Whole building life cycle assessment for buildings: A case study ON HOW to achieve the LEED credit

Whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) has received significant attention from the research community in the past few years. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has made it an option for receiving points in version 4 of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Yet, the research described in this paper has revealed that the process of WBLCA as applied to LEED is not very well understood by building professionals. As many building professionals do not understand WBLCA, very few pursue it for their new building projects. The objective of the research described in this paper was to examine and clarify issues related to WBLCA as it applies to LEED. The paper presents a six-step process for conducting a WBLCA and use the process on a building case study for which a LEED compliant WBLCA was conducted and approved. The paper also suggests improvements to the current LEED WBLCA requirements that have the potential to further reduce the embodied energy and environmental impacts of materials used in new building projects. The ultimate goal of the research presented in the paper is to increase the building industry awareness of the WBLCA process and make it business as usual. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found that building professionals have limited understanding of the Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (WBLCA) process in LEED, resulting in low adoption rates. The research aims to address and clarify issues related to WBLCA as it applies to LEED, presenting a six-step process for conducting WBLCA and demonstrating its application in a building case study. Approval of a LEED-compliant WBLCA was obtained through this process, along with recommendations for improvements to reduce environmental impacts.