USGBC Federal Summit, Washington, DC 29 April 2003 TOOLS: The Latest in Green Specs and Life Cycle Assessment Alison Kinn Bennett US EPA Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program Dr. Teresa Pohlman Pentagon Renovation Program Michael Chapman, AIA Moderator

Life Cycle Assessment water use transportation energy use resource use (depletion) resource extraction effects emissions to water solid wastes emissions to air A methodology for assessing the environmental performance of a product over its full life cycle Courtesy of the Athena TM Institute

Life Cycle Stages Cradle – to – gate (Manufacturing) Courtesy of the Athena TM Institute Environmental Effects On-site Construction Operations & Maintenance (Occupancy) End – of - Life Initialembodied Recurring Final Embodied EmbodiedOperating +

The US LCI Database Project Courtesy of the Athena TM Institute A public/private research partnership Project Objective To develop a publicly available database for commonly used materials, products, and processes Rationale  Support decision-support systems and tools  e.g. ATHENA, BEES, LEED  Support supplier-specific LCA work  Provide regional benchmarks for assessing company, plant or new technology data  Provide the foundation for subsequent life cycle assessment tasks

Cradle-to-Gate Focus Material Acquisition Courtesy of the Athena TM Institute Life Cycle Stages Primary Manufacturing Secondary Manufacturing Use/Reuse/Maintenance Recycling/Waste Management Resource extraction Recycled materials

A Simple Classification System Courtesy of the Athena TM Institute  Level 1 – product comparison tools & info sources  Level 2 – whole building design or decision support tools  Level 3 – whole building assessment frameworks or systems  Support systems