Germany - The German government has made sustainability a fundamental principle for many years.

Description

The German government has made sustainability a fundamental principle of its policy for many years. Construction and the environment are in direct conflict. With the implementation of sustainable building in building promotion (e.g. the QNG quality seal for sustainable buildings), the demand for precise and reliable data bases for assessing the sustainability of construction projects (new build and refurbishment) has grown significantly, and with it the requirements for the reliability of data sets and assessment results.
In Europe, LCA datasets are mainly created using two different background databases: GABI and Ecoinvent. Nevertheless, Ökobaudat only accepts generic datasets and Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for the Assessment System for Sustainable Building (BNB), which are calculated on the basis of GaBi background data. This is due to the fact that data sets for the identical product can differ if different background data is used.
To better understand and analyze the discrepancies between Gabi and Ecoinvent datasets, comparable datasets are required in the Ecobaudat. This enables the causes of discrepancies between databases to be identified and understood, which also leads to more robust and meaningful data bases. This is absolutely essential for the introduction of the digital resource passport for buildings and the planned evaluation of the resource indicators.

In the course of 2023, life cycle inventory inventories for selected generic datasets of ÖKOBAUDAT, manufacturer- or association-specific datasets of the QNG calculation value table and generic datasets to be included in ÖKOBAUDAT in the future were created within project 23.19 "Raw material expenditure in ÖKOBAUDAT". The results contain a comprehensive life cycle inventory database as well as disaggregated results of the data sets under consideration for the resource indicators Raw Material Input (RMI) and Total Material Requirement (TMR), which are still to be added to Ökobaudat. These were created using ecoinvent background data.
Taking these life cycle inventory inventories into account, all other indicators according to DIN 15804:A2 for generic ÖKOBAUDAT datasets are to be calculated with ecoinvent background data and compared with the GaBi results.
1. creation of all generic datasets of Ökobaudat based on Ecoinvent (list according to Appendix 1)
2. comparison of the database of Ecoinvent and Gabi according to deviations of the individual environmental indicators according to EN 15804-A2 and the indicators TMR and RMI. A total of 4 scenarios are to be examined in order to consider the mixture of databases:
? Mixture of GaBi and ecoinvent according to the worst value in each case.
? Mixture of GaBi and ecoinvent according to the best value in each case.
? GaBi only
? Only ecoinvent.
3. the effects of deviations and consideration of the above scenarios should be investigated at building component level. Components can be provided by BBSR.
4. the effects of deviations and consideration of the above scenarios should be investigated at building level. Reference building is provided by BBSR (see Annex 2)
5. evaluation of the results from component and building level as well as recommendations for calculation rules for the application of the data sets.

Opportunity closing date

25 September 2024

Value of contract

to be confirmed