left out of total results but displayed separately.
▪ D stage emissions are based on the material and the end of life
process that is chosen.
D - Results in One Click LCA
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

38
Structure of accounting principles and standards

ISO Standards - A Common Basis for Life Cycle Assessment

ISO 14040/44 Life cycle assessment
ISO 21929-1 Construction - Sustainability indicators

EN-standards
EN 15978 Environmental performance of buildings - Calculation
method*
EN 15804 Environmental product declarations

National regulations and voluntary environmental certification schemes

Level of details
 Required Service Life is set based on property owner’s requirement
▪ materials must be replaced if they fail to perform for that lifetime
EN 15978 key
requirements Functional requirements must be clearly documented
▪ comparison is only possible for comparable performance

Construction products are only comparable at the building level

▪ No comparison without taking into account the building context
▪ For example one product might require more maintenance or
replacements over life-cycle, or require additional other materials

No forecasting
▪ You are not allowed to take into account any potential
improvements that might happen in the future
▪ You are not allowed to calculate LCA with the use of
market-based green electricity; that’s impossible to guarantee
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

41
Impact indicators &
assessment methods
Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)* transforms Life Cycle Inventory data (LCI)** into environmental
impacts using a characterization method. This we need in order to perform an LCA. While there are
multiple characterization methods, we will cover the 2 most used in One Click LCA.

*LCIA = Life Cycle Impact Assessment, the method of impact assessment when undertaking LCA.
**LCI = Life Cycle Inventory data, different inputs and outputs from the processes studied.
Environmental Indicators
Each indicator describes a particular category of environmental impacts. The impacts are expressed as
quantities of a matter that has the potential to cause such impacts – but they do not represent the
actual harm (final impact, e.g. endpoint) eventually caused. For instance, global warming potential
represents the amount of CO2e gases released. But the final impact is the acceleration to the polar
melt, for instance.

• Global Warming Potential describes how much a product contributes to climate

change. When LCA concerns only this impact category, it’s called the carbon
footprint.
• Acidification Potential describes how much product acidifies the environment,
resulting e.g. acid rain.
• Eutrophication Potential describes flow of nutrients to ecosystems, resulting e.g.
to algae growth.
• Ozone Depletion Potential describes damage caused to the Ozone Layer in the
stratosphere.
• Tropospheric Ozone Formation Potential describes the quantity of summer smog
causing gases emitted.
• Depletion of fossil resources describes how much fossil resources are withdrawn.
Characterization method
kWh
£
Impacts kgCO2e kgCFC-11e

Characterization

Emissions kgCFC-11 kgCO2

kgCH4 kgN2O …

> 1 year Use phase e.g. 60 years End of life

Material Construct
Use Use Demolitio
manufacturing ion
n
Major renovation
CML, developed in 2001 by the University of Leiden (used in Europe)
CML stands for Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen in Leiden
TRACI, developed by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (used in North America)
TRACI stands for Tool for Reducation and Assessment of Chemical and other environmental Impacts.
Impact Indicators and characterization

CML (required for EN15978 & Unit of TRACI Unit of

EN15804 standards) measurement measurement

Global Warming Potential (GWP) kgCO2-Eq Global Warming Potential (GWP) kgCO2-Eq/kg

Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) kgCFC-11-Eq Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) kgCFC-11-Eq/kg

Acidification Potential (AP) kgCO2-Eq Acidification Potential (AP) kgSO2-Eq/kg

Eutrophication Potential (EP) kgPO4-Eq Eutrophication Potential (EP) kgN-Eq/kg

Photochemical Ozone Creation kgC2H4-Eq Smog Formation kgO3Eq/kg

Potential (POCP) (ethylene-eq)
Abiotic Depletion Potential / Fossil Antimony kg Abiotic Depletion Potential / Fossil MJ
Fuel Depletion (ADP) SB-Eq or MJ Fuel Depletion (ADP)
What are these indicators
measuring exactly?
 Global Warming Potential (GWP)

Global warming potential is a relative measure of how much

heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. The global
warming potential is calculated in carbon dioxide equivalents
meaning that the greenhouse potential of emission is given in
relation to CO2. Since the residence time of gases in the
atmosphere is incorporated into the calculation, a time range for
the assessment is defined to be 100 years.
 Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)

Ozone depletion potential represents a relative value that

indicates the potential of a substance to destroy ozone gas as
compared with the potential of chlorofluorocarbon-11 which is
assigned a reference value of 1, resulting in an equilibrium
state of total ozone reduction.
 Acidification Potential (AP)

The acidification of soils and waters occurs predominantly

through the transformation of air pollutants into acids, which
leads to a decrease in the pH-value of rainwater and fog from
5.6 and below. Acidification potential is described as the ability
of certain substances to build and release H+ions and is given in
sulphur dioxide equivalents.
 Eutrophication Potential (EP)

Eutrophication is the enrichment of nutrients in a certain place.

It can be aquatic or terrestrial. All emissions of Nitrogen and
Phosphorus to air, water and soil and of organic matter to water
are aggregated into a single measure.
 Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP) / Smog Formation

Radiation from the sun produces aggressive reaction products,

like ozone, in the presence of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons.
 Abiotic Depletion Potential (ADP) / Fossil Fuel
Depletion

Abiotic depletion describes the reduction of the global amount

of non-renewable raw materials and is determined for each
extraction of minerals and fossil fuels based on the remaining
reserves and rate of extraction.
Other TRACI Indicators
There are additional TRACI indicators, not
required for LEED.
▪ Human Health Cancer (CTUcancer/kg)
▪ Human Health Noncancer
(CTUnoncancer/kg)
▪ Human Health Criteria Pollutants
▪ Eco-Toxicity (CTUeco/kg)
Other CML / EN15804 Indicators
There are also an additional 18 indicators (EN15804) which are
present in several building LCA tools, but are not that relevant
to this Bootcamp, you will find some of these in the Level(s)
LCA and Life-cycle Carbon tools which will be included with the
training license.
Let’s talk biogenic

If the biomass is harvested and burned this carbon is released

back to the atmosphere. However, according to most LCA
methodologies (CML, TRACI, EN 15978) carbon dioxide
emissions from burning renewable materials are not included
in GWP as the material is considered to grow back in few
decades and tie back the carbon if the area of the forest does
not change.
Let’s talk biogenic
One Click LCA uses two optional methods for taking this into account.
1. In the generic method, the biogenic carbon storage is only shown as additional information. This
means that neither the negative emissions of storing the CO2 from the atmosphere in A1 nor
the releasing of it in C3 are included in GWP results.
2. In DGNB and Energie Carbon tools, the biogenic carbon storage over a lifetime is reported as
part of the GWP results. In this case, the negative emissions from the carbon sequestration are
shown as part of A1-A3 (storage is deducted from the GWP emissions in A1-A3) and at C3, the
same amount of carbon is added as it is released back to the atmosphere.
How is it assessed in One Click LCA?
Changes to impact assessment in
the recent EN15804 - A2
Changes have occurred to EN15804 standard with the A2 amendment. This impacts
manufacturers and in July 2022 the A2 amendment have become mandatory.
This influences Building LCA as emissions will have to be measured in a different way.
Currently this has minor effects on Building LCA as most still require data according to
the EN15804:A1 amendment to be used.

The difference between EN 15804 A1 and EN 15804 A2

data – One Click LCA Help Centre
Getting ready for EN 15804+A2: what’s changed and
how to prepare for it. - One Click LCA® software
Changes to impact assessment in
the recent EN15804 - A2
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

61
Basics of construction LCA calculation process

Quantity X Impact/unit of this material

=
Total environmental impact
Simplified steps for performing building LCA or
Carbon Studies
1. Find out the type if building, life cycle (60 years) and size as well as
geometry (optional)
2. Collect the material information.
3. Import details from models, cost plans, Carbon Designer or add
manually per material layer or constructions.
4. Add energy use (SBEM, SAPs), water use (water calculations for BC or
BREEAM), construction site operations (actual data or scenarios), repair
in % and withdrawals
5. Check the results, do optioneering, report

GIFA = Gross Internal Floor Area, SBEM = Simplified Building Energy Model, SAP =
Energy rating
Material Quantity Resources

Energy tools Thermal envelope only (energy use in

operation)

Design tools
Information depends on the stage of the
design

Cost plans
Normally exist at early stages

2D drawings, sketches Need further information if wanted to be

used
Material impact Resources

EN 15804 EPD
Manufacturer specific or generic type III EPD. Most accurate if
product is known

Generic Material values calculated using EN 15804

E.g, IMPACT, NMD, One Click LCA generic data

Other Embodied carbon data

Generic LCA- sources.
Other than sources as per EN 15804 for example ICE
The use of data depends on the stage of the project :
Choose the level to match the building data at each stage !
Detailed design
Concept Design

Accuracy

Upper floor Structural steel

Steel, EU construction When ordered
profiles Steel L-shape
channels
example. One click EN 15804 LCA,
IMPACT, LCA generic EPD Steel Manufacturers
Ecoinvent Products
Carbon data EN declaration
Designer, standard manufactured
Assemblies at the Section
Mill, Celsa
Steel UK
 Q&A (3 minutes)

67
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

68
 Time for a menti ?

69
 Today’s agenda
LIFE-CYCLE STAGES AND HOW TO ASSESS THEM
LCA STANDARDS & LEGISLATION
ASSESSMENT METHODS AND IMPACT INDICATORS
CONSTRUCTION LCA PROCESS
EPDS, PROGRAM OPERATORS AND DATABASE STRUCTURE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

70
Exercise related homework
for session 2
While the assignments are not going to be checked, we do recommend
to undertake them as it complements the knowledge you will gain during
the One Click LCA Bootcamp.

Homework

Step 2 :
Extract material quantities from pdf
drawings & specs while focusing on
structural and architectural building
parts only
Step 3 :
Insert these quantities in the standard
format of the template file made
available on the course page
Extra self-study session 2
While the assignments are not going to be checked, we do recommend
to undertake them as it complements the knowledge you will gain during
the One Click LCA Bootcamp.

Self-study

Gain a deeper understanding of EPD creation by reviewing

EPD Hub’s GPI and PCR and learn how to find and interpret
EPD data/results from EPD Hub’s library.

Step 1: Download EPD Hub’s GPI and PCR from

https://www.epdhub.com/epd-hub-rules

Step 2: View EPD Hub’s library at

https://manage.epdhub.com/
 Tomorrow’s agenda
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE BOOTCAMP LICENSE
SOFTWARE TRAINING ONE CLICK LCA
HOW TO ACCESS THE BOOTCAMP LICENSE
HOMEWORK + Q&A

73
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• Keep up to date with news on all things LCA

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Thank you for attending
See you at the next session for the software training!