Electronic Supplementary Material

1.Review of available LCA data and databases in the European context

This review coversboth generic LCA data (coming from generic databases e.g. Ecoinvent (Ecoinvent 2012)) and industry average data (provided by manufacturers or trade unions) that can be expressed as the so-called Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Different scales are considered i.e. both European and national databases of the various European countries. For each of these datasets or databases, the related assumptions are presented in terms of scope definition (e.g. cut-off rules, allocations), life cycle inventory (LCI) flows, life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) indicators and methods.

International LCA datasets were restricted to Europe because datasets from outside do not comply from the beginning with the representativeness criteria in terms of geographic coverage and their technologic hypotheses are more likely to differ from European practices.

There are two main types of LCA datasets: EPD or generic LCA data. The former is more suitable to be used in a detailed design stage (or at on-site assessment or building certification), while the latter can be either European or nationalandmeets the requirements for the early conceptual design stage (when no detailed information is available for the product). Therefore, data genericness and LCA uncertainty decrease as design detail increases. This section of the OR1 describes these two types of LCA datasets, along with country-specific and average LCA datasetsthat are also available in the European context. The number of available datasets is growing in all the referred groups, increasing therefore the importance and the need of the methodology proposed in this paper.

1.1.Multi-sectorialgeneric LCA databases

Multi-sectorial generic LCA databases are summarised inTable S1. A generic database includes various datasets that reflect the various economic sectors, such as upstream processes (e.g. energy production, transportation, building products, agriculture, etc.) or downstream processes (e.g. disposal or recycling), along with data from production and processing processes. These data can be either linked through a network of unit processes (e.g. Ecoinvent) or be compiled in a single database as cumulative LCI (e.g. ELCD or GaBi). These data are usually available in commercial LCA software (CfD 2001; EC 2009; PRé 2009; Ferrão 1998; Lasvaux et al. 2011).

1.2.Country-specific and European average LCA datasets

In addition to the generic LCA databases, several country-specific or European average LCA datasets have been established and are described in Table S2 and Table S3. Average LCA datasets belong to the “average” group but are often considered generic (Figure 2 of the paper), namely when the identification of the plants and/or companies included in the study are omitted in the meta data.

1.3.Environmental Product Declaration programs

These data refers to type III environmental product declarations (EPD). They are defined in detail in ISO 14025 (ISO 2006a). The Technical Committee (TC) 350 of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN/TC 350) is devoted to “Sustainable construction” and is developing, within its Workgroups (WG), standards related to EPDs (Ekvall 2005; Krigsvoll et al. 2007). Table S4 presents a summary of the EPD programs available in the European context that include construction products.

An EPD is voluntarily developed and presents quantified LCA-based information over the life cycle of a product. Type III environmental declarations are based on:

  • Data related to the LCA of a product, which is independently verified;
  • Modules of information, in accordance with international standards related to LCA: ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 (ISO 2006b, c);
  • Results of the analysis of the “Life cycle inventory” (LCI);
  • Additional environmental information, when adequate.

These declarations are developed within each EPD program. This kind of program has a coordinator who can be a company, a group of companies, an industrial sector, a trading association, a public agency (e.g. a standardisation entity), or an independent scientific body. The coordinator manages its development and the certification process. EPDs represent a complete, robust and scientifically validated source of information on the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle included in the study. The development of EPDs within this kind of program also eases the comparison of the results between products (Rocha 2010).

The production of Product Category Rules (PCR) for EPD enables the harmonisation of the information collected and the LCA methodology used. PCRs are developed specifically for each family of products (e.g. wood, cement-based or ceramic products) to allow comparing results between products with similar functions or applications and achieving verifiable and consistent results (Silva et al. 2007). PCRs can be a set of rules, requirements or guidelines to develop Type III environmental declarations for one or more product categories, which are defined in accordance with interested parties. It must be possible to apply the same “functional equivalent” to the products of the same category, in order to achieve a quantified performance by functional unit. PCR harmonisation among EPD programs is stimulated at an international level to satisfy the comparability principle (Almeida 2010; I.EPDS. 2010). However, each EPD database has unique characteristics, namely background data, methodology and data origin that may result in significant differences in the LCA results for each construction product. The publicly available EPD documentation is also very often incomplete concerning the data origin and the methodology of calculation, increasing the risk of misunderstanding by the final user. Yet, the methodological report, which is most of the time kept confidential, should report all the hypotheses as in any LCA study. As a result, the choice of the data to be used in every national context should be cautious, especially if the aim is to use them as a national proxy data, by considering all the complementary information included in the EPD (meta data) (Hodková and Lasvaux 2012).

Table S5 presents a summary of the types of EPD available in the French EPD system (INIES) and the German system (IBU). The types of EPD are also compared according to the TR 15941 technical report of CEN TC/350 concerning the methodology for selection and use of generic data.(CEN 2010). Table S5 shows that there is not yet a harmonisation of the names of each type of EPD in each national context. For example, an average data of different manufacturers is defined as:

  • “Average” data in CEN Technical Report TR 15941(CEN 2010);
  • “Manufacturer group declaration” in the German IBU database;
  • “Joint EPD” in the French INIES database,

The two last ones are identical (except for the English translation name). Yet, one can see in Table S5 and Fig. 2 of the paper that the “average” term, as defined in the Technical Report TR 15941, also covers the average of different production sites (for the same product or for a branch of products) of the same manufacturer. For these datasets, it is important to note down their representativeness in terms of market share, when available.

Although it is advisable to always follow standardised terminology, INIES’ terminology will be followed in this research work to identify each EPD document in a result of the analysis presented in Table S5.

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Table S1-Description of LCA generic datasets

Designation of the database / Ecoinvent / ELCD / GaBi
Ecoinvent version 2.2 / European Life Cycle Database version 2.0 / GaBi
Country / Switzerland / European Union (EU) / Germany
Webpage / / lcainfohub/datasetArea.vm. /
Organisation responsible for the data / Swiss Centre for Life Cycle Inventories / European Platform for LCA / PE International
Methodological rules followed / Ecoinvent methodology according to IS0 14040-44:2006 / ELCD methodology follows ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006 / GaBi methodology, compliant with the ISO 14044, ISO 14064 and ISO 14025 standards.
Availability of data (public/fees) / Fees (for getting access to the full database) / Public (free to use) / Fees (depending on the data provided)
Number of data available / 4,000 processes provided for both unit process raw data and cumulative LCI / 300 cumulative LCI of processes supplied by associations of producers from EU and by other sources for the most common materials, energy suppliers, transports and waste management / 4,500 ready-to-use Life Cycle Inventory profiles
Type of LCA data / Generic data (based on average from industry, survey or literature) / Generic data (based on average from industry) / Generic data (based on primary data collection during work with companies, associations and public bodies)
Possibility of data contextualisation by the LCA practitioner / Possible with a LCA software using unit processes Ecoinvent data / Not possible (only aggregated datasets are publicly provided) / Not possible (only aggregated datasets are publicly provided)
Critical review/verification of the data/database / Internal critical review (Frischknecht et al. 2007) / Internal / External validation (Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Stuttgart, Germany)

Table S2 - Description of country-specific LCA datasets

Designation of the database / ATILH / CEMBUREAU / Portuguese average LCA dataset
Inventaires de Cycle de vie / CEMBUREAU / Environmental declarations program in the ceramic industrial sector
Country / France / Europe / Portugal
Webpage / / / -
Organisation responsible for the data / Association Technique de l’Industrie des Liants Hydrauliques (ATILH) / European Cement Association (CEMBUREAU) / Technological Centre for Ceramic and Glass (CTCV); Portuguese Association of the Ceramic Industry (APICER)
PCR followed / French standard NF P01-010 (for the methodology) / Based on ISO 14020:2005, ISO 14025:2006, ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006; PCR 2004:1 for preparing an EPD for Product Group “Cement” (Environdec) / ISO 14040:2006, ISO 14044:2006; National-based development for each group of materials
Availability of data (public/paid) / Public / Public (available in ELCD and in Environdec) / Public
Number of data available / 9 / 1 / 4
Type of data / Country average (weighted mean) / European average / Country average by use
Possibility of data contextualisation by the LCA practitioner / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data)
Critical review/verification / External critical review / External critical review / External critical review

Table S3- Description of European average LCA datasets

Designation of the database / Plastics Europe 2005 / PU-Europe
PlasticsEurope Eco-profile and EPD Program / PU Europe calculation tool
Country / European / European
Webpage / /
Organisation responsible for the data / Plastics Europe – Association of Plastics Manufacturers / PU Europe - European association of PU insulation manufacturers
PCR followed / LCI methodology and PCR for Uncompounded Polymer resins and reactive polymer precursors / European Standards (CEN/TC 350)
Availability of data (public/paid) / Public / Public
Number of data available / Eco-profiles of almost every plastic product available in the market / 2
Type of data / European average / European average
Possibility of data contextualisation by the LCA practitioner / External / Not possible (due to confidential industry data)
Possibility of data contextualisation by the LCA practitioner / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data)
Critical review/verification / External critical review / External critical review

Table S4- Characterisation of EPD programs that include construction products

Designation of the EPD Program / BRE / DAPc / Environdec / IBU / INIES / Norwegian EPD Foundation
Environmental profiles / Declaración Ambiental de Produto (DAPc) / International EPD System / Umwelt-Deklarationen (EPD) / Programme de Déclaration Environnementale et Sanitaire pour les produits de construction / Norwegian EPD Foundation
Country / United Kingdom / Spain / Sweden (origin) / Germany / France / Norway
Webpage / / es.csostenible.net/dapc/ el-sistema-dapc / / https//:epd-online.com / /
Manager of the EPD Program / Building Research Establishment / Col·legi d´Aparelladors, Arquitectes Tècnics i Enginyers d'Edificació de Barcelona e Generalitat de Catalunya; Generalitat de Catalunya / Swedish Environmental Management Council / Institut Bauen und Umwelt / Ten French organizations (governmental, scientific and industrial) / Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO); Federation of Norwegian Building Industries (BNL)
PCR followed / Methodology for environmental profiles of construction products (2007) / National-based development for each group of materials / Per group of materials / EN 15804:2012 (most recent EPDs); National-based development for each group of materials / French standard NF P01-010 / National-based development for each group of materials
Availability of data (public/paid) / Public / Public / Public / Public / Public / Public
Number of data available / More than 250 EPDs / 10 / 44 of construction materials, divided in 8 groups / 700building products, divided in 10 groups and including floor and roof coverings, masonry, wood-based and insulation materials / 963 individual or average/joint EPD covering 10,301 commercial references / 73 building products,divided in 10 groups and including concrete, cement, building boards and insulation materials
Possibility of data contextualisation by the LCA practitioner / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data) / Not possible (due to confidential industry data)
Critical review/verification / No / External / External review and approval by an accredited certification body / Third party verification following ISO 14025 (compulsory) / Third-party verification (not mandatory) / Third-party verification

Table S5 - Types of EPD documents and corresponding LCA data terminology (for a single product or an averaged product)

Data included in the EPD (for the same functional unit) / LCA data terminology
TR 15941:2010 (CEN 2010) / EPD Program
IBU / INIES
Data from one manufacturer and site / Site specific / Manufacturer´s declaration / Individual EPD
Average data of different production sites of the same manufacturer / Average (from different manufacturers or production sites)
Average data of different manufacturers / Manufacturer group declaration / Joint EPD

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1.4.Other LCA and EPD databases

As part of the available LCA databases, a recently developed Excel based LCI database at the Scientific and Technical Centre for Buildings (CSTB) in France(Lasvaux et al. 2010) was also considered. Generic LCI data was collected in a private Excel-spreadsheet database (called SLCA for Simplified Life Cycle Assessment) using harmonised LCI flows and LCIA indicators, for both cradle to gate and cradle to grave data of building products. LCI data were taken from mainly two databases (EPD database INIES and generic LCA database Ecoinvent version 2.01) adding up to around 750 processes (600 LCI data from INIES, 130 from Ecoinvent and some more from IBU and ELCD) with the help of a harmonised terminology and meta data. These data cover specific, average and generic data for building products according to the ILCD Handbook definitions. For the processes from both databases, 168 LCI flows (based on French EPD nomenclature[1]) were inventoried in order to make possible the integration of the French EPD Life Cycle Inventory within the database. The accuracy of the Environmental Impact Assessment Methods (EIAM) was identified using simplified LCI (Lasvaux et al. 2012). Processes imported from Ecoinvent included transport, energy, waste treatment, water and end-of-life options. Data from INIES correspond to LCI and LCIA data - cradle to grave - available in each EPD according to the French standard (AFNOR 2004; Lasvaux et al. 2011; Lasvaux 2010; AFNOR 2014).

Based on the selected LCI flows of each of the 750 processes, 20 LCIA indicators were calculated using 15 usual EIAM. Then, the LCIAs of each process were decomposed according to the building life cycle stages given in French and European Standards (CEN 2012; AFNOR 2004): production, transport to the building site, on-site implementation, use phase and end-of-life. Next, analyses on life cycle stages contributions were made for the production of each of construction material and product. Finally, the most documented families of products (i.e. glass wool, rock wool, concrete, steel) had been studied in detail within each environmental impact category in order to access the suitability of LCA data to the French context. This study included the comparison of the results of each database and the identification and explanation of the differences found (Lasvaux et al. 2011; Lasvaux 2010).

1.5.LCI flows and LCIA indicators available in each database

Generic LCA databases can present more than 1,000 LCI flows for each process following general guidelines for multi-sectorial databases (UNEP 2011). On the other hand, an EPD can only display from 3 to 168 LCI flows (depending on the EPD program), in addition to LCIA indicators. Therefore, when the aim is to compare results for the same products but from different databases, a first step must be completed to define the LCI and LCIA indicators to be considered in the study. Table S6summarises the LCI flows included in each country-specific and European average LCA datasets and EPD program and Table S7 includes a balance of the EIAM used in these datasets to calculate each LCIA indicator.

The new European Standards (FprEN 15804:2011 and prEN 15978:2011 (CEN 2012, 2011)) that support the Environmental assessment of buildings also outline the LCI and LCIA indicators that should be included in an EPD. In what concerns LCI flows, the following are referenced (CEN 2012):

  • Resource use: Renewable primary energy consumption (excluding renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials); use of renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials, total use of renewable primary energy resources (primary energy and primary energy resources used as raw materials), non-renewable primary energy excluding non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials, non-renewable primary energy resources used as raw materials; total use of non-renewable primary energy resources (primary energy and primary energy resources used as raw materials); use of secondary material, renewable secondary fuels, non-renewable secondary fuels, and fresh water;
  • Waste categories: hazardous, non-hazardous, and radioactive waste disposed;
  • Output flows: components for re-use, materials for recycling, materials for energy recovery and exported energy.

In terms of LCIA indicators, European standards determine seven to be taken into account in future European harmonised EPD (CEN 2012):

  • GW - Global warming;
  • ODP - Ozone depletion;
  • AP - Acidification of land and water;
  • EP - Eutrophication;
  • POCP - Photochemical ozone creation;
  • ADP - Depletion of abiotic resources (elements/non fossil resources) and depletion of abiotic resources (fossil).

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