Embodied Carbon in Commercial Furniture

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Furniture Types & Data Collection Methodologyfrom national and international EPDspecificdatabases, third-party certifiers,general broad-category sustainabilitydocumentation databases, and furnituremanufacturers’ websites.The simplest way to access a largenumber of EPDs was through EPD-specificdatabases and third-party certifiers(Figure 4). The EPD databases rangedfrom international (The International EPDSystem) to regional (The EPD Registry withproducts from Europe, South America, andAustralia, or EPD Norge from Norway). Thesedatabases provided the widest variety ofproducts since manufacturers get certifiedthrough the companies that maintainthe databases. Third-party certifiers (SCSGlobal Services and NSF International)also provide a number of EPDs fromdifferent manufacturers on their websites,but the selection of data is limited to theirrespective clients.General sustainability documentationdatabases (such as Mindful Materialsand UL Spot) were also used to find anumber of EPDs. These databases enablefiltered searches based on differentcertifications and standards, but evenin these databases, not all EPDs wereincluded. Many databases are incompleteand do not represent the full list ofavailable products with EPDs, which maybe in part because of fees charged bysome database companies to feature amanufacturer’s documentation.Finally, some manufacturers provideproduct-specific EPDs on their productwebsites. Since each manufacturer has itsown organizational structure for locatingdocuments, finding EPDs on manufacturerwebsites is time-consuming. Contactingmanufacturers’ representatives directlywas the quickest way to get access tospecific EPDs.Where full EPDs were not available, theteam used product environmental datasheets, a simplified report containingmaterial ingredients, recycled content,certifications, and condensed LCAinformation. Eight EPDs came from outsideof North America. Since the calculationincludes only LCA scopes A1-A3, it does notinclude A4 (transportation to site), whichcould add a significant contribution to theGWP of products manufactured outside ofNorth America.Data StandardizationSince different greenhouse gases (GHG)emitted during the life cycle of a producthave a different rate of absorption andlength of stay in the atmosphere, tonormalize the data GHG are comparedto carbon dioxide and measured in kg orlbs of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eqor CO2e). GHG, and by extension productlife cycles, are compared in terms ofGWP, a comparison of how much solarenergy the emissions of 1 ton of a GHGwill absorb over a standard period oftime (EPA, 2021). Carbon footprint is oftenreferred to in terms of kg CO2e per metersquared, or GWP per square meter, with ahigher number being a greater footprint.Most EPDs globally use kgCO2eq. Tomake our result comparable to AmericanInstitute of Architects’ (AIA) embodiedcarbon benchmarks in the U.S. (COTESuper Spreadsheet), results are shown inkgCO2eq/sf.6
Furniture Types & Data Collection MethodologyComments and LimitationsTo qualify as an EPD, a report must adhereto the International Standards Organization(ISO) 14025 standard as a Type III label.Despite the standard, EPDs can differsignificantly due to several factors:▪ Data collected to create an EPD isgoverned by the product category rules(PCR) of a particular product category.Governing data collected for thatproduct type can vary where certaintypes of furnishings are categorized asdifferent product types from others.Epd Databases &Third-Party Certifiers▪ EPD Library International▪ EPD Registry▪ LCA Database▪ Mindful Materials▪ Norwegian EPD database▪ NSF International▪ SCS Global Services▪ SpotManufacturer-ProvidedEpds North America▪ Allsteel▪ Emeco▪ Gunlocke▪ Haworth▪ Herman Miller▪ KI▪ Knoll▪ Steelcase▪ Teknion | CanadaManufacturer-ProvidedEPDs International▪ Arper | Italy▪ Benchmark Furniture | UK▪ Fora Form | Norway▪ Framery Acoustics | Finland▪ Koleksiyon | Turkey▪ Magis Design | Italy▪ Mark Products | UK▪ Mattiazzi | Sweden▪ Nowy Styl | Poland▪ Vitra | Switzerland▪ EPDs and LCAs are conducted andprepared by variety of third-partycertifiers around the world.▪ Some EPDs focus on A1-A3 (extraction,transport, and manufacturing) life cyclestages, while others show the entire lifecycle, including stages A4 (transport),B (usage), C (end-of-life), and even D(beyond the systems boundary). For thisstudy, the researchers standardized thedata by using scope A1-A3 whereverpossible. In some cases, a simplified LCAdid not indicate the breakdown of scope,so the entire LCA total was used. Thesedifferences are color-coded in the Excelcalculator.EPDs from North America 22EPDs from outside North America 8Product environmental data sheets withLife cycle information 15In process of recertifying 3Total documents used for calculator 487
Page 1 and 2: EmbodiedCarbon inCommercialFurnitur
Page 5 and 6: IntroductionIn current architectura
Page 7 and 8: Background on Embodied Carbon in Fu
Page 9: Furniture Types & Data CollectionMe
Page 13 and 14: Furniture Embodied Carbon Calculato
Page 15 and 16: Discussion & RecommendationsCarbon
Page 17 and 18: ReferencesAmerican Institute of Arc

Embodied Carbon in Commercial Furniture

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?