This study demonstrates life cycle assessment (LCA) on a reference wooden building according to the latest normative standards: EN 15804, EN 15978 and EN 16485. Through the assessment, application of the standards was studied. In addition, proposals for further development of the standards, especially concerning wood products and wood construction, are discussed from a practical perspective. Lack of proper data is critical issue in conducting the assessment in compliance with the standards. Since LCA is data-intensive method, preparation of data for the building assessment according to the standard is urgently required. This paper also raised the questions about the provisions in the standards and insisted the importance of the communication system of the assessment results. It would be of importance to develop the communication system in such a way as to stimulate the environmental-conscious in society. In order to develop a relevant communication system, further discussion and case studies would be important and feedback from such practices should be incorporated into the development of the guideline for the assessment.
This study reports on a detailed investigation into the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the construction process of multi-story wooden buildings relative to the other life cycle stagesthe material production and operation stages. The results showed that the construction stage accounts for 20-30% of the initial embodied emissions and 6-10% of the total emission of the included life cycle stages. Especially the transport process of building components seems to have higher potential to mitigate the emissions than the actual construction work. In addition, the emissions from different construction systems were studied based on the reference buildings. Although definitive conclusion would be difficult to be drawn from this study alone due to the small sample size and the assumptions made, prefabrication work seems to be a more efficient construction method compared to on-site work for wooden buildings.
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