Benchmarking and additional environmental information in ... - ANEC

Cut-off rules
Cut-off rules shall be defined in a way that has the minimum influence on the
result obtained. For material flows, a cut-off rule of 5% by mass (i.e. inclusion of
at least 95% of the total mass of inputs), energy or environmental relevance per
impact category shall be a maximum starting point. It is, however, stressed that
the cut-off rule does not apply to hazardous and toxic substances, all of which
shall be included.
Allocation issues
Allocations, including those dealing with systems involving multiple building
products, shall be treated in accordance with the provisions of ISO 14040. The
materials and energy flows, as well as associated emissions, shall be allocated
to the different products according to clearly stated procedures, which shall be
documented as part of the PCR. Rules for allocation across product systems,
e.g. recycling processes, shall be described in the PCR.
Judged from experience, this normative requirement allows for a large flexibility,
e.g. as demonstrated by the way different EPD-schemes have established more
precise provisions as described in the subsequent sections. There is little doubt
that this flexibility in a key obstacle for the possibility of comparing LCA-related
EPD-information across different systems. It is, however, outside the scope of
the review to go into any detail on the appropriateness of the different
approaches or to make suggestions for how a uniform approach should be.
2.3.2 LCA/LCI-information to be included
The following environmental information shall be included in the EPD.
• Environmental impacts expressed in terms of the impact categories of
LCIA
o climate change (greenhouse gases);
o depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer;
o acidification of land and water sources;
o eutrophication;
o formation of tropospheric ozone (photochemical oxidants).
• Use of resources and renewable primary energy — Data derived from
LCI and not assigned to the impact categories of LICIA
o depletion of non-renewable energy resources;
o depletion of non-renewable material resources;
o use of renewable material resources;
o use of renewable primary energy;
o consumption of freshwater.
• Waste to disposal — Data derived from LCA and not assigned to the
impact categories of LCIA. The waste allocated to the building product
during its life cycle shall be classified in the EPD as
o hazardous waste, or
o non-hazardous waste
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