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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

As countries accelerate their efforts to meet climate change commitments, pressure grows for the construction sector to reduce its impact rapidly. Building life-cycle assessment (LCA) is critical to doing so. Building LCA is a science-based methodology for quantifying the lifetime environmental impacts of a building. It is used to measure and reduce the embodied, operational, and whole-life carbon of buildings. It is often needed to achieve green building certifications and comply with regulations.

 

BENCHMARKING OF TIMBECO MODULAR BUILDINGS

The carbon footprint of Timbeco modular buildings is calculated using the Carbon Heroes Benchmarks function. The Carbon Heroes Benchmarks function compares the project’s carbon footprint with hundreds of similar buildings in the country where the building is planned to be built. Normally Timbeco modular houses belong to class B, but we are also able to offer class A buildings. To achieve this result, we use the LCA calculation model to see what needs to be replaced in the selection of building materials and what needs to be done in the design of the building’s HVAC solutions to achieve class A.

Country-specific solutions for carbon footprint calculations

BREEAM is an internationally adaptable sustainability standard, recognised and adopted in 89 countries. Carbon footprint calculations have been performed in Norway according to the NS 3720 standard and TEK17 environmental declaration, and in Sweden BREEAM SE NC 2017.

BREEAM

Regulations driving building LCA and embodied carbon calculation

Governments are increasingly recognizing the need to legislate and reduce whole-life carbon in construction. As a result, building LCAs are now a mandatory part of several existing and future regulations.

Region/country Regulation Status Timeline
EU Sustainable finance taxonomy criteria for large buildings Voluntary in force
Sweden (Klimatdeklaration) National carbon reporting for new buildings, limits by 2027 Mandatory 2022
Finland National life-cycle carbon limits on new buildings Mandatory 2025
Germany National LCA requirement for federal government buildings Voluntary in force
Netherlands National life-cycle impact limits on new buildings Mandatory in force

Carbon reduction potential

The biggest impact on reducing the carbon footprint can be made in the choice of materials and construction methods.
The earlier it is dealt with, the greater the impact can be achieved.

Decarbonization: the role of various stakeholders

Alignment and collaboration between the various stakeholders in real estate development is critical to reducing carbon dioxide, as no single stakeholder can achieve this alone. We suggests measures to reduce embodied carbon at each project stage.

 

Low carbon footprint buildings are designed to last

Early stage of the project

At a very early stage of the project, an LCA analysis has been carried out on Timbeco’s modular buildings. The aim is to identify the carbon footprint that depends on the choice of building materials. Based on the results, it is possible to apply the principles of low-carbon construction from a very early stage of the project.

Alternative materials

During the analysis using special LCA software, we compare alternative building materials to find a balance in terms of environmental footprint and reasonable construction price. For example, lighter buildings have a smaller carbon footprint than heavier buildings.

Environmental footprint of building materials

We are trying to increase the amount of recycled materials in the construction of the building. For example, the environmental footprint of glass wool is 50% lower than that of stone wool. When possible, we use finger-jointed material in the construction of the frame shell to increase the amount of recycled materials.

BUILDING LIFE CYCLE INFORMATION