Assessment method

The Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works, or Assessment Method, is a uniform method to calculate the environmental performance of structures in an unambiguous, verifiable and reproducible way. This creates a level playing field for all involved stakeholders. The Assessment Method makes it possible to compare the environmental performance of various structures, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of these structures.

Click on the tabs for more information on the Assessment Method:

Performance oriented

The Assessment Method is performance oriented, not solution oriented and therefore sets no requirements on construction method and technology. Clients and contractors can use the method to make agreements about a construction project’s quality levels, with total design freedom and space for innovative solutions.
Download below the integrated version 1.1 (March 2022); the current Assessment Method 'Environmental Performance of Construction Works' version 1.0 including the corresponding amendments sheets.

The Assessment Method contains:

Methodical requirements including product category rules (PCRs) for the LCA/EPD for all construction products and installations. More information on c-PCR can be found on the Product Category Rules page. Read more about Product Category Rules
The Verification Protocol for assessing environmental data for inclusion in the National Environmental Database (NMD) Read more about verification on the Verifying environmental data page
Calculation rules for calculating the environmental performance of construction works.Read more about Calculation tools

European standard

The European standard EN 15804 forms the base for the Assessment Method. EN 15804 sets methodical requirements for European Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), an official document that demonstrates a product’s environmental impact. An EPD is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), a method used to calculate a product’s environmental impact across its entire life cycle. The assessment method uses EN 15804, supplemented with scenarios applicable to the Netherlands when drafting and using EPDs for the environmental performance of construction works in the Dutch context.

Assessment Method and service life of a building

No specific building service life expectation is indicated in the Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works; clients and contractors can decide to indicate this. However, many default values are mentioned, these being 75 years for dwellings and 50 years for utility buildings. These default values have been adopted in the calculation tools, but they do not describe the conditions or how to deviate from these default values. Construction practice needs a standardised Life Cycle Assessment of buildings in the form of a well-founded deviation from the default value in order to benchmark the environmental performance of buildings and consciously steer towards a long(er) or short(er) life cycle, as early as the design stage. Commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, W/E adviseurs prepared the ‘Specific Building Service Life Guideline’ report, which serves as a guideline for the voluntary use of a similVeelgestelde vragen over de Bepalingsmethodear standardised life cycle assessment. If there is sufficient support, this guideline can be included as normative in the Environmental Performance Assessment Method for Construction Works.

Assessment Method for renovations and transformation

The construction industry is currently facing a huge challenge. The energy quality of existing building stock must be significantly improved, offices must be transformed into homes and entire neighbourhoods need to become gas-free. It is important that this all happens in a sustainable way. As well as focusing on energy savings and the indoor climate, attention must also be paid to the material-related environmental impact of the intervention itself and the subsequent demolition of the building. Until now, there has been no supported method available to identify this impact and to make informed decisions. In a recent study (2020), W/E adviseurs conducted research on how the Assessment Method can be made specific and effective for renovation and transformation. This has resulted in an addendum to the Assessment Method: Addendum Renovation and Transformation with a separate Explanation. Together with the Assessment Method for the Energy Performance of Buildings, this addendum also enables calculations of a building’s environmental performance when being renovated or transformed.