The Athena Institute

The Athena Institute – unparalleled excellence in fostering a sustainable built environment

U.S. Life Cycle Inventory Database Roadmap

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a facility of the US Department of Energy, has released a new Roadmap for the US Life Cycle Inventory Database.

Maintained by NREL, the publicly available Database features LCI data on the environmental impacts of commonly used materials, products and processes. The Database was initiated in 2003; the Roadmap document presents an action plan and long–range objectives for further development and expansion of the database to meet evolving and growing demands.

Click here to download the brochure.

WEBSITE SERVER MIGRATION NOTICE!
We are migrating our website to a new server and some glitches are being experienced as a result.

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Athena Institute Announces Corporate Changes Effective April 01, 2011
Athena announces changes to its Board and senior executive team. Ms. Jennifer O’Connor has been appointed President of the organization and Mr. Stephen Pope has been confirmed as Chair of its Board of Directors. In addition, Mr. Jamie Meil has been appointed Managing Director and joins the Board. Mr. Wayne Trusty has resigned as president.

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for details.

Past President Receives Lifetime Achievement Award.
Wayne Trusty, Athena Past President, was recently honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC). Presented at the evening gala of the CaGBC’s 2011 National Symposium in Toronto, the award was in recognition of Mr. Trusty’s contribution to green building in Canada. Wayne was also recently named "Green Building Advocate of the Year" by the U.S. Green Building Council, New York Upstate Chapter.

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for details.

BSJ Overview Life Cycle Assessment Page 1

Published articles

Athena President Wayne Trusty is writing a series of articles for the Building Safety Journal, the online publication of the International Code Council.
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First Athena Chair in L.C.A.

The Athena Institute is pleased to report that the position of Athena Chair in Life Cycle Assessment at the University of Calgary has been filled.
More.

Congratulations Scot Horst

The Athena Institute would like to congratulate Scot Horst on his recent appointment to the position of Senior Vice President, LEED, within the US Green Building Council.

We have enjoyed working with Scot in his capacity as head of Athena Institute International, our US affiliate, since its formation in 2002. Scot brought his significant experience and passion to projects such as the Minnesota Demolition Survey, an important study that looked at reasons for demolition of St. Paul buildings relative to their age and structural systems.
In making the announcement, LEED president and CEO Rick Fedrizzi lauded Scot for his "visionary leadership" as chair of the LEED Steering Committee for the past three years and noted that Scot is widely recognized as a leader in the sustainable design movement.

Scot’s involvement with Athena will cease with the assumption of his new position, effective April 1, 2009. We wish him all the best in his new role as he continues to advance our common cause of a sustainable built environment.

LCA of Embodied Effects for Existing Historic Buildings

Important New Study

This study, recently completed for Parks Canada, compares the effects of keeping historic buildings as opposed to building new structures in the same locations.
More.

WELCOME

At the Athena Institute, we believe that better information and tools are critical to achieving a sustainable built environment. We also believe that a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach to sustainability is the only way to create a level playing field for the vast array of building materials in use.

From our Canadian offices, and through our US affiliate, Athena Institute International, the not-for-profit Athena organization undertakes and directs innovative research and development activities that allow architects, engineers and others to factor environmental considerations into the design process from the conceptual stage onward.

Over the past decade, the Institute has developed groundbreaking software, world-class databases and customized consulting services–as well as a worldwide reputation in the field of sustainable building and LCA. We also offer the only tools in North America for the life cycle assessment of whole buildings and assemblies:

Please note that we have consolidated operations at our Ottawa office.
Contact Athena at:
    119 Ross Ave., Suite 100,
    Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1Y 0N6
    tel 613.729.9996
    fax 613.729.9997
    email info@athenasmi.org

	Allows users to evaluate whole buildings and assemblies based on internationally recognized LCA methodology.
NEW Update released September 26, 2011. Now includes pre-engineered metal frame buildings. Click here for details on enhancements and fixes. Download Version 4.1.14 now.
(Click here for details.) (Download 4.1.14 )

Provides instant LCA results for hundreds of common building assemblies (award winning free spreadsheet tool).

Users can now choose between a Residential and Commercial version. All EcoCalculator files updated January 18, 2011 using the latest version of the Impact Estimator. Click here for more information.

The US EPA named the EcoCalculator a winner of its inaugural Lifecycle Building Challenge competition in September, 2007 in the category of Professional Built Tool/Service. Conducted in cooperation with the Building Materials Reuse Association, the American Institute of Architects and West Coast Green, the competition recognized award winners for cutting–edge green building ideas that aim to reduce environmental and energy impacts of buildings. For more information see www.lifecyclebuilding.org

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The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC)’s Beyond Green™ Awards recognize initiatives that shape, inform and catalyze the high–performance building market, as well as the real–world application of high–performance construction practices. The SBIC selected the EcoCalculator as a Beyond Green Award winner in 2007 in the High Performance Initiatives Category, for Innovative Initiative. Visit www.sbicouncil.org

Click the images above for more information.

Life Cycle Assessment

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is an internationally recognized approach to evaluating the impacts that a product or process has on the environment over the course of its entire life. For buildings, LCA considers materials, assemblies or even whole structures from extraction through manufacturing, installation, use, maintenance and disposal or recycling, in terms of quantifiable impact indicators such as global warming potential. It allows design and construction professionals to make the kind of informed, scientifically-based choices that lead to better buildings.

Photos of Projects that embodied energy analysis of the building was conducted by the Athena Institute

Mayo School

The Mayo School in Mayo, Yukon was selected for full assessment by the Canadian National Team in the Green Building Challenge 2002 process. Life cycle assessment of the building was conducted by the Athena Institute.

Clearview Elementary School

Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, PA was assessed by the US National Team in the Green Building Challenge 2002 process. Life cycle assessment of the building was conducted by the Athena Institute.

Jackson Triggs Estate Winery

The Jackson Triggs Estate Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario was selected for full assessment by the Canadian National Team in the Green Building Challenge 2002 process. Life cycle assessment of the building was conducted by the Athena Institute.

Red River College

Red River College, Princess Street Campus, in Winnipeg, Manitoba was selected for full assessment by the Canadian National Team in the Green Building Challenge 2002 process. Life cycle assessment of the building was conducted by the Athena Institute.

Battery Park City 18A, 'The Solaire'

Battery Park City 18A, 'The Solaire' in New York City, NY was assessed by the US National Team in the Green Building Challenge 2002 process. Life cycle assessment of the building was conducted using the Institute's Environmental Impact Estimator software.

ATHENA® is a registered trade mark of the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute

site updated 15 November, 2011