Environmental Product Declarations as Data Source for the Environmental Assessment of Buildings in the Context of Level(s) and DGNB: How Feasible Is Their Adoption?

Pamela Del Rosario, Elisabetta Palumbo and Marzia Traverso
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Pamela Del Rosario: Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering (INaB), RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
Elisabetta Palumbo: Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering (INaB), RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen, Germany
Marzia Traverso: Institute of Sustainability in Civil Engineering (INaB), RWTH Aachen University, D-52074 Aachen, Germany

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-22

Abstract: This study aims to examine the feasibility of using environmental product declarations (EPDs) as a data source for life-cycle assessment (LCA) in two sustainable building assessment schemes–the pilot version of the European framework Level(s) and the German system DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen). An EPD is a standardized and third-party certified label to communicate product-specific environmental data based on LCA. Some green building rating systems consider it a robust LCA data source and encourage its use over generic data. This work evaluates the environmental profile of the envelope of an office building in the context of level(s) and DGNB adopting EPD as a data source. The results indicate that the EPDs did not cover the mandatory scope of the schemes. Furthermore, there was a lack of EPDs appropriate to the geographical context of the case study, leading to the adoption of EPDs of products from places other than the building site and an overestimation of the environmental impacts of transportation. Moreover, the need for EPDs considering suitable and comprehensive scenarios as well as life-cycle stages beyond the product stage is highlighted. This gap, in fact, hinders the performance of a complete LCA within the analyzed building assessment schemes when relying solely on EPDs as a data source. With this paper, we wish to encourage the further development of EPDs related to the integration of more life-cycle modules and more comprehensive scenarios, considering the direction of the latest amendment of the ISO 15804 for EPDs of construction products.

Keywords: Environmental Product Declaration; Life-Cycle Assessment; Level(s); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen (DGNB); Green Building Rating System (GBRS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:11:p:6143-:d:565263

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