Construction Engineering - Timber Systems Design, Construction and Sustainability

Complete course notes - part 1

Complete course

10/03/2020   Introduction    Sustainable development   "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability                 of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:   -the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority                   should be given;    -the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's                  ability to meet present and future needs.“   [World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Our common future.Oxford: Oxford University              Press, 1987 p. 43. –also known as BrundtlandReport]   Three Pillars’ Theory   LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT   LCA addresses the environmental aspects and potential environmental          impacts (e.g.use of resources and the environmental consequences of           releases) throughout aproduct's life cycle from raw material acquisition            through production, use, end-of-life treatment, recycling and final disposal           (i.e.cradle-to-grave). [ISO 14040:2006]   Is there any standard? LCA is amethod defined by the international standards ISO 14040 (2006)              and ISO 14044 (2006). These standards are part of the largest group of   ISO 14000 -Environmental management standards ​:  “​The ISO 14000 family addresses various aspects of environmental           management. It provides practical tools for companies and organizations           looking to identify and control their environmental impact and constantly improve their environmental performance.                ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 focus on environmental management systems. The other standards in the family                  focus on specific environmental aspects such as life cycle analysis, communication and auditing. ​”  [​www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/management-standards/iso14000.htm ​]  What is ISO? ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental membership            organization and the world's largest developer of voluntary International Standards.   We are made up of our 163 member countries who are the national standards bodies around the world, with a                     Central Secretariat that is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Learn more about our structure and how we are                   governed.   [​www.iso.org ​]  ISO14040EN ISO     14040   European standard     ISO14044EN ISO     14044   European standard       ISO 14041-3   ISO 14067:2018 Greenhouse gases -- Carbon footprint of product -- Requirements and guideline quantification     ISO 14046:2014 Environmental management -- water footprint - principles, requirements and guidelines     SETAC definition of LCA - 1993 "​Life Cycle Assessment is aprocess to evaluate the environmental burdens associated with aproduct ​,​process,                  or activity by identifying and quantifying energy and materials used and wastes released to the environment ​;                 to assess the impact of those energy and materials used and releases to the environment; and to identify and                     evaluate opportunities to affect environmental improvements. The assessment includes the entire life cycle of                the product, process or activity, encompassing, extracting and processing raw materials; manufacturing,              transportation and distribution; use, re-use, maintenance; recycling, and final disposal".   (The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, SETAC, 1993)   LCA limitations The method is restricted to only quantify the ecological aspect of sustainability, in other words environmental                  burden. No economic or social factors are considered.   So, LCA could be defined as amethod to quantify only the environmental sustainability of asystem, but                    sustainability assessment is much more.   Sustainable development has numerous definitions and its ecological, economic and social principles received               universal agreement at the 1992 Earth Summit.   Life cycle methodologies                             What is the object of an LCA study? The product system is the object being investigated, but what is meant by “product system”? Any of these can                     serve the function of product system:   -a product (i.e. a bottle)   -a process (i.e. a refinery)   -a service (i.e. fast mail delivery)   In other words a human activity! Natural occurring events are not considered in LCA!   A key concept: the functional unit The “potential environmental impacts” are relative expressions, as they are related to the functional unit of a                  product system.   LCA is arelative approach, which is structured around afunctional unit. This functional unit defines what is                    being studied. All subsequent analyses are then relative to that functional unit, as all inputs and outputs in the                     LCI and consequently the LCIA profile are related to the functional unit.   [ISO 14040:2006]   But what is the functional unit of a product system?   Functional unit   Once the system product has been chosen and properly defined, one has to ask himself these three questions:   -Which is the function of the system relevant for our present study?   -Which variable can quantitatively describe the function?   -What is the value of the selected variable which fulfils the aforementioned function?   LCA applications - Environmental Label   - Green marketing   - Decision tool   - Green public procurement   Life cycle stages                                   Building life cycle stages   Life cycle phases                               Life cycle inventory   Scenarios End-of-waste End-of-waste criteria specify when certain waste        ceases to be waste and obtains astatus of aproduct             (or a secondary raw material).   According to Article 6(1) and (2) of the Waste            Framework Directive 2008/98/EC, certain specified       waste shall cease to be waste when it has undergone            arecovery (including recycling) operation and        complies with specific criteria to be developed in          line with certain legal conditions, in particular:   -the substance or object is commonly used for          specific purposes;   -there is an existing market or demand for the           substance or object;   -the use is lawful (substance or object fulfils          the technical requirements for the specific purposes         and meets the existing legislation and standards         applicable to products);   -the use will not lead to overall adverse          environmental or human health impacts.  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/framework/ end_of_waste.htm   WASTE HIERARCHY   CIRCULAR ECONOMY The circular economy is a model of production and    2consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing,        repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and         products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of              products is extended.   In practice, it implies reducing waste to aminimum. When a            product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within              the economy wherever possible. These can be productively used           again and again, thereby creating further value.   This is adeparture from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on atake-make-consume-throw                  away pattern. This model relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy.   Also part of this model is planned obsolescence, when aproduct has been designed to have alimited lifespan to                      encourage consumers to buy it again. The European Parliament has called for measures to tackle this practice.   http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20151201STO05603/circular-economy-definition-i mportance-and-benefits    CIRCULAR ECONOMY DEFINITION Acircular economy is an economic system where products and services are traded in closed loops or ‘cycles’. A                    circular economy is characterized as an economy which is regenerative by design, with the aim to retain as much                     value as possible of products, parts and materials. This means that the aim should be to create asystem that                      allows for the long life, optimal reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of products and materials.   [Kraaijenhagen, Van Oppen& Bocken. 2016, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2016]   CIRCULAR ECONOMY PRINCIPLES It is based on three principles:   -Design out waste and pollution   -Keep products and materials in use    -Regenerate natural systems   Acircular economy seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural.                  This ensures enhanced flows of goods and services. The system diagram illustrates the continuous flow of                  technical and biological materials through the ‘value circle’.     END-OF-WASTE USE… AND LIGHTWEIGHT CONCRETE   INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS Industrial symbiosis is the use by one company or sector of by-products, including energy, water, logistics and                   materials, from another.   Simple examples include the use of food waste from the catering sector to feed farm animals, or the use of                      non-toxic industrial waste to produce energy through incineration.   However, in adeveloped economy with many industrial activities, many different by-products are generated,                and the range of potential uses for them can be equally diverse.   UNITED NATIONS The Life Cycle Initiative is apublic-private, multi-stakeholder partnership enabling the global use of credible life                  cycle knowledge by private and public decision makers.   Hosted by UN Environment, the Life Cycle Initiative is at the interface between users and experts of Life Cycle                     approaches. It provides aglobal forum to ensure ascience-based, consensus-building process to support                decisions and policies towards the shared vision of sustainability as apublic good. It delivers authoritative                  opinion on sound tools and approaches by engaging its multi-stakeholder partnership (including governments,               businesses, scientific and civil society organizations).   The Initiative facilitates the application of life cycle knowledge in the global sustainable development agenda in                  order to achieve global goals faster and more efficiently.   2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a                 shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the                       17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries -developed and                   developing -in aglobal partnership. They recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go                 hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth                –all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.   The SDGs build on decades of work by countries and the UN, including theUN Department of Economic and                    Social Affairs       ISO 14040 Environmental management —Life cycle        assessment - Principles and framework   Introduction: why performing a LCA   Lca ca assist in   -identifying opportunities to improve the environmental performance of products at various points in their                life cycle,   -informing decision-makers in industry, government or non-government organizations (e.g. for the purpose              of strategic planning, priority setting, product or process design or redesign),   -the selection of relevant indicators of environmental performance, including measurement techniques, and   -marketing (e.g. implementing an eco labelling scheme, making an environmental claim, or producing an                environmental product declaration).   Scope: what we have to expect to find in the standard   This International Standard describes the principles and framework for life cycle assessment (LCA) including   a) the goal and scope definition of the LCA,   b) the life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) phase,   c) the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase,   d) the life cycle interpretation phase,   e) reporting and critical review of the LCA,   f) limitations of the LCA,   g) relationship between the LCA phases, and   h) conditions for use of value choices and optional elements.   Normative references:Companion standard   ISO 14044:2006+A1:2018   Incorporating corrigendum May 2018   Environmental management -Life cycle assessment -Requirements and guidelines     Terms and definitions:the language of LCA   ➢Process   -set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs   -is aterm normally used in many scientific sectors and in the LCA it is used with its general and common                       meaning   ➢Unit process   -smallest element considered in the life cycle inventory analysis for which input and output data are                  quantified   -is a specific term of the LCA and it is the building block of the system to be studied   -There is no unique way to define aunit process and all ways are in principle correct on condition that one                       is able to evaluate inputs and outputs   ➢Product system   -collection of unit processes with elementary and product flows, performing one or more defined                functions, and which models the life cycle of a product   -This term indicates the system being analyzed by LCA methodology;   -for brevity we will often use the simple word system to refer to the “product system”;   -It is important to remind that the word “product” has here afar larger meaning than in common                    language including also services   ➢Product   ❖any goods or service   ■services (e.g. transport);   Services have tangible and intangible elements.   Provision of a service can involve, for example, the following:   ⎯ an activity performed on a customer-supplied tangible product (e.g. automobile to be repaired);   ⎯an activity performed on acustomer-supplied intangible product (e.g. the income statement needed                to prepare a tax return);   ⎯the delivery of an intangible product (e.g. the delivery of information in the context of knowledge                   transmission);   ⎯ the creation of ambience for the customer (e.g. in hotels and restaurants).   ■software (e.g. computer program, dictionary)   Software consists of information and is generally intangible and can be in the form of approaches,                  transactions or procedures   ■hardware (e.g. engine mechanical part)   Hardware is generally tangible and its amount is a countable characteristic   ■processed materials (e.g. lubricant)   Processed materials are generally tangible and their amount is a continuous characteristic.   ❖Elementary flow   material or energy entering the system being studied that has been drawn from the environment without                  previous human transformation, or material or energy leaving the system being studied that is released                 into the environment without subsequent human transformation   ❖Product flow   ■products entering from or leaving to another product system   ➢Materials Include primary and secondary raw materials and releases   ❖Intermediate product   output from aunit process that is input to other unit processes that require further transformation                  within the system   ❖Intermediate flow   product, material or energy flow occurring between unit processes of the product system being studied   ➢ Flow vs product   ○Flow is more general and can be a product, a material or energy   ○Products include intermediate products and co-products   ➢co-product vs ancillary product   ●Co-product   ■any of two or more products coming from the same unit process or product system   ●ancillary input   ■material input that is used by the unit process producing the product, but which does not                  constitute part of the product   ➢The standard uses the term “ancillary input” because they are always             products and input flows.   ➢input vs output   ■Output   ■product, material or energy flow that leaves a unit process   ■Input   ■product, material or energy flow that leaves a unit process   ➢Functional unit vs reference flow   ■functional unit   ■quantified performance of a product system for use as a reference unit   ■reference flow   ■measure of the outputs from processes in agiven product system required to fulfil the                 function expressed by the functional unit   ➢included vs excluded   ■system boundary   ■set of criteria specifying which unit processes are part of a product system   ■cut-off criteria   ■specification of the amount of material or energy flow or the level of environmental                significance associated with unit processes or product systems to be excluded from a study.       Case study:timber products