Life cycle assessment for buildings in an international context
Life cycle impacts from buildings are responsible for a high share of the climate impact globally. In recent years, it is increasingly acknowledged that climate impacts associated with the construction stage of buildings is responsible for a high share of total impacts. In this project international collaboration and harmonization aim to speed up mitigation measures for buildings through the application of LCA in policy and practice.
Project name: Life cycle assessment for buildings in an international context
Project leader: Tove Malmqvist, Nicolas Francart, SEED
Participating universities/companies/other organisations: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, IVL, Open University, and other universities and research institutes outside Sweden
Project period: 2018-2021
Financing: The Swedish Energy Agency
The project includes active participation in the International Energy Agency's Annex 72, related to the implementation of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in construction at an international level.
More information about Annex 72
A key issue in LCA is whether and how to use future scenarios. Methodological choices affect conclusions as to what impact reduction measures are appropriate. This issue must be addressed now that LCA is starting to be adopted in the construction sector. One relevant issue in Swedish policy is setting robust scenarios for future climate impact linked to buildings' energy use. The focus of this project is thus to assess how energy scenarios can be set and used in building LCA, and what methodological approaches can give appropriate guidance to decrease climate impact and resource use in line with circular economy. The project also deals with issues such as how target and reference values can be developed for building LCA in the Swedish context.
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