Life Cycle Assessment Resources

ISO Standards for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for building products
- http://www.iso.org/iso/theiso14000family_2009.pdf
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_14000
U.S. LIFE CYCLE INVENTORY DATABASE ROADMAP is maintaining data quality and transparency in the U.S. “We make decisions concerning the environment every day, and many of these decisions are based on incomplete, inconsistent, and flawed information. LCA provides a holistic evaluation methodology and a consistent framework for making better-informed decisions. Life cycle inventory (LCI) data are the primary inputs for conducting LCA studies. Studies based on high-quality data that are consistent, accurate, and relevant allow for robust, defensible, and meaningful results.” National Renewable Energy Laboratory accessed October 2011.
Life Cycle Thinking - Only by looking at all the data, from cradle to grave, can one determine a building material’s impact over time. Life cycle inventory (LCI) data being supplied by the industry will help make this possible.
Life Cycle Assessment and Environmental Impact
Environmental Issues in Construction
Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Inventory of Nine Plastic Resins and Two Polyurethane Precursors
Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Insulation Environmental Profile
Green Building Guiding Principles - A variety of insulation products can help provide that comfort and safety. Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) are forms for poured concrete walls that stay in place as a permanent part of the wall assembly. The forms, made of foam insulation, are either pre-formed interlocking blocks or separate panels connected with plastic ties. This union allows concrete to perform as a thermally efficient building structure, boasting R-values otherwise not attained.
Impacts of New ASHRAE Standards on Energy Usage and the Environment - Rigorous quantitative Whole Building Energy Analysis and Life Cycle Assessment methodology in this study shows how prompt adoption and enforcement of these enhanced standards will significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption and avoid substantive greenhouse gas emissions. Polyurethane insulation technology—if put in place—can help make these standards and requirements attainable.
290 Million Tons Of CO2 Saved Through Plastic Insulation (EU, 2004) - Plastics insulation uses a tiny amount of energy in its production compared to the savings made over its life cycle. Over its complete life time, 290 million tons of CO2 were saved through the plastic insulation installed in the EU in 2004—with only 1% of CO2 created during production. The production energy required to make one insulation panel is recovered after four months of use in a house.
Cradle-to-Gate Life Cycle Inventory of Nine Plastic Resins and Two Polyurethane Precursors
Sustainable Design Construction - Life cycle assessment, carbon footprint, and saved energy…it’s all in the design...
Insulation
Stocking your Green Building Toolkit - Sustainable design tools can sometimes seem to be as complex as the design decisions they are supposed to solve. Fortunately, by using a simple classification system, it becomes clear how they interrelate and fit into the overall green building process
Don't Put All Your Green Eggs in One Basket - Recognizing the pitfalls of leaving definitions open to individual interpretation, several organizations have set out to develop programs, specifications, or standards aimed at helping define the requirements for properly referring to any given building as environmentally friendly.
What is Green Construction?
Plastics' Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings Using Housewrap—Final Report
BEES Software

Building and Construction—Plastics Makes It Possible® Videos

National TV-radio personality and home improvement expert Danny Lipford has developed a series of do-it-yourself videos that show homeowners how to update their homes and improve energy efficiency by using plastic home building products.

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)

Learn more about how EPS reduces global warming.

Sustainability Hits a Wall

GBS asked the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) to build several walls, use ASTM standards to measure performance and report the results at ASHRAE ‘s NY Conference.

Home Builder Tips from Bill McCauley

Click here to choose 56k or Hi-Speed video stream.

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