Principles of lifecycle assessment (NAT)

You may have heard the term Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) over the last few years, but may be unsure what it refers to. This information sheet introduces LCA and how it can be used as a decision making tool for the assessment of building products, when the builder or owner is interested in considering the overall environmental impact of a building.

What is Life Cycle Assessment?

LCA is a scientific method used to compile and evaluate the environmental impacts of a material, product or service throughout its entire life cycle.

There are 5 commonly accepted stages in an LCA approach:

1. Production stage – Extracting raw materials, transport of materials to production plant and the manufacturing process.
2. Construction stage –Transport of product and construction workforce to site, installation and application of materials/products.
3. Operation stage – Influence of the material/product on the heating and cooling operations of the building.
4. Maintenance stage – Maintain a product to ensure quality is retained for the intended lifespan of the building. NB this stage could include renovation projects.
5. End of life stage – Ability to reuse or recycle material or product at the building’s end of life, or the generation of waste to landfill.

In addition, the terms ‘cradle to grave’ and ‘cradle to cradle’ systems are often used, where the ‘cradle’ relates to the extraction and processing stage of raw or recycled materials, then follow the life cycle of that product to its end of life. Where the material or product is no longer deemed to have value at the end of life and is disposed of this is referred to as the ‘grave’, and where is has value by being reprocessed or reused forming a closed loop system this is referred to as back to the ‘cradle’.

What can LCA be used for?

LCA is used to formulate and review information that will allow the user to evaluate the environmental impact of materials or products or compare materials and products intended for the same use. An LCA can be used:

 

• To identify where improvements can be made throughout the LCA stages to reduce its environmental impact. For example an LCA study could be undertaken to measure the environmental impact of alternative materials in a concrete subfloor, where fly ash is substituted for cement.
• By designers and builders to make informed choices on, but not limited to, material selection, suitability of materials in particular climates, durability and recyclability and its influence on design.
• To measure the environmental performance of a single material or products or an entire home through all the LCA stages.

Some companies may use embodied energy to compare and promote their products against other products serving the same purpose, however this typically reflects only the production stage of an LCA and therefore does not give the complete picture of the environmental impact of a product when installed for its intended purpose. 

For more information on LCA refer to HIA’s information sheet Elements of a Life Cycle Assessment.

For further information HIA members can contact HIA’s Building Services staff on 1300 650 620 or hia_technical@hia.com.au

If you would like to become a HIA member, contact 1300 650 620 or enquiry@hia.com.au

_{The above is intended to provide general information in summary form. The contents do not constitute specific advice and should not be relied upon as such. Formal specific advice should be sought by members with respect to particular matters before taking action.}