August 07, 2012

Athena and PE INTERNATIONAL Co-author White Paper for the Construction Industry on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Responding to a rapid move by the construction sector toward Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), The Athena Sustainable Materials Institute and PE INTERNATIONAL, Inc. have teamed up to co-author a white paper that sets out the facts about this sometimes misunderstood environmental tool.

Entitled “LCA in Construction – status, impact and limitations”, the paper provides concise information about LCA, the role of LCA in codes, standards and rating programs, and the recommended application of LCA in the manufacturing sector and in design practice.

Lead authors Steve Baer and Christoph Koffler (PE INTERNATIONAL) and Jennifer O’Connor and Jamie Meil (Athena Institute) are thought-leaders in the field of LCA who share the conviction that life cycle thinking in construction is now more important than ever.

In North America, LCA in construction is in use by leading-edge designers, while major producers of building materials are using LCA to improve their processes. LCA is simultaneously robust and in a constant process of improvement: the LCA world is working diligently to make LCA as accessible, applicable, and reliable as possible for the construction sector.

The following quote from the paper emphasizes the authors’ balanced approach to their topic: “LCA is about best estimates and gauging relative performance across options. It is not about determining if a product is ‘green’ or not, but about quantifying impacts and seeing if, how, and where we can improve.”

To read the White Paper, please click here .