Author Archives: constructionlca

About constructionlca

Co-author Green Guide to Specification, expert in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), EPDs and sustainability for the construction materials sector Researching Building LCA and how we can increase uptake at the Open University. Tweets as @constructionlca

More than 6000 EN 15804 EPD now available!

Posted on February 27, 2019 by constructionlca

My latest update of EPD numbers at the start of 2019 is now available – bit.ly/2019EPD  

Posted in EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, Environmental Profiles, EPD, LCA, Life cycle assessment, Standards, TC 350 | Tagged | 1 Comment

For every five houses built, does one house worth really go to landfill or incineration?

Posted on May 10, 2018 by constructionlca

Duncan Baker-Brown recently claimed this in an article on Construction21, I guess, based on the fact that he also said, “We know that the construction industry in the UK wastes approximately 20% of the material delivered to a building site”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Embodied Impacts, Recovery, resources, Waste | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Update to 2018 EPD numbers

Posted on April 18, 2018 by constructionlca

With the revival of the Finnish RTS EPD programme, and the latest numbers from Inies for Verified French ‘Fiche de Declaration Environmental et Sanitaire’ (EPD in French), the numbers for Verified EN 15804 EPD in January 2018 which I have … Continue reading →

Posted in EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, Environmental Profiles, EPD, LCA, Life cycle assessment, TC 350 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Policies on embodied impacts of buildings increase interest in EPD

Posted on March 21, 2018 by constructionlca

As one of thinkstep‘s lead consultants in construction, I recently wrote an article for the Newsletter of Eco Platform, the European association of construction product EPD Programmes detailing how national and regional policies relating to embodied impacts are increasing interest in … Continue reading →

Posted in policy, regulation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

EPD numbers continue to increase…

Posted on February 20, 2018 by constructionlca

Following on from my 2017 EPD Infographic,  I have again tracked the numbers of verified EPD for construction products aligning to EN 15804. Growth in numbers has continued, and there are now over 5000 EPD available globally.  In 2017, new … Continue reading →

Posted in Embodied Impacts, EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, EPD, LCA, Life cycle assessment, Standards, TC 350 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Importance of Reducing Embodied Impacts

Posted on October 13, 2017 by constructionlca

I’ve just come across this 2014 image from the Construction2030 website, which considers the energy footprint of all the office space globally expected to be built between 2015 and 2030 – 83 billion m², both embodied (from the materials used … Continue reading →

Posted in EDGE, Embodied Impacts, Global Warming | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Who should benefit from recycling in construction product EPD?

Posted on October 12, 2017 by constructionlca

EN 15804, the construction product EPD standard, attributes the impact of treating waste to the waste producer, according to the polluter pays principle.  After treatment, when waste has been recovered and reaches the “end of waste”, the resulting secondary material … Continue reading →

Posted in Embodied Impacts, EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, EPD, LCA, Life cycle assessment | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

thinkstep’s proven solutions in the growing market for EN 15804 EPD

Posted on June 26, 2017 by constructionlca

The number of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) verified to EN 15804 is growing rapidly. For the past couple of years, I have been monitoring the number of EPD produced within each of the construction EPD programmes around the world, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Embodied Impacts, EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, EPD, LCA | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Updated EPD Infographic for 2017

Posted on February 27, 2017 by constructionlca

I’ve just updated my infographic showing the number of Construction Product Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) with the latest figures for the start of 2017, and a whole lot more detail.  Thanks to all the Programme Operators who provided information – … Continue reading →

Posted in Embodied Impacts, EN 15804, Environmental Product Declarations, Environmental Profiles, EPD, Standards, TC 350 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Some thoughts on BREEAM (again)

Posted on February 6, 2017 by constructionlca

I’m currently heading down to the UKGBC consultation of the development of BREEAM, and thought it would be helpful to review my concerns with the approach to materials and other aspects such as waste and site energy use within BREEAM. … Continue reading →

Posted in EPD, LCA, Life cycle assessment, TC 350 | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments