Abstract

Whole-Building Lifecycle Assessment (wbLCA) is an essential tool for evaluating the environmental impacts of buildings, including the benefits of material reuse. wbLCA can help the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operation (AECO) industry reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, the effectiveness of wbLCA is contingent upon the availability, the quality, and the exchange of data, leading to significant inconsistencies in LCA assessments and analyses.

To address the issue of consistency and reliability of data in wbLCA, this paper proposes a framework that utilizes the openBIM approach to standardize the necessary data. By using BIM to procure data for LCA, the framework ensures data accuracy and consistency, facilitating data transfer into wbLCA and improving assessment reliability by minimizing redundancy and modeling errors. OpenBIM standards and tools are adopted to validate Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) submittals, and the models are checked for both geometric and non-geometric data needed for LCA. This comprehensive approach ensures that the model includes all necessary information required for LCA analysis, assessment, comparison, and benchmarking purposes.

This openBIM-integrated approach is considered a key contribution to aid standardization of wbLCA practice and to add records to the bill-of-work database, which could host records for hundreds or even thousands of buildings. This sophisticated, flexible, and dynamic approach enables self-updating peer model identification, contrasting with static, generic 'archetype' baseline buildings. As the database grows, regional and building-type specificity will increase. The study provides practical recommendations for industry stakeholders and authorities.