Author/Contributor: ENBIX
Alberta Context: This page is intended to accompany the “Life Cycle Assessments” training offered by ENBIX | Alberta Ecotrust Foundation. This training introduces embodied carbon, explains Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), provides an overview of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), and shows how to integrate them into a project.
Summary:
Join Alberta Ecotrust Foundation | ENBIX for “Life Cycle Assessments workshop”. This workshop will introduce builders to the basics of life cycle assessments and embodied carbon. As Alberta grows, new construction and the renewal of buildings drive emissions associated with the use of building materials. These emissions can be significant. Understanding embodied carbon will help you manage and reduce these impacts.
Topics covered include:
- Operational versus embodied emissions
- What are Environmental Product Declarations (EPDS)
- How ‘massing’ affects life cycle assessments (LCAs)
- What the different scopes of an LCA are
- Available tools to help develop LCAs
- What is happening in Canada today (regulatory landscape)
This workshop is perfect for builders, developers, owners, architects, engineers, consultants, suppliers, building officials, energy advisors, and other professionals in the building, construction and renovation industry in Alberta.
Presentation
Life Cycle Stages
- Adapted from LETI Embodied Carbon Primer
LCA Standards and Purpose
- International Standard: ISO 14040 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
- International Standard: ISO 14044 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
LCA Tools for Buildings
- LCA / Carbon Calculators
- Design-integrated WBLCA Software
- Production Selection & Procurement
Reference Materials
- CAGBC Embodied Carbon: A Primer for Buildings in Canada
- Emissions of Materials Benchmark Assessment for Residential Construction
- Pathways to Embodied Carbon: Regulation in Canada’s Building Code
- National Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessment Practitioner’s Guide
- National Guidelines for whole-building life cycle assessment
- CAGBC: Zero Carbon Building – Design Standard
- CSBA – Climate Smart Buildings Alliance
Programs
