TY - GEN
T1 - The generation of EPDs for activities related to building maintenance
AU - Itard, LCM
AU - Blom, IS
AU - Anink, D
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - In comparison to goods to which LCA is conventionally applied, buildings have a very long service life. During this service life, the building and its equipment are subject to maintenance and to renovations. Very little is known about the environmental effects of maintenance and renovation. Maintenance firms and housing associations that are interested in the sustainability aspects of maintenance have too little environmental information on their own activities. This is because environmental profiles of materials that are accessible from LCA databases are not suitable for direct use by maintenance firms, because this data are not related to the activities that are really performed by these companies. EPDs at material level could be a solution for maintenance companies, but nor for housing associations that want to label the environmental quality of the maintenance. This is because housing associations (and therefore their maintenance contractors) are interested in the environmental quality of the maintenance of, for instance, window frames but not in the environmental quality of one kilogram paint. EPDs at activity level could offer a possible solution to this problem. The research described in this paper aims to define at which level EPDs are needed and which technical information is necessary to produce EPDs that can support sustainable maintenance options. This paper focuses on the maintenance aspects of openings in facades (windows) in dwellings located in The Netherlands. Owner occupied houses are not taken into account because in most cases owners do not use standardized maintenance by specialized companies. They are do-it-yourselfer from which information is difficult to gather. Housing associations use maintenance contractors in an organized way, which simplifies the gathering of information. Besides, housing associations cover about 35 % of the total housing stock in the Netherlands and should be therefore a main target of environmental building policies.
AB - In comparison to goods to which LCA is conventionally applied, buildings have a very long service life. During this service life, the building and its equipment are subject to maintenance and to renovations. Very little is known about the environmental effects of maintenance and renovation. Maintenance firms and housing associations that are interested in the sustainability aspects of maintenance have too little environmental information on their own activities. This is because environmental profiles of materials that are accessible from LCA databases are not suitable for direct use by maintenance firms, because this data are not related to the activities that are really performed by these companies. EPDs at material level could be a solution for maintenance companies, but nor for housing associations that want to label the environmental quality of the maintenance. This is because housing associations (and therefore their maintenance contractors) are interested in the environmental quality of the maintenance of, for instance, window frames but not in the environmental quality of one kilogram paint. EPDs at activity level could offer a possible solution to this problem. The research described in this paper aims to define at which level EPDs are needed and which technical information is necessary to produce EPDs that can support sustainable maintenance options. This paper focuses on the maintenance aspects of openings in facades (windows) in dwellings located in The Netherlands. Owner occupied houses are not taken into account because in most cases owners do not use standardized maintenance by specialized companies. They are do-it-yourselfer from which information is difficult to gather. Housing associations use maintenance contractors in an organized way, which simplifies the gathering of information. Besides, housing associations cover about 35 % of the total housing stock in the Netherlands and should be therefore a main target of environmental building policies.
KW - Conf.proc. > 3 pag
UR - http://repository.tudelft.nl/file/613830/MTS_1184958305367239660
UR - http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:6ab56be8-25de-4a90-a5a3-c12aa5d61486
M3 - Conference contribution
SP - 148
EP - 152
BT - Environmental Product Declarations with focus on the building and construction sector
A2 - Kreissig, J
PB - Setac
CY - Stuttgart
T2 - SETAC Europe 13th LCA case studies Symposium
Y2 - 7 December 2006 through 8 December 2006
ER -