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Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry

Abstract

[EN] The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the raw material to produce building products, elements and structures, the use in finished buildings including emission of pollutants, decay and maintenance, and, finally, the demolition of the building and the recycling of the demolition materials. Transportation between the individual phases as well as production-related material and energy flows are also included in this evaluation.Several European and national norms and regulations define core rules and a special instrument for the evaluation of the sustainable quality of a building product based on a quantitative analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building: the Environmental Product Declaration EPD. These documents are voluntary standards, commitments or guarantees for building products. They are provided by producers, organizations and quality assurance associations in order to establish the “environmental performance” of buildings in the form of a certificate. Such declarations must fully include all phases of the life cycle of a product by describing the environmental impact during production and use as well as possible health hazards for the users.Until now, EPDs for earth building products do not exist. This paper will give current information about a project for developing EPDs for earth mortars and earth blocks started by the German Dachverband Lehm e.V. (DVL).

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Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry

Author: Schroeder, Horst,Lemke, Manfred
Publisher: Universitat Politècnica de València
Year: 2015
DOI: 10.4995/vitruvio-ijats.2015.4474
Source: https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/10251/69294/1/4474-15350-2-PB.pdf
44
Dia27:Sed by Angel A cones, 19/11/2008, used unde CC BY 2.0, modi ica ion: cu , sou ce:h ps://www. lick .com/pho os/ eddy-
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ABSTRACT
Sus ainabili y o ea h building ma e ials – En i onmen al
p oduc decla a ions as an ins umen o compe i ion in
building ma e ial indus y
Ho s Sch oede 1, Man ed Lemke1
1Dach e band Lehm e.V. DVL, Weima , Ge many
The e alua ion o he building p ocess in e ms o hei en i onmen al impac in all li e cycle phases
o a building leads o he key p inciple o sus ainable building: he analysis o he li e cycle o he
ma e ials used in a building. The goal o his analysis is o educe was e and keep he en i onmen al
impac as low as possible by “closing” he cycle. Du ing an in en o y, he en i e li e cycle is assessed.
This includes he sou cing and ex ac ing o he aw ma e ial, he use o he aw ma e ial o p oduce
building p oduc s, elemen s and s uc u es, he use in inished buildings including emission o
pollu an s, decay and main enance, and, inally, he demoli ion o he building and he ecycling o
he demoli ion ma e ials. T anspo a ion be ween he indi idual phases as well as p oduc ion- ela ed
ma e ial and ene gy lows a e also included in his e alua ion.
Se e al Eu opean and na ional no ms and egula ions de ine co e ules and a special ins umen o he
e alua ion o he sus ainable quali y o a building p oduc based on a quan i a i e analysis o he li e
cycle o he ma e ials used in a building: he En i onmen al P oduc Decla a ion EPD. These documen s
a e olun a y s anda ds, commi men s o gua an ees o building p oduc s. They a e p o ided by
p oduce s, o ganiza ions and quali y assu ance associa ions in o de o es ablish he “en i onmen al
pe o mance” o buildings in he o m o a ce i ica e. Such decla a ions mus ully include all phases o
he li e cycle o a p oduc by desc ibing he en i onmen al impac du ing p oduc ion and use as well
as possible heal h haza ds o he use s.
Un il now, EPDs o ea h building p oduc s do no exis . This pape will gi e cu en in o ma ion abou
a p ojec o de eloping EPDs o ea h mo a s and ea h blocks s a ed by he Ge man Dach e band
Lehm e.V. (DVL).
KEYWORDS
Sus ainabili y, en i onmen al impac , building ma e ial indus y
h p://dx.doi.o g/10.4995/ i u io-ija s.2015.4474
46
1. SUSTAINABLE BUILDING
In he B und land Commission epo o
he Uni ed Na ions Wo ld Commission on
En i onmen and De elopmen en i led “Ou
Common Fu u e” (1987) he e m “sus ainabili y”
was i s used o desc ibe a las ing de elopmen
o humankind. Sus ainable de elopmen ensu es
ha i “mee s he needs o he p esen wi hou
comp omising he abili y o u u e gene a ions
o mee hei own needs“ (UNO, 1987).
The building p ocess always has a mo e o less
se e e impac on na u al esou ces and cycles.
To apply he e m “sus ainabili y” o cons uc ion
means ha in all phases o he li e o a building,
and wi h espec o he use s' equi emen s, he
use o exis ing esou ces and he en i onmen al
impac need o be minimized. T adi ionally,
du ing he cons uc ion p ocess, he main
assessmen ocused on unc ion and design,
s uc u al enginee ing, ma e ial echnology and
building p ac ice. Today, he building p ocess is
inc easingly seen as an op imiza ion ask whe e
use demands and en i onmen al equi emen s
by he legisla u e need o be in ha mony.
The e o e, he e m “sus ainable de elopmen ”
comp ises h ee aspec s which mus be
conside ed as equals o e an app op ia ed
pe iod o ime (BMVBS, 2011):
sȩ ECOLOGY
sȩ ECONOMYȩANDȩ
sȩ USERȩ DEMANDSȩ SOCIOCULTURALȩ CONCERNSȩ ȩ
unc ional quali y / heal h).
Addi ionally, all buildings cons uc ed acco ding
o he equi emen s o sus ainable building
mus mee p ede ined echnical pa ame e s and
co esponding quali y le els in e ms o planning
and cons uc ion o each o he h ee aspec s.
Ecological and economic aspec s a e be e
de ined as use demands. Se e al cu en EU-
unded esea ch p ojec s a e ocused on he
use s age o building ma e ials. They in end
o imp o e unc ional quali ies and he impac
on heal h o building ma e ials, elemen s and
s uc u es by imp o ed mois u e bu e ing
p ope ies wi h clay as componen in p e-
ab ica ed elemen s (Thomson e al. 2015),
educed VOC ( ola ile o ganic compounds)
emission and highe ene gy sa ings in use a
lowe cos s [www.eco-see.eu, www.h-house-
p ojec .eu, www.isobiop ojec .eu.
In Ge many, he gene al equi emen s placed on
building ma e ials and building elemen s wi h
ega d o hei echnical quali y a e egula ed
by he Model Building Code o he S a es o he
Fede al Republic o Ge many (Mus e bauo dnung
ü die Lände de Bundes epublik Deu schland –
MBO). Acco ding o he MBO, building p oduc s,
ma e ials, elemen s and sys ems a e p oduced
o pe manen ins alla ion in s uc u es. “Building
p oduc s a e only o be used i he s uc u es
hey a e used in, along wi h p ope main enance
o e a ime pe iod which is p opo iona e o i s
pu pose, mee he equi emen s o his law o
a e sui able o hei in ended use based on his
law” (MBO, §3.2).
The MBO lis s he ollowing aspec s as he main
equi emen s o he building ma e ials' and
building elemen s' sui abili y o use:
sȩ MECHANICALȩSTRENGTHȩANDȩSTABILITY
sȩ FIREȩPROTECTION
sȩ HYGIENEȩ HEALTHȩ ANDȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ
p o ec ion,
sȩ SAFETYȩINȩUSE
sȩ SOUNDȩINSULATION
sȩ ENERGYȩCONSERVATIONȩANDȩHEATȩINSULATION
The Regula ion o he Eu opean Pa liamen and
o he Council o “Laying down ha monized
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condi ions o he ma ke ing o cons uc ion
p oduc s” published in Ma ch 2011 (Eu opäisches
Pa lamen ; Ra de Eu opäischen Union, 2011)
in oduces an addi ional equi emen : he
sus ainable use o na u al esou ces. Acco ding
o he egula ion, buildings mus be designed,
buil and demolished a e hei use in a manne
which acili a es he sus ainable use o na u al
esou ces and gua an ees he ollowing:
sȩ 4HEȩ BUILDINGȩ ITSȩ BUILDINGȩ MATERIALSȩ ANDȩ
building elemen s need o be ecyclable a e
demoli ion.
sȩ 4HEȩBUILDINGȩMUSTȩBEȩDURABLE
sȩ %NVIRONMENTALLYȩ FRIENDLYȩ RAWȩ MATERIALSȩ ANDȩ
seconda y building ma e ials mus be used in
he cons uc ion o he building.
This egula ion also equi es he na ional
go e nmen s o he EU o apply p inciples o
sus ainable de elopmen o building ac i i ies in
hei espec i e coun ies. In o de o es ablish
sus ainable de elopmen i is necessa y o
explici ly o mula e p o ec ion objec i es
ega ding he en i onmen , economy and he
use s’ in e es s. Examples o gene al p o ec ion
objec i es a e he a oidance o ha m ul
subs ances, a educ ion in he use o ene gy as
well as land and esou ces, and he p e en ion
o was e h ough ma e ial eco e y. Based on
he knowledge o cause and e ec ela ionships,
ac ion s a egies need o be de i ed om he
p o ec ion objec i es. These s a egies should
a ge h ee le els: aw and building ma e ials,
building cons uc ion, and su oundings
(Glücklich, 2005). The e ec s caused by he
building p ocess on hese le els need o be
desc ibed h ough indica o s and by de ining
assessmen s anda ds.
S anda ds o he assessmen o he sus ainabili y
o buildings in e ms o hei en i onmen al,
social and economic quali ies a e speci ied in
he DIN EN 15643 g oup o s anda ds. Whe eas
he ISO 21929-1 in e na ional s anda d de ines
a amewo k o he de elopmen o indica o s
and o he compila ion o co e indica o s
o buildings, ISO 15392 o mula es gene al
p inciples o sus ainable building.
2. THE LIFE CYCLE AND MATERIAL
CYCLE OF A BUILDING
The e alua ion o he ac ion s a egies desc ibed
abo e in e ms o hei en i onmen al impac
in all li e cycle phases o a building leads o
he key p inciple o sus ainable building: he
analysis o he li e cycle o he ma e ials used in
a building. The goal o his analysis is o educe
was e and keep he en i onmen al impac as
low as possible by “closing” he cycle. Du ing
an in en o y, he en i e li e cycle is assessed.
This includes he sou cing and ex ac ing o he
aw ma e ial, he use o he ma e ial o p oduce
building p oduc s, elemen s and s uc u es, he
use in he inished building including i s indoo
en i onmen al p ope ies, he li e span wi h
main enance, and, inally, he demoli ion o he
building and he ecycling o he demoli ion
ma e ials. T anspo a ion be ween he indi idual
phases as well as p oduc ion- ela ed ma e ial and
ene gy lows a e also included in his e alua ion.
When passing h ough each phase o he li e
cycle he building ma e ial needs o mee he
equi emen s o sus ainable building de ined in
Chap e 1. These equi emen s a e desc ibed
wi h he help o ele an pa ame e s which
a e de e mined h ough s anda dized es ing
p ocedu es. Fo example, a building ma e ial
needs o ha e adequa e comp essi e s eng h
o be sui able o load-bea ing cons uc ion o
p oo low VOC ( ola ile o ganic compounds)
48
emission in use acco ding o EN ISO 16000
e .al. Mee ing he es c i e ia ensu es ha he
equi ed quali ies o a ce ain li e cycle phase
ha e been a ained a e comple ing his s age.
Only hen is he building ma e ial o building
elemen sui able o use.
Figu e 1 shows he li e cycle model o ea h as
a building ma e ial (Dach e band Lehm e.V.,
2004) (Sch oede , 2016). A e passing h ough
each li e cycle phase, he ea hen ma e ial
a ains a new quali y: aw soil becomes soil o
cons uc ion; cons uc ion soil is p ocessed in o
ea h building ma e ials e c. By eusing ecycled
ea hen ma e ials he li e cycle becomes sel -
sus aining.
3. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
En i onmen al managemen is pa o he
managemen sys em o an o ganiza ion. I
de elops ac ion s a egies o en i onmen al
p o ec ion a he company le el as well as he
o icial au ho i y le el in o de o ensu e he
en i onmen al compa ibili y o he p oduc s and
p ocesses de eloped by he company and i s
s a pe o mance.
The e m li e cycle assessmen desc ibes
he sys ema ic, quan i a i e analysis o he
en i onmen al impac o p oduc s h oughou
hei li es in he o m o ecological assessmen
esul s. He e, “en i onmen al impac ” e e s o
he use o esou ces as well as he en i onmen al
e ec s o emissions a e e y phase in a p oduc 's
li e ime. The esul s o he analysis make i
possible o ind measu es o educing he
en i onmen al impac o o compa ing di e en
p oduc s.
The li e cycle assessmen has become a gene ally
accep ed me hodological app oach o he
quan i a i e e alua ion o he sus ainabili y o
building ma e ials and building p oduc s.
On a Eu opean le el, he ollowing s anda ds o
conduc ing a li e cycle assessmen a e cu en ly
a ailable:
DIN EN ISO 14040:2009-11 En i onmen al
managemen - Li e cycle assessmen - P inciples
Figu e 1.
Li e cycle o ea h as
a building ma e ial
(Dach e band Lehm e.V.,
2004) (Sch oede , 2016)

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and amewo k,
DIN EN ISO 14044:2006-10 En i onmen al
managemen - Li e cycle assessmen -
Requi emen s and guidelines.
Acco ding o DIN EN ISO 14040 he li e cycle
assessmen consis s o ou phases. These
phases co espond o each o he and canno be
iewed sepa a ely:
sȩ DEFININGȩGOALȩANDȩSCOPE
sȩ LIFEȩCYCLEȩINVENTORYȩANALYSIS
sȩ IMPACTȩASSESSMENT
sȩ INTERPRETATIONȩ
3.1 DEFINING GOAL AND SCOPE
A de e mina ion o he goal and scope mus
de ine he use and unc ion o a p oduc and i s
gene al li e cycle om aw ma e ial sou cing o
disposal. Figu e 1 shows his cycle o ea hen
ma e ials.
In e ms o building ma e ials and building
p oduc s, his phase is used o selec and de ine
di e en ma e ial and cons uc ion op ions. To
acili a e his p ocess, so-called unc ional uni s
a e de e mined o se e as a e e ence (such as
a quan i y uni o a building ma e ial o a sample
building as a p oduc -speci ic size). The esul s
o he analysis o he en i onmen al impac can
hen e e o hese unc ional uni s. P oduc uni s
which a e o be compa ed need o ma ch exac ly
in e ms o hei unc ions. Fo example, ende
and plas e should be compa ed as kg pe m²
co e age and insula ion ma e ial as m³ needed
pe W/m2K.
A he beginning, he sys em bounda ies need
o be de e mined by deciding which indica o s
o include in he analysis and which o lea e
ou . “F om c adle o ac o y ga e” and “ om
c adle o g a e” a e ypical examples o sys em
bounda ies. The selec ion o hese indica o s can
in luence he esul o he li e cycle assessmen .
3.2 LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY ANALYSIS
Du ing he li e cycle in en o y analysis phase
he de ined ma e ial and cons uc ion a ia ions
wi hin he de e mined sys em bounda ies a e
es ablished o he ele an ma e ial and ene gy
lows. The li e cycle in en o y analysis con ains
in o ma ion on all ele an consump ion o aw
ma e ials and ene gy, he kind and quan i y
o emissions and ha m ul subs ances and, i
applicable, all quan i ies o was e gene a ed
h oughou he en i e li e ime o he ma e ials
and buildings. This ini ial in o ma ion needs
o be ob ained om he manu ac u e . The
de e mined ma e ial quan i ies a e linked wi h
hei en i onmen al impac du ing he impac
assessmen phase. The li e cycle in en o y
analysis i sel does no include an e alua ion.
Collec ion o he equi ed da a can be e y ime-
consuming unless exis ing da abases can be
used.
P ima y Ene gy In ensi y. The ene gy expendi u e
needed o he p oduc ion o building ma e ials
including he p oduc ion and anspo a ion o
he sou ce ma e ials is an impo an indica o o
he selec ion o “ecological” building ma e ials.
This ene gy expendi u e is called he “p ima y
ene gy in ensi y” (PEI) and is mainly ela ed o he
sys em bounda y “ om c adle o ac o y ga e”.
When i comes o mee ing ene gy needs, he
a ailable ene gy includes enewable (e.g.
biomass), inexhaus ible (e.g. sun) and non-
enewable (e.g. ossil uels) sou ces. The supply
o non- enewable ene gy sou ces is limi ed
and hey should, he e o e, be used spa ingly.
When de e mining he PEI, he amoun o non-
50
enewable ene gy sou ces is iden i ied. This
also makes he PEI a measu emen o he
en i onmen al impac “use o ene gy esou ces”
ca ego y.
Applied o adi ional ea h building, he manual
p ocessing o sui able exca a ion ma e ial in o
ea h building ma e ials and s uc u es on he
building si e was and s ill is he ideal si ua ion
as a as he PEI is conce ned. Pa icula ly he
ac ha no anspo a ion o he ea h building
ma e ial was equi ed esul ed in a PEI o
p ac ically ze o.
Mode n ea h building, howe e , is la gely
mechanized and cha ac e ized by he physical
sepa a ion o building ma e ial p oduc ion
and p oduc use on he building si e. This
au oma ically leads o ene gy consump ion and
anspo a ion. Long-dis ance anspo a ion and
he esul ing high speci ic ene gy consump ion
ha e a nega i e impac on an ecological
assessmen o building ma e ials, e.g. in he
case o a i icial d ying. Tab. 1 shows he PEI
o common modes o anspo acco ding o
(Glücklich,2005):
Mode o anspo PEI [kWh/ km]
Rail 0.43
Passenge ca Wes e n Eu ope 1.43
T uck 40 me ic ons 0.72
T uck 28 me ic ons 1.00
T uck 16 me ic ons 1.45
Van < 3.5 me ic ons 3.10
Ca go ship o e seas 0.04
Ca go ship inland wa e ways 0.27
Table 1.
Ene gy use o common
modes o anspo
In e ms o hei PEI, ea h building ma e ials
a e s ill un i aled compa ed o he main
con en ional building ma e ials. This is e en ue
when addi i es wi h a high embodied ene gy
a e used. A selec ion can be seen in Tab. 2
(Umwel bundesam e al., 1982):
Building ma e ial PEI [kWh/m3]
Ea h 0 – 30
S aw panels 5
Wood, domes ic 300
De i ed imbe p oduc s 800 – 1,500
Fi ed b icks 500 - 900
Cemen 1,700
S anda d conc e e 450 - 500
Sand-lime b icks 350
Shee glass 15,000
S eel 63,000
Aluminum 195,000
Polye hylene PE 7,600 – 13,100
PVC 13,000
Table 2.
P ima y ene gy in ensi y o
selec ed building ma e ials
Cumula i e ene gy demand. The cumula i e
ene gy demand encompasses he ene gy
demand o a building o e i s en i e li e ime
(sys em bounda y “ om c adle o g a e”).
Acco ding o VDI guideline 4600: 2012-01 i is
es ima ed wi h he help o speci ic assump ions
and scena ios. The co esponding en i onmen al
impac s a e compa ed o his ene gy demand.
F equen ly, he PEI o a building ma e ial o a
building echnique is only used o a compa a i e
e alua ion. A ealis ic assessmen , howe e ,
needs o ake all phases in he li e o a building
in o conside a ion because he ac ual p oduc ion
o a building ma e ial and he cons uc ion o a
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building ep esen ela i ely sho ime pe iods.
The e o e, he ad an age o a “low PEI” o an ea h
building ma e ial migh come a he expense
o he du abili y o he s uc u e o a highe
main enance equi emen . Insula ing ma e ials
wi h a highe PEI can o se his “disad an age” by
educing he equi ed ene gy o hea ing, he eby
lowe ing emissions o he en i e li e ime o he
building. In addi ion o he posi i e en i onmen al
impac , hese ma e ials can he e o e also o e
inancial ad an ages o he owne . As a esul , he
de e mina ion o how long a building will be in use
becomes an addi ional impo an sys em bounda y
which has an e ec on he numbe o equi ed
main enance cycles o he building elemen o
ma e ial laye s.
3.3 IMPACT ASSESSMENT
In his phase, he ma e ial and ene gy lows
collec ed du ing he li e cycle in en o y analysis a e
e alua ed in e ms o hei en i onmen al impac
on he basis o selec ed indica o s and de ined
sys em bounda ies: The causes a e compa ed o
he impac s.
Cu en ly, a numbe o compu e p og ams
con aining da abases o ele an alues can be
used o calcula ing he impac assessmen . The
da a analysis mus be ca ied ou acco ding o
de ined s anda ds. The p og ams GaBi (www.
gabi-so wa e.com), EcoIn en (www.ecoin en .
ch, app ox. 4,500 da a iles) and WECOBIS (www.
wecobis.de o he Ge man Fede al Minis y o he
En i onmen , Na u e Conse a ion, Building and
Nuclea Sa e y) a e examples o commonly used
en i onmen al da abases. The la e has been
a ailable since Janua y 2015. I is s uc u ed based
on he c i e ia o DIN EN 15804 and cu en ly
con ains app ox. 1,300 da a iles which also co e
ea h plas e , ea h blocks and ammed ea h.
3.4 INTERPRETATION
Depending on he speci ic si ua ion, he inal
in e p e a ion o he calcula ed esul s can be
ca ied ou in di e en ways, such as:
sȩ AȩCOMPARISONȩOFȩSUGGESTEDȩDESIGNȩVARIATIONSȩ
(p e e ed a ia ion),
sȩ ECOLOGICALȩIMPACTȩASSESSMENTȩHAZARDS
sȩ IMPACTȩ INȩ RELATIONȩ TOȩ ALREADYȩ EXISTINGȩ
en i onmen al pollu ion.
Today, li e cycle assessmen s a e indispensable
o en i onmen al decision making, o example
when ying o de e mine binding egula ions
o o de s o magni ude o dec easing
CO2 emissions in ele an documen s on an
in e na ional le el. En i onmen al goals can only
be achie ed i hey a e de ined as guidelines in
app op ia e s anda ds and egula ions. This also
includes p oduc s anda ds in he ield o building
ma e ials. The echnical in o ma ion shee s
“Technische Me kblä e 02 – 04” (Dach e band
Lehm e.V, Tm 02, 2011), (Dach e band Lehm
e.V, Tm 03, 2011) (Dach e band Lehm e.V, Tm
04, 2011) published in 2011 by he Ge man
Associa ion o Building wi h Ea h include a
p ocedu e o de e mining he CO2-equi alen
alue on he basis o DIN EN ISO 14040.
App op ia e p ocedu es ha e been included in
DIN s anda ds o ea h blocks and ea h mo a s
(DIN 18945 – 47) as op ional es s (Appendix A).
A li e cycle assessmen equi es a signi ican
e o du ing he planning s age as well as he
willingness o add sus ainable building concep s
o con en ional planning ope a ions. O en, a
lack o su icien da a poses a p oblem. Al hough
he indica o s men ioned abo e allow o a
e y de ailed desc ip ion o ecological impac
ca ego ies, he e a e s ill ha m ul en i onmen al
e ec s which a e gene ally known bu , so a , ha e
52
no been able o be measu ed quan i a i ely. The
e e ence accu acy o co ela ions o indica o s
which ha e al eady been de ined also emains
ques ionable. Finally, he eliabili y o he li e
cycle in en o y da a collec ed in he a ailable
en i onmen al da abases mus be examined.
This mo e o less limi s he alidi y o each esul .
On he o he hand, li e cycle assessmen s a e
al eady a sui able ool o checking i seemingly
easible, ecologically ounded a gumen s can
hold up in eali y. Howe e , he necessa y
undamen als and ins umen s need o be
imp o ed u he .
3.5 ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT
DECLARATIONS AND CERTIFICATION OF
BUILDINGS
The li e cycle analysis acco ding o DIN EN ISO
14040 p o ides sys ema ic and s anda dized
da a o eco ding ene gy demands and
en i onmen al consump ion as well as hei
en i onmen al impac s o e he o al li e cycle o
a building.
In addi ion, he en i onmen al pe o mance
o a building acco ding o he p inciples o
sus ainable building comp ises i s echnical
quali y, unc ional aspec s, socio-cul u al
c i e ia as well as loca ion, e.g. anspo a ion
in as uc u e. Finally, cos s a e an impo an
conside a ion o he clien . These aspec s
exceed a “pu e” li e cycle analysis.
Two ins umen s ha e been de eloped o
analyzing he en i onmen al pe o mance o a
building p oduc :
sȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ LABELSȩ ȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ
decla a ions o manu ac u e s o building
p oduc s,
sȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ BUILDINGȩ CERTIFICATESȩ FOR
owne s/clien s.
En i onmen al P oduc Decla a ions. Cu en ly,
h ee ca ego ies o en i onmen al labeling a e
a ailable o manu ac u e s o building p oduc s:
sȩ 4YPEȩ )ȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ LABELINGȩ ACCORDINGȩ TOȩ
DIN EN ISO 14024 consis s o symbols o logos
which ha e been awa ded by ex e nal bodies
o ou s anding en i onmen al pe o mance.
The eco-labels “Blue Angel” and “na u eplus”
a e ypical examples. Se e al ea h building
p oduc s ca y he la e (na u e plus, e. W.).
sȩ 4YPEȩ))ȩENVIRONMENTALȩLABELINGȩACCORDINGȩTOȩ
DIN EN ISO 14021 consis s o en i onmen al
decla a ions by he p oduce s hemsel es.
This means ha he p oduce s a e esponsible
o hei own decla a ions which hey can ha e
e i ied by ex e nal bodies.
sȩ 4YPEȩ )))ȩ ENVIRONMENTALȩ LABELINGȩ ACCORDINGȩ
o DIN EN ISO 14025 consis s o olun a y
s anda ds, commi men s o gua an ees
o building p oduc s. They a e p o ided
by p oduce s, o ganiza ions and quali y
assu ance associa ions in o de o es ablish he
“en i onmen al pe o mance” o buildings in he
o m o a ce i ica e awa ded by ex e nal bodies.
This ype o label is known as an En i onmen al
P oduc Decla a ion (EPD).
The ollowing s anda ds cu en ly exis o he
de elopmen o EPDs o building p oduc s:
DIN EN 15804 Sus ainabili y o cons uc ion
wo ks – En i onmen al p oduc decla a ions
– Co e ules o he p oduc ca ego y o
cons uc ion p oduc s,
DIN EN 15942 Sus ainabili y o cons uc ion
wo ks – En i onmen al p oduc decla a ions –
Communica ion o ma business- o-business
DIN EN ISO 14025 En i onmen al labels and
decla a ions – Type III en i onmen al decla a ions
– P inciples and p ocedu es,
ISO 21930 Sus ainabili y in building cons uc ion