INNOVATION September-October 2014

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LCA Practice Asks Engineers to Design Outside The Box

Brandon Walker, P.Eng.

How different would our profession look if the long-term costs and benefits of our design choices were a part of everyday engineering practice? Life cycle analysis (LCA) offers a framework to envision a sustainable future while responding to the ever-present budget pressures of today. LCA is an emerging engineering service that allows owners to comprehensively assess the environmen- tal and financial impacts of a project. From the embodied energy and material inputs during construction to the long-term emissions, maintenance costs and energy use of the facilities constructed, LCA challenges us to quantify sustainability in the context of engineering design: how a facility or product stands up in terms of resource consumption and durability for generations to come. LCA may be useful to owners seeking certifications such as LEED ® , Green Globes or Living Building Challenge. It also may be sought out as a public relations opportunity, or simply as a way to ensure that a new facility or product will be durable and adaptable, with minimal operational and maintenance costs. On the other hand, many owners may be unaware of the long-term benefits that sustainable design can offer. In these cases, an LCA can illustrate savings in clear terms, providing consulting engineers and geoscientists ISO 14040/14044, the most widely accepted methodology for conducting LCA studies in North America, defines an LCA as the “compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle.” A key first step outlined by the ISO methodology for LCA is to clearly define the goal and scope of the assessment, specifically the system boundaries. Two common methods exist for drawing boundaries: 1) the “cradle-to-grave” approach, where boundaries are established from the product creation (including raw material acquisition) until end of life; and 2) the “cradle-to-gate” approach, where the boundaries are drawn smaller, limiting the scope of the study to the end of the production process (e.g., the “gate” of the factory). Regardless of where the boundaries are drawn, the key goal is that all options being considered are measured using the same criteria. with a new opportunity to act as an advisor. Where to Start: Drawing Boundaries

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