Potential for environmental impact reduction through building LCA(Life Cycle Assessment) of school facilities in material production stage

• Published in: Building and environment Vol. 238; p. 110329
• Main Authors: Jaemoon, Kim, Duhwan, Lee, Seunghoon, Nam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 15-06-2023
• Subjects: Environmental product declaration; Life cycle assessment; School facility; Six environmental impacts; Life cycle assessment; Environmental product declaration; Six environmental impacts; School facility
• ISSN: 0360-1323; 1873-684X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110329

In this study, the environmental impact of each material is proposed to enable effective greenhouse gas reduction design. Therefore, 6 major environmental impacts were analyzed for 29 buildings of school facilities using the self-developed building life cycle evaluation tool. As a result of the analysis, in the production stage of the six major environmental impacts, the top five materials consisting of structural materials such as concrete, cement, and rebar accounted for GWP 83.3%, ODP 94.4%, ADP 91.6%, AP 77.9%, EP 76.3%, and POCP 93.9%. In addition, as a result of evaluating the potential for reducing environmental impact by replacing voluntarily with concrete, cement, and insulation materials that have been voluntarily certified by the Environmental Product Declaration or low-carbon certification by companies, GWP was analyzed to be reduced by 11.9%, ODP 38.96%, ADP 13.21%, AP 1.18%, EP 5.53%, and POCP 50.61%.". Through this study, it shows the effect of material selection on greenhouse gas and suggests that designers' material selection ability can be an efficient alternative for eco-friendly design for global carbon neutrality.
•In this paper, the life cycle evaluation of school facilities was conducted.•The environmental impact of each stage was compared.•A list of materials with a large environmental impact was derived at the production stage.•The extracted materials were analyzed by replacing them with EPD or low-carbon certified materials.