Materials Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) aims to reduce the environmental impact of a building project over its full life cycle. The LCA considers the substructure and the superstructure, as well as the building services as part of the early design process.
LCA is now a fundamental part of sustainable design and is both a cost and time-effective way to achieve the required BREEAM Materials credits for ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’ BREEAM ratings.
SRE’s highly experienced and BREEAM qualified sustainability consultants work alongside our clients from the early design stages of a project to specify the most appropriate low carbon materials. Making these decisions at the earliest stages of a project can ensure they offer the maximum benefit for the lowest cost.
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By conducting an LCA, our sustainability specialists can:
- Evaluate building design options and select one with the lowest impact.
- Compare the environmental impacts of renovating rather than demolishing and building anew.
- Compare design alternatives and select one with the lowest embodied carbon.
- Identify environmental problem areas of a structure and, if practical, take steps to decrease carbon.
- Calculate the lifetime impact of building materials and products to help find the most sustainable options.
Conducting an LCA in the construction industry has several advantages and you could receive certification points. LCA’s receive considerable credits under several environmental certification schemes, including BREEAM, LEED and many more. Additionally, LCA’s are becoming requirements for complying with new laws and policies. Governments are increasingly realising the necessity to reduce whole life carbon (operational and embodied) before, during and after construction.