EcoReview
knowledge base
EcoReview helps clients achieve climate goals through sustainable and circular procurement.
EcoReview
LCA
Methodology
EcoReview specializes in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The International Organization of Standardization (ISO) standardizes the LCA methodology in ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is the guideline for European LCAs and the is a multi-criteria measure for the environmental performance of a good or service throughout its life cycle. For each product category, a PEFCR (Category Rules) is created in which specific calculation rules are defined. In the construction sector, the EN15804 is the leading standard. The EN15804 uses 2 calculation sets called EN15804:2012 and EN15804:2019+A2, each containing a large number of environmental impact calculation categories (7 and 16 respectively). This means that an LCA study is not limited to the CO2 footprint/CO2 emissions, but also to other defined environmental impact categories, such as eutrophication, acidification and land use. In the Netherlands there is an additional standard, the NMD Determination Method 1.0, which adds 4 environmental impact categories to the EN15804:2012. Consisting of these 11 environmental impact categories, one concluded environmental cost index (ECI score) is calculated. This is a final score that reflects the environmental costs of a declared functional or product unit.For organizations that want to sell their products in the Netherlands, it is mandatory in certain sectors to have an ECI score of their product and it is expected that this will be the case in the future as well as in others. countries as will be an obligation in more sectors. Once a third-party verifier confirms that the research meets the standards, the end result is an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), or a certificate with environmentally relevant product information, in which the non-confidential information from the LCA and environmental results are summarized in one document. This EPD is provided by one of Eco Platform's program operators in the Netherlands, the MRPI.
UAV
Uniform Administrative Terms (UAV/UAV-GC)
The difference between the UAV & UAV-GC is that the UAV is used in traditional construction forms, where the client only outsources the executive tasks to a party and whether or not he carries out the other tasks such as design and planning himself or outsources them to a third party.
UAV-GC is used in integrated construction organization forms. This means that the client engages a party that creates the design, but will also be responsible for the implementation. The most commonly used integrated construction organization form is Design & Construct. GC assumes part of the risks to the contractor, mainly the design risk.A second difference with the UAV-GC is that the assignment from the client will be more in the form of a functional design, and less in a detailed spatial design. or technical design. The contractor has more freedom in completing the realization.
ECI
Why the ECI?
An LCA therefore determines the environmental effects of a product or process over the different life stages. This is processed in an environmental profile, and converted to the final financial value using the ECI. This financial value can be seen as the expected social value. costs to solve the long-term consequences of the environmental effects, an example of this is the need to raise dikes as a result of rising sea levels due to climate change. More and more contracting authorities have a desire to achieve sustainable and circular solutions.The ECI provides insight into the environmental impact of a product or project and makes it possible to assess providers on environmental impact in addition to price and quality.The aim is therefore to stimulate the market to sustainability, or to come up with sustainable alternatives. This not only saves the environment, but also millions in the future. When a client decides to use the ECI as an award criterion in a tender, all tenderers make an ECI calculation for their project. The tenderer with the lowest environmental impact receives a predetermined award advantage. Providers do not compete in this way not only on price and quality, but also on the environmental impact they cause with their project, because the market parties know what the largest contributors are to the environmental impact of their project and because financial incentives (award advantage) are offered for reducing of the environmental impact, they can make a well-considered choice for sustainability measures.
NMD
NMD Assessment method
The NMD Assessment Method is the Dutch set of category rules. The Assessment Method is based on EN 15804, and has been tailored to suit the Dutch market.
NVI
Nota van Inlichtingen (NVI)
The note is intended to provide additional information to clarify the selection guideline and the content of the tender. The nature and scope of the project may not be changed on the basis of the additional information.
ECI
The Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI)
The Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) is a means by which the outcome of an LCA, the environmental profile, is calculated into a single value. This single value is an amount in euros. The ECI makes Comparing environmental profiles of products and processes is a lot easier, because only one value is considered. This comparison is, however, less specific. For a more targeted comparison per life stage, environmental profiles can still be compared. The lower the ECI value, the less the impact on the environment.The ECI is therefore the indicator for objective, integral and unambiguous comparison of sustainability.
LCA
Environmental Profile (EPD)
The end result of an LCA study is processed in an environmental profile. This shows the environmental impact for each life stage, in the respective equivalent unit. Now the total environmental impact of a specific product, service or work is recorded in this environmental profile. The environmental profile is known in Europe as an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), it is drawn up in the same way internationally so that it can be communicated. The figure below shows the environmental profile of a certain type of Dutch asphalt as an example. In the top row you can see the heading "Environmental Cost Indicator" expressed in euros, we will come to this in the next module back. An environmental profile can also be presented graphically to gain a better understanding of the environmental impact per (sub) life stage. The figure below shows a pie chart of the distribution of the environmental impact for a specific type of concrete (concrete C30/37 It can be deduced from this pie chart that the environmental impact of this type of concrete largely comes from life phase A1 (raw materials extraction). In addition to gaining insight into the environmental impact, the environmental profile of the LCA is used to compare products, services and projects. As more and more LCAs are performed, a better picture is created of the average environmental impact of a product or process per sector. monitor sustainability and steer towards further sustainability.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
ISO 14040
This international standard specifies the general framework, principles and requirements for conducting and reporting life cycle assessment studies. This standard does not describe the life cycle assessment technique in detail.
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
ISO 14044
This International Standard specifies requirements and provides guidelines for life cycle assessment
INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
ISO 14025
This International Standard establishes the principles and specifies the procedures for developing Type III environmental declaration programmes and Type III environmental declarations.
LCA
Environmental impact
An LCA is therefore drawn up on the basis of the analysis of the life phases and the sub-life phases of a product or project. This is a lengthy and complicated process. What happens to the information from an LCA and how is it documented? What is an LCA ultimately used for? In an LCA, a large amount of information is collected in order to reflect the effect on the environment. As indicated in the introduction, this is more than CO2 emissions, and there are many more activities that have an impact on the environment. For example, each activity can also release emissions such as nitrogen, particulate matter and carbon dioxide. An activity can also consume a lot of energy or produce waste.
LCA
Environmental Impact Categories
Every activity therefore has an effect on the environment. These different effects and their emissions can be subdivided into 11 categories: the environmental effect categories. Each environmental effect category has an associated equivalent unit. The figure below shows the different environmental effect categories. The equivalent unit of the environmental effect category climate change is CO2. However, there are also other gases that affect the climate. These are converted into a quantity of CO2 using a weighting factor. For example, 1 kg of nitrous oxide (N2O) is equal to 310 kg CO2, because this substance is much more harmful in smaller quantities. An example of such a conversion is shown below.
LCA
Sub-Life Cycle Stages
Sub-Life Cycle Stages A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to calculate the environmental impact of a material, product, project or building over certain life phases. An LCA analyzes the life cycle and distinguishes between life phases. For each life stage, the environmental impact is calculated by analyzing activities from that life stage. The LCA quantifies sustainability by summing up the environmental impact of all life stages. The figure below provides an overview of the life stages that are analyzed in an LCA.
EMVI
make EMVI model
With a good motivation, purchases can still be made at the lowest price. But in a surprisingly short period of time, contracting authorities have switched en masse to tendering with MEAT. The use of MEAT in the civil engineering and construction sector has increased from about 20% to about 80%. The choice of 'MEAT unless' in the Procurement Act 2012 has therefore brought about a clear turnaround in the tendering of works. However, after the first positive reactions, more and more critical voices can be heard.
LCA
Life Cycle Analysis
A life cycle assessment (LCA) is a method to calculate the environmental impact of a material, product, project or building over certain life phases. An LCA analyzes the life cycle and distinguishes between life phases. For each life stage, the environmental impact is calculated by analyzing activities from that life stage. The LCA quantifies sustainability by summing up the environmental impact of all life stages. The figure below provides an overview of the life stages that are analyzed in an LCA.
NORMS
EN 15804
This European norm provides core product category rules (PCR) for Type III environmental declarations for any construction product and construction service.
ECI
ECI
De ECI (Milieukostenindicator) is het resultaat van het wegen van verschillende milieueffecten tot één score volgens de NMD Bepalingsmethode. De ECI-weegmethode is gebaseerd op de schaduwprijsmethode. De schaduwprijs is het hoogst toelaatbare kostenniveau voor de overheid (preventiekosten) per eenheid emissiebeheersing.
EPD