LCA Part A4 and A5 – Transport to site and Construction installa

Petr, can you please clarify what you mean by A4 and A5? I'm not sure I understand your question.

Petr, what software are you using to do your LCA? Is it offering you variables for these different levels of depth?

No, it should not. I was asking because software programs designed for whole-building LCA are likely to be less open-ended, with the system boundary more readily defined since these tools are specialized for buildings and intended for use by building design professionals rather than LCA professionals. If you're using professional software like openLCA, you're going to have a lot more leeway to define your own parameters.I'm not an LCA professional, but I'm assuming you are if you are using openLCA. My guess would be that the depth of your assessment is not  important, as long as it 1) meets the requirements of 21930 and 2) is the same between baseline and design models.

Life-cycle stages B6 Operational Energy and B7 Operational Water are not in scope of LCA for LEED.

At one point the full reference guide text mentions over-encompassingly B1-B7 but the relevant bit "scope of the analysis" is clear: resource extraction or harvest, building product manufacture, on-site construction, product maintenance and replacement (where warranted), and deconstruction or demolition and disposal

There was a comment about Oekobau.dat and European databases in this thread (Petr already knows but for other forum users). Several European databases including Oekobau.dat, IBU, EPD Norge, Environdec, Spanish and soon also French databases are integrated into our One Click LCA platform.

In the Step-by-Step Guidance under Option 4 it states that we should include "environmental impacts associated with all the life-cycle stages for the building structure and enclosure: resource extraction or harvest, building product manufacture, on-site construction, product maintenance and replacement (where warranted), and deconstruction or demolition and disposal over the assumed 60-year service life." Specifically, it includes on-site construction. However, in the system boundary description below it says we only include "sections A-1 thru A-4, B-1 thru B-5, and C-1 thru C-4."
A4 is defined as transport to the construction site.
A5, which is not included, includes the actual construction impacts (fuel use, water use, etc).

Which section is correct? Should we be including on-site construction impacts?
Thanks!

Hi, I read this so that the on-site construction is in the scope but only for Products which are defined as the mandatory scope of LCA below. Essentially this translates into additional demand for basic materials and construction products to account for on-site losses (which are themselves in A1-A3). Still this would not account for materials used for temporary structures only used at the site and not ending up in the building.

Maggie, our interpretation is that this credit intends to include on-site construction effects, although the language in the reference guide is certainly confusing (not to get in to the weeds, but for starters, the A1, B1 etc nomenclature is from EN 15978:2011 and not the cited reference of ISO 21930:2007, among other errors in this text regarding which modules to include). To try and help LEED teams navigate the credit and hopefully earn the points, we put together an extensive guide with our interpretation and tips: http://www.athenasmi.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Athena_Guide_to_Whol...

The online version of the reference guide has actually been corrected now to refer as follows: "as defined in EN 15804-2013 sections A-1 thru A-4, B-1 thru B-5, and C-1 thru C-4.", so this bit is clear.

Thanks for helping with this, Panu and Jennifer! So great to have you both on the forms.

Thank you all but I'm still a little confused. Jennifer is saying that on-site impacts (fuel combustion, water use, waste disposal, etc.) are included but Panu is saying they are not, just the additional wastage material from installation. Which is correct?

And I really think A5 should be included in the description "EN 15804-2013 sections A-1 thru A-4, B-1 thru B-5, and C-1 thru C-4", as A5 is the installation scenario and thus defines the wastage rate.

Yes, A5 should be included in the list in the reference guide. We know the intent of the credit is to include on-site construction effects like energy used to operate construction equipment, which means omitting A5 from the list is an error in the guide.

I can't comment on the intent, only what the reference guide and standards define. The A5 is excluded and reference guide makes specific mention to "exclude excavation and other site development" which sets aside some of the on-site activity specifically. However my earlier comment was not quite accurate: EN 15804 indeed specifies the increased material demand from wastage in the A5. Which leads to the the LCA for LEED v4 being specified in the currently applicable rules on net materials demand basis (whether it should be like this is of course a different, and a quite valid question).

For anyone interested in this I'm giving an education session with the chairman of CEN/TC 350 (EN15804 etc) at Greenbuild; it's Friday Oct 7 at 8-9 am and title is "Delivering Standardized LCAs from Existing Design Data" and link is here:
https://greenbuildexpo.com/Attendee/Schedule/SessionDetails/38549