TY - JOUR
T1 - Carbon footprint assessment of a wood multi-residential building considering biogenic carbon
AU - Ouellet-Plamondon, Claudiane
AU - Ramseier, Livia
AU - Balouktsi, Maria
AU - Delem, Laetitia
AU - Foliente, Greg
AU - Francart, Nicolas
AU - Garcia, Antonio
AU - Hoxha, Endrit
AU - Lützkendorf, Thomas
AU - Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard
AU - Peuportier, Bruno
AU - Butler, Jared
AU - Birgisdottir, Harpa
AU - Dowdel, David
AU - Dixit, Manish
AU - Gomes, Vanessa
AU - da Silva, Maristela Gomes
AU - Gómez, Juan Carlos
AU - Wiik, Marianne Kjendseth
AU - Llatas, Carmen
AU - Mateus, Ricardo
AU - Pulgrossi, Lizzie
AU - Röck, Martin
AU - Saade, Marcella Ruschi Mendes
AU - Passer, Alexander
AU - Satola, Daniel
AU - Seo, Seongwon
AU - Soust Verdaguer, Bernardette
AU - Veselka, Jakub
AU - Volf, Martin
AU - Zhang, Xiaojin
AU - Frischknecht, Rolf
PY - 2023/6/10
Y1 - 2023/6/10
N2 - Wood and other bio-based building materials are often perceived as a good choice from a climate mitigation perspective. This article compares the life cycle assessment of the same multi-residential building from the perspective of 16 countries participating in the international project Annex 72 of the International Energy Agency to determine the effects of different datasets and methods of accounting for biogenic carbon in wood construction. Three assessment methods are herein considered: two recognized in the standards (the so-called 0/0 method and −1/+1 method) and a variation of the latter (−1/+1* method) used in Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. The 0/0 method considers neither fixation in the production stage nor releases of biogenic carbon at the end of a wood product's life. In contrast, the −1/+1 method accounts for the fixation of biogenic carbon in the production stage and its release in the end-of-life stage, irrespective of the disposal scenario (recycling, incineration or landfill). The −1/+1 method assumes that landfills offer only a temporary sequestration of carbon. In the −1/+1* variation, landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and thus fewer emissions are accounted for in the end-of-life stage. We examine the variability of the calculated life cycle-based greenhouse gas emissions calculated for a case study building by each participating country, within the same assessment method and across the methods. The results vary substantially. The main reasons for deviations are whether or not landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and a mismatch in the biogenic carbon balance. Our findings support the need for further research and to develop practical guidelines to harmonize life cycle assessment methods of buildings with bio-based materials.
AB - Wood and other bio-based building materials are often perceived as a good choice from a climate mitigation perspective. This article compares the life cycle assessment of the same multi-residential building from the perspective of 16 countries participating in the international project Annex 72 of the International Energy Agency to determine the effects of different datasets and methods of accounting for biogenic carbon in wood construction. Three assessment methods are herein considered: two recognized in the standards (the so-called 0/0 method and −1/+1 method) and a variation of the latter (−1/+1* method) used in Australia, Canada, France, and New Zealand. The 0/0 method considers neither fixation in the production stage nor releases of biogenic carbon at the end of a wood product's life. In contrast, the −1/+1 method accounts for the fixation of biogenic carbon in the production stage and its release in the end-of-life stage, irrespective of the disposal scenario (recycling, incineration or landfill). The −1/+1 method assumes that landfills offer only a temporary sequestration of carbon. In the −1/+1* variation, landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and thus fewer emissions are accounted for in the end-of-life stage. We examine the variability of the calculated life cycle-based greenhouse gas emissions calculated for a case study building by each participating country, within the same assessment method and across the methods. The results vary substantially. The main reasons for deviations are whether or not landfills and recycling are considered a partly permanent sequestration of biogenic carbon and a mismatch in the biogenic carbon balance. Our findings support the need for further research and to develop practical guidelines to harmonize life cycle assessment methods of buildings with bio-based materials.
KW - Biogenic Carbon
KW - Building
KW - Construction
KW - Life Cycle Assessment
KW - wood products
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85151518576&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136834
DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.136834
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0959-6526
VL - 404
JO - Journal of Cleaner Production
JF - Journal of Cleaner Production
M1 - 136834
ER -