Buildings account for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the reduction of operational energy requirements of a building has been targeted through passive and active means. However, it is a lesser-known fact that manufacturing building materials cause another 10% of GHG emissions. This makes it imperative to include comprehensive life cycle assessments to ensure overall reductions in GHG emissions. These assessments go beyond traditional metrics (EPI measured in kWh/sqm-yr) and delve into the cradle-to-grave impact of a structure.

In the building industry, LCA is used to:

• Help building owners make informed choices regarding sustainability and resilience.
• Evaluate design options by providing insight into materials choices and their environmental impacts.
• Achieve green building certification (e.g. in IGBC or LEED).
• Assist in assessing the environmental benefits of new products and policies.
• State that a system or product is environmentally preferable to another (to make a comparative assertion).
• Compare to benchmarks to evaluate a building’s performance.

The results of an LCA can illuminate which parts of a building have exceptionally high environmental impacts. A hotspot analysis can help the design team achieve a more environmentally conscious design. However, any design modification should be evaluated with another round of LCA. For example, changing the structural material of a building from concrete to steel would affect the insulation design due to the differing thermal properties of concrete and steel. The insulation components must be redesigned before the LCA is performed again. In design practice, LCA can be used as a comparative model to make incremental improvements and evaluate design options.

Simply put, LCA helps architects and developers evaluate the environmental consequences of different designs by comparing buildings, materials, or assemblies. Monk Spaces conducts thorough LCAs for buildings per internationally defined methodology (EN 15978) and standardised databases (Ecoinvent). Our assessments guide design decisions, material choices, and construction practices.