Barriers for implementation of the Environmental Load Profile and other LCA based methods

The building sector is a vital component in the move towards environmental sustainability of urban areas, because of its high potential to decrease environmental impact. However, the building industry remains one of those most resistant to the adoption of environmental sustainability principles because of several unique characteristics in terms of e.g. long-lived products and large number of stakeholders involved. Environmental assessment tools have an important role to play in implementing environmental sustainability in the building sector, as they provide a clear declaration of what are considered the key environmental considerations and a way of communicating these issues. The Environmental Load Profile (ELP) is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)-based tool for the built environment developed at the Department., Originally it was developed as an instrument for evaluation of the environmental performance of Hammarby Sjöstad (HS), a new city district in Stockholm, Sweden. The ELP is awaiting implementation and the aim is to establish it as an instrument of common acceptance. Experiences and results from ELP have revealed that it can be applied to provide a comprehensive picture of the environmental performance of a city district, but also that the tool has a number of weaknesses and there is much to improve in the practical procedures for the use of the tool in environmental assessments.

Contact:
Ass. Professor Björn Frostell