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Life Cycle Assessment

Introduction to Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment: The Basics

A summary of life cycle changes and considerations for choosing and performing whole building life cycle assessments.

Considerations & Worksheet for Structural WBLCA of Mass Timber Buildings

Guidance for mass timber building designers undertaking whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA)

Exterior dusk view of the Lenox house
11 E Lenox / Haycon / Monte French Design Studio

WBLCA Worksheet

This fillable PDF steps through common decisions building designers need to make in each phase of an LCA. It is a companion to the paper, Considerations and Worksheet for Structural WBLCA of Mass Timber Buildings.

Platte Fifteen Life Cycle Assessment

LCA study compares embodied carbon, construction costs, and construction speed of a real mass timber office project with functionality equivalent buildings in steel and concrete.

Platte Fifteen interior
Platte Fifteen / OZ Architecture / Photo JC Buck Studios

Mass Timber Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Series Introduction

Series of studies comparing the embodied carbon impacts and cost of mass timber buildings to functionally equivalent buildings

Return to Form, Katz Development, tres birds, KL&A Engineers & Builders

Return to Form Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Study

Compares a Type IV-B multi-family mass timber building over a I-A concrete podium to functionally equivalent cold-formed steel and concrete alternatives in terms of embodied carbon, cost, and construction speed

Return to Form, Katz Development, tres birds, KL&A Engineers & Builders

Carbon

Calculating the Carbon Stored in Wood Products

There are many complex elements associated with carbon accounting and life cycle assessment (LCA). Fortunately, the amount of carbon stored in wood is a straightforward calculation that remains consistent for each wood species.

When to Include Biogenic Carbon in an LCA

Part 1 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – an overview of biogenic accounting practices as defined by international standards.

How to Include Biogenic Carbon in an LCA

Part 2 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – specifics for each stage of the life cycle.

Biogenic Carbon Accounting in WBLCA Tools

Part 3 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – the nuances of different tools.

Long-Term Biogenic Carbon Storage

Part 4 in a series on biogenic carbon accounting for wood products – climate benefits of long-term carbon storage and delayed emissions, and recommendations for reporting these benefits while aligning with ISO standards.

Carbon Accounting Tools for Structural Systems

An overview of whole building life cycle assessment tools and carbon calculators available to building designers

What Net Zero Means in the Building Construction Industry

Demystifying the term ‘net zero,’ and how wood structural materials can help move buildings toward a net-zero carbon goal

LEED Credits for Use of Wood Products

Overview plus in-depth resource for understanding the contribution of structural wood products to LEED certification

The LEED Platinum and Living Building Challenge-certified Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design / The Miller Hull Partnership with Lord Aeck Sargent / photo Jonathan Hillyer

Environmental Product Declarations

Current EPDs for Wood Products

List of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) available for wood products

How to Use Environmental Product Declarations

Addresses the limitations of using EPDs alone to determine the environmental impacts of construction products

Understanding the Carbon Numbers in a Wood EPD

Guidance on how global warming potential and biogenic carbon are reported in the North American Softwood Lumber Environmental Product Declaration