recognised LCA tool
Where no nationally recognised LCA tool is available in the country of assessment, option 1 or other ‘local’ methods (ie from neighbouring countries or continental region) may be used.
A non 'local' method may be used only in specific instances such as a building constructed in Europe with materials from another continent. Use of such a non 'local' tool would need to be justified by the design team to the satisfaction of the assessor. Acceptable justifications would be based on local tools being inappropriate for the supply chain in question.
Any ‘local’ or non ‘local’ tools will need to comply with the minimum adequate features requirements set above.
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Schedule of Evidence Required
Req. Design Stage Post Construction Stage
OPTION 1
All Specification confirming:
· A detailed description of each
applicable element and its constituent materials.
Design drawings or specification detailing:
· Location and area (m2) of each applicable element.
A copy of the output from the Mat 1 Calculator, including Green Guide rating and element number* for each specification assessed.
* Element numbers may change from time-to-time due to updates in the green guide data. As a result assessors should keep a note of the element numbers they use to give Green Guide rating advice on BREEAM assessments for auditing purposes.
Assessor’s building/site inspection and photographic evidence confirming:
· Element in-situ (where possible) AND
As built drawings and, where relevant, written design team confirmation of any changes to materials specification.
OPTION 2
All Specification confirming:
· Name of the embodied energy / LCA tool used
· A detailed description of how the tool meets the compliance requirements Copy of the embodied energy/LCA tool output confirming:
Assessor’s building/site inspection and photographic evidence confirming:
· Element in-situ (where possible) AND
As built drawings and, where relevant, written design team confirmation of any Compliant LCA
tools Current compliant LCA tools are listed below a. Envest2® from BRE
b. Green Globes LCA tool - ATHENA® EcoCalculator for Assemblies c. ATHENA® Impact Estimator for Buildings
d. Eco-Quantum from IVAM e. Equer from Ecole des Mines
If other LCA tools not identified here are deemed by the design team to comply with the requirements set above with regard to minimum adequate features, then these may be recognised subject to prior approval by BRE Global.
Positive
influence on the design
Positive influence on the design can be demonstrated through a comparative analysis of a typical local building with the building assessed. There are no specific requirements on the contents that have to be covered, however these need to be broad and detailed enough to allow the positive influence to be demonstrated.
For instance, where the typical external wall specification in the country of assessment for a building of a similar design and use is an aluminium
curtainwalling system, the design team should demonstrate how the use of an LCA tool has allowed the specification of other materials with a lower
environmental impact over the life cycle of the building.
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· Elements considered Examples of how the embodied energy/LCA tool used had a positive influence on the design. environmental impact of a product or process as a proportion of overall impact occurring in Europe - 100 Ecopoints is equivalent to the impact of a European Citizen. Green Guide ratings are derived by sub-dividing the range of Ecopoints/m2 achieved by all specifications considered within a building element.
Embodied energy is defined as the total energy used through out a products life cycle i.e. in the extraction, manufacture, transport, maintenance and disposal.
Green Guide: The Green Guide to Specification is an easy-to-use comprehensive reference website and electronic tool, providing guidance for specifiers, designers and their clients on the relative environmental impacts for a range of different building elemental specifications. The ratings within the Guide are based on Life Cycle Assessment, using the Environmental Profile Methodology.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA): LCA is a method of evaluating the environmental impacts of system taking into account its full life cycle, from the cradle to the grave. This means taking into consideration all the impacts associated with the production and use of a system, from the first that man has an impact on the environment till the last.
Nationally recognised LCA Tool: This is defined as any nationally recognised method and does not need to be government endorsed.
Reused materials: are materials that can be extracted from the waste stream and used again without further processing, or with only minor processing, that does not alter the nature of the material (e.g.
cleaning, cutting, fixing to other materials).
The Mat 1 Calculator: A spreadsheet-based calculator required to determine the number of credits achieved for this BREEAM issue based on each applicable element’s Green Guide rating. The Mat 1 Calculator makes four adjustments to the points achieved for each specification/element assessed, as follows:
1. The first is the scoring based on the Green Guide rating; A+ =3, A=2, B=1, C=0.5, D=0.25 and E=0.
2. The second, where an element consists of several different specifications, is to weight the points achieved according to the relative area and Green Guide rating of each of the individual specifications. So if 50% of an element was A+ and 50% was C, the score would be (50%*3) + (50%*0.5) = 1.75.
3. The third is to weight based on the overall area of different elements - this is done by multiplying the area of each element by the weighted Green Guide score, adding the total for all elements and then dividing by the total area of the assessed elements. As a 20 storey office block will have a smaller roof area than floor area, so the area weighting will take this into account by giving a smaller weighting to the score for the roof than the external walls.
4. The final adjustment relates to the Ecopoints range for each assessed element. This adjustment ensures the environmental impact of the element in relation to the impacts of other assessed elements within the building is considered. For example; the external walls have a larger Ecopoints range than the internal walls, therefore, if both elements achieve the same Green Guide rating the rating of the external walls achieves a higher proportion of the overall points than the rating for the internal walls, thus recognising the relatively higher reduction possible in the environmental impact of the external walls, due to the larger Ecopoints range for that element.
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Using the Green Guide to Specification
The Green Guide categorises ratings by building type and element. When using the Green Guide online, (www.thegreenguide.org.uk), the main page asks the user to select a building type. To obtain the appropriate ratings for the assessed building elements, select the corresponding building type for this BREEAM scheme.
The following elements, for the purpose of non domestic buildings, have common Green Guide ratings irrespective of the building type:
· External walls
· Landscaping
· Windows - commercial
The user can therefore search for ratings for the above elements under any building category.
Indoor Air Quality and the Green Guide flooring category ratings
The Green Guide Online does not cover the potential health and comfort issues associated with flooring materials and indoor air quality, which is covered in BREEAM by issue Hea 9 Volatile Organic
Compounds
Guidance for the assessment of buildings where insulated cold storage units form an integral part of the building fabric
Where the cold storage unit forms part of, or is integral to the external wall element:
As an external wall type the insulated units will be assessed in the Green Guide on the basis that it is a normal temperature building without the extra insulation, so a standard thickness of insulation will be considered. As such, the walls of the insulated unit should be treated as part of the external wall element for the assessment of this BREEAM issue.
Where the cold storage unit forms part of, or is integral to a ceiling element:
As a roof element of the insulated unit, suspended ceilings are not included within the Green Guide.
Therefore, the roof of the insulated unit will be assessed as a standard construction from the deck upwards, assuming a standard thickness of insulation. As such, the roof of the insulated unit should be treated as part of the ceiling element for the assessment of this BREEAM issue.
Where the cold storage unit forms part of an internal wall element:
The insulated unit will be treated as meeting a very specific Functional Unit outside the scope of the internal wall elements listed in the Green Guide. The wall to the insulated unit should therefore be excluded from the assessment of the internal wall element.
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Aim
To recognise and encourage the specification of materials for boundary protection and external hard surfaces that have a low environmental impact, taking account of the full life cycle of materials used.
Assessment Criteria
The following demonstrates compliance: