The construction and use of buildings in the European Union account for approximately half of all our extracted materials. As the energy efficiency of buildings improves, the embodied impacts of materials and their cost become more significant throughout the entire life cycle of buildings.
Although the greatest environmental impact of buildings occurs during their useful life, the reality is that impacts also occur before or after construction or renovation, and after dismantling or demolition, and these cannot be ignored.
For this reason, the latest Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 2024/1275 establishes the need to calculate, through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), embodied carbon, in addition to operational carbon. To this end, it refers us to indicator 1.2 of LEVELs, which provides guidelines for its calculation within the framework defined by the UNE EN 15978 standard.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Project Number:
101104680-HABITABLE-ERASMUS-EDU-2022-PEX-COVE
