More about Environmental data
The National Environmental Database (NMD) contains environmental data of construction products and building installations - products for short - supplied by the industry, which is used when calculating the environmental performance of buildings in the calculation tools. The environmental data in the NMD includes environmental profiles: lists of environmental impacts expressed in different environmental impact categories according to European Standard (EN) 15804, such as resource depletion, global warming potential and ozone depletion.
An environmental profile is the outcome of a life cycle assessment (LCA). Below are the impact categories according to EN15804:2012 (left) and the impact categories according to EN15804:2012+A2:2019 (right).
The life cycle assessment (LCA)
An LCA is a quantitative method to determine the total environmental impact over the entire product life cycle, from raw material extraction and production to use and end-of-life processing and disposal (see figure below). It gives companies the opportunity to understand the environmental impact of their products and raw materials throughout the value chain. The life cycle of a product in a building is divided into 4 phases and 1 module (A to D, where B6 and B7 are excluded from the Assessment Method). The LCA is performed using software programmes like SimaPro. These programmes use databases like the NMD Process Database and Ecoinvent, which contain environmental data at a detailed level about production processes, energy generation and transport, both nationally and internationally. The Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works, in combination with EN 15804 and related ISO standards, outlines the ground rules for preparing an LCA for the environmental data in the NMD.
