Summary of the EcoEffect method
for environmental assessment of build environment.
As in all other societal sectors, within the building
sector there is a need for metrics and indicators that describe environmental
impacts that would thereby simplify decision making in the way to long-term
sustainable development.
A number of methods, which characterize or ”measure”
the environmental improvement and the ecological sustainability of the built
environment, have been under development under a umbrella research programme
known as ”Environmental assessment of the Built Environment”
The EcoEffect method is one such method developed at
Royal Institute of Technology in
Objective
The objective of the EcoEffect method is to:
-
Quantitatively describe environmental and
health impact from real estate and the built environment
-
Provide a basis for comparison and
decision making that can lead to reduced environmental impact
The method primarily target decision makers within the
planning, designing and, management of the built environment. An EcoEffect software has been developed within the project,
which together with a so called Input Data Sheet constitutes a tool for using
the EcoEffect method in practice.
Focus
The EcoEffect method has a holistic perspective of
environmental issues with five parallel areas of focus: Energy, Material,
Indoor Environment, Outdoor Environment and Life Cycle Costs.
Environmental assessment area is carried out within
each for a number of different impact categories e.g. climate change,
acidification, noise, etc.
The interest has, as long as possible, been to
quantify the contribution of real estates and buildings to different
environmental problems.
The ambition has been that the EcoEffect results
should be easy to understand and underlying assumptions and conditions should
be easily accessible. The method is currently developed for multi-family
residential houses, offices and schools. The environmental assessment has
primarily been delimited to real estate-related environmental impacts. In other
words, it is the characteristics of the building its associated yard i.e. the
physical environment that is assessed.
The users of the real estate are assumed to use the
building and its fixtures in a pre-determined manner and will have a “normal”
life style.
In order to present an aggregated result that
simplifies comparisons, a weighting method has been developed within the
project that is based on the assessment direct and indirect problems to human
being associated with environmental impacts.
Table
1 shows some characteristic features of the EcoEffect
method.
Table 1. Characteristic features
of the EcoEffect method
|
Transparency |
The origins of all information and results can
easily be followed |
|
Problem –orientation |
The calculations as well as the result has a direct
connection to different types of environmental impact e.g. acidification,
noise e.t.c. and their significance to people’s
health and wellbeing |
|
Simplifies comparisons |
Companies, real estates, buildings and building
elements can easily be compared in terms of environmental loads. |
|
Function based |
Environmental loads shows per function/use, e.g. per
user |
|
As metrics for
characteristics and activities |
Shows measurable health risks and environmental
impacts caused by buildings and the associated yard (the physical
environment) |
|
Holistic approach |
Many different types of environmental impacts are
presented to avoid sub-optimization |
|
Simplifies environmental decisions |
Consequences of the requirements on indoor and
outdoor environment can directly monitored as loads on the external
environment (e.g. climate change) |
|
Life cycle perspective |
Contains the whole chain of environmental impacts
from raw material extraction to the use of waste products/ demolishing
associated with the energy and material flows, LCA (Life Cycle Assessment)= |
|
Flow Analysis |
Assesses the majority of all energy and substance
flows |
|
System boundary |
Real estates are selected as primary objects of
comparison. Partly because there is an owner who have the possibility to
influence and partly because operation flows are usually measured at the real
estate level. |
|
Aggregation |
Facilitates the weighting of results, which is
usually a pre-requisite for practical comparisons. Weights can be changed and
used for sensitivity analysis. |
Results
The results can be summarized in different ways: as
comparisons between different real estates/buildings, as environmental profiles
or as indicators.
The simplest comparisons shows an aggregated
assessment of the impact on the indoor and outdoor environment (collectively
called the internal environmental impact ) together
with the aggregated assessment of the impact on the external environment (
external environmental impact)
The sum of such loads should be as small as possible
since the interests is to have a good internal environment while at the same
time lower external environmental load. Broadly speaking, the quality of the
internal environment can be measured through the degree of stratification of
the users. See Figure
1.
Figure 1. Summarized
presentation of internal and external environmental impacts. The
internal impacts shows the risk that users will be affected negatively by the
environment within the boundary of the real estate and the external impact
shows the risk that people outside the real estate would be affected through
using it. (climate change, acidification etc)
The environmental profiles are bar diagrams where each
bar shows a certain type of impact from a given building, Figure 2.
There are un-weighted and weighted profiles with all
impact categories or summed up under each areas. The weighting method developed
in EcoEffect is based on how sever different environmental problems are thought
to be for people now and in the future.
Figure 2. An
example of an environmental profile.
Indicators
Figure 2 above shows bars representing potential external
impact calculated in EcoEffect, i.e. potential environmental problems caused by
emissions related to the use of a specific built environment. In addition there are a number of internal
impact indicators calculated showing potential problems for the users of a
built environment. These calculated units may be called the environmental
indicators for a built environment. The total different indicators calculated
at present in EcoEffect are shown in Table
2.
Table 2. Environmental indicators calculated in EcoEffect at
present.
|
External
impact |
Internal impact |
|
|
(due to use of
a building) |
(potential problems for users of a
building) |
|
|
Climate change |
INDOOR |
OUTDOOR |
|
Stratospheric
ozone depletion |
Air quality |
Air quality |
|
Acidification |
Thermal comfort |
Ground
pollution |
|
Nutrification |
Sound condition |
Noise |
|
Ground ozone
formation |
Light
conditions |
Shade |
|
Human toxicity |
Electromagnetic
conditions |
Windiness |
|
Eco toxicity |
|
|
|
Radioactivity |
Allergy |
Vegetation |
|
Natural ozone
depletion |
Joints problem |
Water |
|
|
Sick
Builiding Syndrome |
Bio
productivity |
|
|
Noise |
Storm water |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Radon |
|
Application areas
One unique feature that distinguishes EcoEffect from
other methods is its direct association of the characteristics of buildings or
activities to environmental impacts.
A change in the flow or the physical environment can
directly be shown as a change in environmental impact. This means also that the
method can be used for formulating quantitative environmental goals for each
impact category e.g. a certain building shouldn’t contribute to the problem of
climate change more than a certain amount.
The method should specifically be applicable to real
estate companies that use environmental management system according to ISO
14001 or EMAS. The method is developed so that it can
be used in early phases of planning and design and as well as by real estate
manager during operation phase.
Planning and designing of new buildings in a real estate
In the planning phase, a goal for a reduced
environmental impact from a real estate or the risk for its users is
formulated. The formulation of such a goal can be done in terms that can
clearly connected to societal goals e.g. the national environmental goals.
During the design phase a more precisely defined
requirement is developed on the type and performance different building
components etc. Using the goals put up during the planning phase as a starting
point, the EcoEffect software can be used to check if the different performance
requirements and system solutions help achieve the goals..
If the results obtained are worse than expected, one
can go further down the bars on the environmental profiles and understand the
causes that led to these results. i.e. locate the
flows or the characteristics of the real estate that worsen the results,
There are possibilities for testing how the results
can be improved through different types of interventions and measures e.g.
selecting a different type of energy source or reduce energy consumption.
Management of an existing real estate
There are several potential application areas for
EcoEffect during the management phase of a real estate. First and for most, it
can be used in a follow up to check if the goals set up during the planning
phase are achieved.
Particularly, the goal for indoor environment can be
assessed using EcoEffect- questionnaire one year after the users of the
building have moved in. The EcoEffect method enables also to compose or produce
what is called Environmental Declaration for an existing building that shows
both the internal and external environmental impacts of a real estate.
Environmental declarations are useful for different
external stakeholders such as potential buyers, creditors, owner or clients
etc.
Such information can be used not only for formulating
goals for environmental management by real estate managers but also for
introducing a dialog with tenants for initiating improvement measures.
If environmental declarations for different
buildings/real estates are produced in a similarly consistent procedure, the
buildings/real estates can be compared with each other in terms of their
environmental performance. As more environmental assessment of buildings/real
estates are carried out, more experience is gained about the significance of
the physical environment to the environmental impacts.
In a real estates manager’s internal environmental
management process, the EcoEffect method can be used to facilitate an
environmental review with regard to the question of measurable environmental
goals for a whole building stock. This
can then be broken down to individual goals for real estates and
buildings.
The goals to be assessed that are formulated in the
environmental management can directly be expressed in terms of contributions to
different problems and types of environmental impacts. As an example, a goal
for energy consumption can be expressed as “The contribution of this real
estate to the problem of climate change would be reduced by 20% in 5 years”
instead of saying that a corresponding reduction in energy consumption in KWh
would be made. The earlier formulation brings with it the significance of the
environmental impact of the type of energy source used. This opens up for several
possible measures that can be worked with, both energy saving
and choice of energy source, in order to achieve the goal.
The EcoEffect software
The EcoEffect software is developed in such a way that
any one who has a certain computer skill can use it. It is not necessary to
turn to an expert or a consultant to carry out an EcoEffect assessment.
The advantage of being able to run the software is
obviously the possibility of getting a better understanding of how the
different features and measures in the physical environment contribute to
different environmental problems and health risks. The EcoEffect software is
developed on MS Access platform (see figure 3) with an accompanying Input Data
Sheet in Ms Excel.
From aggregated results can one easily go down through
the profiles in the software step by step to find underlying data and areas of
improvement for reducing the environmental impact of the real estates. All input data and calculated values can also be
presented in the form of numerical figures or in terms of indicators such as kr/user or CO2-equivalents/m2
Figure 3. The main interface of
the EcoEffect software
Data input
The effort required to acquire data for the assessment
depends on the objective of the assessment and on whether it will be a full
EcoEffect assessment or not. If for example the interest is the environmental
impact of energy consumption, only a measured or calculated data on energy
consumption that is required.
The Input Data Sheet is developed in such a way that
it can be applicable in both planning and management situation. For instance,
the data on existing building’s indoor environment is collected through
questionnaires to users and additional some measurements and inspections.
In the planning situation, corresponding data is
obtained by filling up the goals and performance requirements in a table in the
Input Data Sheet. The data requirement for a complete EcoEffect assessment as
it is now can be summarised according to table 2.
Appropriate levels for formulating environmental goals
can be obtained with the help of the EcoEffect software and the Input Data
Sheet.
Table 2.
Input data required for carrying out the EcoEffect assessment
|
|
real estates under planning/design |
Existing real estate |
|
General
data |
·
Real estate identification, address ·
Primary use (residential, school, office) ·
Areas, e.g. use areas and yard area ·
Planned number of users |
|
|
Energy
|
·
Calculated/measured energy consumption for heating,
hot water and cooling ·
Energy carrier for heating and hot water (suppliers) ·
Calculated/measured power consumption for real
estate (estimation of power consumption) |
|
|
Material
|
·
Amount of materials with substance toxic to environment and human
health ·
Amount of material - major material groups |
·
Information on embedded substances toxic to environment and human
health |
|
Indoor
Environment |
·
Environmental goal – Table PM1 in the planning phase
·
|
·
Responses to questions of the
EcoEffect-questionnaire ·
Measured values for radon in air, electromagnetic
field, tap water temperature ·
Inventory of toxic substances/material (mainly
asbestos, blue-concrete, PCB), effect of dampness and risk for Legionella
growth |
|
·
Measures to achieve environmental goals set up
during the planning phase – table PM2 in the design phase |
||
|
Outdoor
environment |
·
Inspection/inventory of factors for biological
diversity ·
Inspection/inventory of daylight, wind and
noise circumstances ·
measured values for top soil, clay content, electromagnetic
field, PCB content in the soil |
·
Responses to questions of the
EcoEffect-questionnaire ·
Inspection/inventory of factors for biological
diversity ·
measured values for top soil, clay content,
electromagnetic field, PCB content in the soil ·
values for surrounding traffic load |
|
Life
cycle costs |
·
Calculated costs for maintenance, heating, power,
water and wastewater and construction |
·
Cost for maintenance, heating, power, water and
wastewater and waste management |
Life cycle assessment – Material and Energy use
In the EcoEffect method, a life cycle assessment
methodology is used for calculation of environmental impacts from the use of
energy and material in the real estates/buildings. The functional unit is
defined differently depending on the type of real estate (family residential
house, office or school) e.g. as “the provision a family house for 50
years".
The total environmental impact from inflow of
materials and energy to the real estate under a certain defined life time is
expressed as an environmental load of the real estate.
The environmental impact calculated for energy and
material use is of three types: emissions, waste and natural resource
depletion. The EcoEffect software contains a database with environmental data
for different energy types, selected material groups, and reference values etc
that are used in the calculations.
It is possible to put in life cycle data in addition
to the exiting data in the EcoEffect database for use in the calculation of
environmental impacts. There is also a system for evaluating the quality of the
data.
Multicriteria analysis - indoor and outdoor environment
For the indoor environment, the impact on human health
and wellbeing is assessed whereas for the outdoor environment, both the impact
on human health as well as the impact on the ecosystem/biological diversity is
included. For both areas, it is the actual characteristics and the
circumstances of the indoor and outdoor environment that are essentially
assessed. The input data for the assessment are calculated to load values
according to established criteria that are based on relevant norms, threshold
values etc.
Using tree structures depicting higher and lower
levels of problems/factors, the input data is processed to environmental loads
for lower level health problems and environmental factors (indoor and outdoor)
that contribute to a higher level problem. The higher the load value is the
larger the risk that the problem would occur.
Toxic substance
Emission of substances toxic to environment and human
health during the manufacturing of building materials are included under the
Material Use with the help of LCA methodology. In the EcoEffect assessment,
these emissions are accounted for in the form of the impact categories of human
toxicity and ecotoxicity.
On the other
hand, toxic substances that are embedded in the different part of the real
estate are accounted for in the EcoEffect method in terms of amount and
location.
Scenarios for life cycle costs
The sum of investment, service (power, heating, water
and wastewater, cleaning) and maintenance costs are aggregated over 50 years or
another defined period is used as an environmental cost indicator.
Costs that have no evident or obvious connection to
the environmental impacts of a real estate are excluded from this indicator,
e.g. capital costs. The environmental cost indicator can for example be used to
study how investments accompanied by lower operation costs and environmental
impacts result in different returns with different price scenarios.
Delimitations
The current version of EcoEffect does not include the
following:
·
Building phase
·
Waste generated and leaving the real
estate
·
Flow of water and wastewater
·
Land use
·
Location issues
In the Future
The currently available version of the EcoEffect
software can be used for the aforementioned applications. During the major part
of the last one year the EcoEffect project had a focus on methodology
development issue rather than software development. Hence, as the software is
continued to be tested more and more, there will certainly be some deficiencies
showing up calling for improvements. At the time of the writing of this report,
the methodologies for including areas such as toxic substances and the outdoor
environment are already developed but not implemented in the software. The same
is true for the weighting methods for indoor as well as outdoor environment. On
the other hand, area such as water, wastewater and waste need to be developed
further.