Illustrating limitations of energy studies of buildings with LCA and actor analysis

Brunklaus, Birgit; Thormark, Catarina; Baumann, Henrikke

doi:10.1080/09613211003654871

Cited by 35 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Despite the fact that significant progress has been made, several empirical studies have raised problems of poor implementation and lack of enforcement [58,59]. Another commonly cited limitation is the lack of attention with regard to embodied energy in construction materials (both initial and replacement), which can be significant when carbon-intensive materials are used [60,61].…”

Section: Governing Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban carbon governance and the transition toward low-carbon urbanism: review of a global phenomenon

2014

Carbon Management

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Section: Governing Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban carbon governance and the transition toward low-carbon urbanism: review of a global phenomenon

2014

Carbon Management

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“…Some studies combine the evaluation of life cycle energy use with calculation of global warming potential, ozone emissions, carbon foot print, etc. [21,23,24]. The relative impact of different measures will change when applying different methodologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relative impact of different measures will change when applying different methodologies. Especially, this can be seen in [23,24], where the energy analysis is not based on primary energy. Analysing conversion factors for CO 2 -equivalents and primary energy, presented in [11], the ratios are more alike when comparing factors for nonrenewable primary energy and CO 2 -equivalents than compared to ratios between factors for total primary energy and CO 2 -equivalents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

LCE Analysis of Buildings - Taking the Step Towards Net Zero Energy Buildings

Berggren¹,

Hall²

2013

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“…The food sector study [7] introduced a way to from the perspective of several value chain actors assess their individual improvement potential. The final example is taken from building sector where Brunklaus et al [8] explore how to consider the fact that actors in one part of the value chain can influence other actors to improve.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Usefulness of an Actor’s Perspective in LCA

Baumann

Berlin

Brunklaus

et al. 2011

Towards Life Cycle Sustainability Management

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This paper is an argumentation for adding an actor's perspective to lifecycle assessment (LCA). The need for this perspective stem from a criticism about the usefulness of LCA interpretation methods comparing the relative contribution of life-cycle phases of a product. Our argumentation is based on four previously published studies providing practical examples of how value chain actors' influence may be considered in an LCA and the benefit of doing so. Manufacturing sector examples show how one company's influence can be illustrated in results and how it may relate all relevant emissions to its own processes. The food sector study shows how to assess several value chain actors' individual improvement potential. The final example, taken from building sector, explore how to consider the fact that actors in one part of the value chain can influence other actors to improve. 1 Problem and solution Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool that illustrates the entire life cycle of products and services and quantify their environmental impacts. A frequently asked question in LCAs is "which part of the life cycle contribute the most to the environmental burden of a product/ service?" and the most common method used is the dominance analysis. A dominant use phase contribution to global warming is found in most products consuming energy during product application like cars, computers, and light bulbs. In the case of animal food products, such as milk and yogurt, the agricultural processes usually dominate the life-cycle environmental impact. These are typical examples of how one can learn and pinpoint so called hotspots in the product life cycle when using LCA.

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Illustrating limitations of energy studies of buildings with LCA and actor analysis

Cited by 35 publications

References 13 publications

Urban carbon governance and the transition toward low-carbon urbanism: review of a global phenomenon

Urban carbon governance and the transition toward low-carbon urbanism: review of a global phenomenon

LCE Analysis of Buildings - Taking the Step Towards Net Zero Energy Buildings

The Usefulness of an Actor’s Perspective in LCA

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