www.facilitiesnet.com/bom/article.asp?id=9400 -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 8/1/2008
Last Visited: 9/2/2008
"Quantification of all building phases is important in life cycle assessments, especially for the construction phase, which is often disregarded," says H. Scott Matthews of Carnegie-Mellon University's Green Design Institute, and a widely published author on the topic of Environmental Input-Output LCAs.He has also worked in the construction industry.
Both Hoff and Matthews advocate an ambitious, holistic view, taking into account previously unconsidered information, such as fuel-use estimates, global warming potential and emissions, including particulates, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.
"The I-O-based hybrid LCA tool presents updated, revised, and more comprehensive estimates of the environmental impacts of construction projects than previous and existing construction LCAs," Matthews says.