September 09, 2014
Public disclosure of embodied environmental footprint puts Lafarge’s new building on the leading edge
Lafarge Canada recently opened a new research facility in Edmonton, Alberta with multiple design and operation sustainability objectives. In a particularly advanced move, Lafarge commissioned the Athena Institute to conduct a life cycle assessment of the building and then published the results in a declaration compliant with the international standard EN 15978. Taking public disclosure a step further, Lafarge has also summarized the embodied footprint data in a poster displayed in the building lobby.
This is one of the first environmental building declarations in North America, and possibly the very first building to display whole-building LCA data on site, like an environmental label of sorts. If Lafarge tracks on-going resource consumption, building maintenance and other occupancy-related activity, the building declaration can be periodically updated for a truly comprehensive and dynamic statement of life cycle environmental performance.
Lafarge is setting a great example for building owners and designers. By using LCA to transparently disclose the environmental performance of their new building, they’re demonstrating the future of how we talk about and validate green buildings.
View the Environmental Building Declaration 
The lobby of the Lafarge Innovation Hub, with a poster showing an LCA summary for the building
