Whole Building LCA With WLC: A New Commercial Software Development For Product Specification In The UK

Edwards, S. and Anderson, J. (2002). Whole Building LCA With WLC: A New Commercial Software Development For Product Specification In The UK. In: 9th International Conference on Durability of Building Materials and Components, 17-20 Mar 2002, Brisbane, Australia, CIB.

URL: http://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB9356.pdf

Abstract

In 2000, BRE launched a software tool called Envest. This tool allowed designers to gauge the environmental impacts of a whole building design at the initial stage of the design process, comparing the embodied impact of the building fabric to the impact from operation. The simplicity of the tool hinges upon the use of a single score approach to measuring environmental impacts. The measure is known as Ecopoints. In response to pressure from the market, BRE has developed Envest further to include a Whole Life Costing function that enables the designer to consider the costs of the building delivery and its maintenance scheme together with the environmental impact. Acknowledging that there is a role for generic and specific costs, the new tool will enable users to enter their own costs or use default data. In early 2002, Envest II will go on line. Web based, the tool will be inherently more flexible than its CD ROM predecessor and, for the first time, creates the possibility of adding new products as data becomes available from manufacturers. This function has been developed in parallel with the BRE Certification Scheme for Environmental profiles of Construction Products which allows manufacturers to make independently verified claims about their product. Envest scores can already be used to obtain "material" credits in BREEAM, the whole building assessment scheme and the new version will continue to be used in this way.

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