Environmental performance calculation
An environmental performance calculation determines the environmental impact of a construction work as a whole. On this page, you can read how this calculation is carried out in accordance with the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works, the role played by environmental data from the Dutch Environmental Database, and how the result is expressed, for example, as an Environmental performance of buildings or Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) score.
The environmental performance calculation provides insight into the environmental impact of a building or civil engineering work over its entire life cycle. The calculation is carried out in accordance with the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works and focuses on the construction work as a whole, not on individual products.
The calculation uses environmental data from the Dutch Environmental Database and is carried out using calculation tools. Depending on the application, the calculation results in an Environmental performance of buildings or Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) score.
What is an environmental performance calculation
The environmental performance of construction works is an important indicator of the sustainability of a construction work. The better the environmental performance of the construction work, the lower its environmental impact.
The environmental performance calculation is carried out in accordance with the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works.This method applies to the calculation of the environmental performance of both buildings and civil engineering works.
The Assessment Method does not focus on the environmental performance of individual products, but on the environmental performance of the building or civil engineering work as a whole. The construction work therefore forms the unit for which the performance is determined.
The environmental performance calculation is carried out in accordance with the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works.
The Assessment Method does not focus on the environmental performance of individual products, but on the environmental performance of the building or civil engineering work as a whole. The building or construction work is therefore the unit to which the performance requirement applies and in which products are applied to enable the construction work to fulfil its function.
The design and the intended service life therefore determine the construction products and building installations applied and the number of replacements during the service life of the building.
Determining the environmental performance in brief
Based on EN 15804, the Assessment Method provides practical guidance for analysing environmental performance. The Assessment Method is based on life cycle assessment, or LCA. An LCA examines all phases in the life cycle of products, focusing specifically on the function that the product fulfils within a construction work. An LCA assesses the life cycle phases of a product, such as production, construction and end of life. Read more about this on the environmental data page. The result of an LCA is an environmental profile. Until the end of 2020, this profile consisted of 11 environmental impact categories according to EN 15804. However, as EN 15804 was revised in 2019 and the methodology was synchronised with the LCA methodology of the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), the profile has consisted of 19 environmental impact categories according to EN 15804+A2 since 1 January 2021 (see the image below).
How is the environmental performance calculated?
The environmental performance calculation is based on environmental declarations of construction products, which are drawn up on the basis of a life cycle assessment (LCA). An LCA considers all phases in the life cycle of a product.
These environmental declarations are included in the Dutch Environmental Database. This database contains environmental declarations of construction products, building installations and processes with information about environmental impact, based on life cycle assessments.
The environmental performance calculation is carried out using calculationtools. These calculation tools use data from the Dutch Environmental Database and are validated within the Dutch system by Stichting NMD.
You can read more about life cycle assessments on the Environmental data (LCA) page
MPG and ECI
Based on a weighting of the different environmental impact categories, a single score is determined.
For civil engineering works, this is the Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI), expressed in euros. For the residential and non residential building sector, this is the Environmental performance of buildings, expressed in euros per gross floor area per year.
By expressing the environmental performance in a single score, environmental performances can be compared.
When is an environmental performance calculation applied?
In the residential and non residential building sector, calculating the environmental performance is mandatory under the Building Decree for the Living Environment (Bbl). In the civil engineering sector, the environmental performance calculation is applied as an award criterion in procurement procedures.
See also Application of ECI in civil engineering
In addition, the environmental performance calculation is used in sustainable procurement, fiscal schemes and certification processes. The way in which environmental performance is applied and assessed falls outside the calculation itself.
Read more about policy and regulations relating to environmental performance
Outcome of the environmental performance calculation
Based on a weighting of the different environmental impact categories according to their significance, a single score is determined: the environmental performance. For civil engineering works, this is the Environmental Cost Indicator (ECI) score expressed in euros, and for the residential and non residential building sector the Environmental performance of buildings score expressed in euros per m² of gross floor area per year. By expressing the environmental performance as a single score, it becomes comparable with the environmental performance of other buildings and the environmental impact can be communicated more clearly and requirements can be set.
The determination of the environmental performance of a construction work can be carried out using calculation tools that have been validated in advance by Stichting National Environmental Database.
Multiple applications
The Assessment Method makes it possible to calculate the environmental performance of construction works in a consistent, verifiable and reproducible way. Various organisations designate the Assessment Method, including the Dutch Environmental Database, as the method for calculating the environmental performance of construction works. This includes:
- Building Decree for the Living Environment (Bbl)
- Sustainable procurement of new office buildings
- Sustainable procurement of civil engineering works
- MIA and VAMIL (fiscal financing schemes)
- Certification of sustainable real estate according to
- BREEAM-NL
- GPR Building
The environmental performance requirement for buildings within building regulations, sustainable procurement and certification according to BREEAM and GPR together form a coherent framework to promote circular construction. Using the Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works, the environmental impacts of buildings can be calculated and made visible.
Further details on the environmental performance calculation
The environmental performance calculation includes several more detailed aspects, such as the system boundary of the calculation and the influence of design choices on the outcome. On the following pages you can read more about these aspects of the calculation.
System boundaries in the environmental performance calculation
Design choices and interpretation in the environmental performance calculation
Gerelateerd
- System boundaries in the environmental performance calculation
- Design choices and interpretation in the environmental performance calculation
- Environmental data (LCA)
- Assessment Method for Environmental Performance of Construction Works
- Calculation tools
- Policy and regulations on environmental performance
Frequently askes questions Environmental performance calculation
The Environmental Performance of Buildings (EPB - MPG in Dutch) calculates the environmental impact of the materials used in a building. The 2012 Building Decree makes this calculation mandatory for B&U:
- new residential buildings
- residential buildings
- offices with a surface area of 100 m2 or more
Each environmental performance calculation must comply with the 'Bepalingsmethode Milieuprestatie gebouwen en GWW-werken'. This allows the environmental performance of an entire building to be determined based on the performance of the products and elements that make up the building.
It enables clients and architects to make sustainable choices based on a national calculation method and database.
The determination of the environmental performance of a structure can be performed with calculation tools that have been validated by the Stichtng NMD.
The EPB is used to calculate the environmental performance of structures. The environmental performance is an important measure of the sustainability of a structure.
Calculating environmental performance is mandatory in the building and civil engineering sector under the Building Decree. In the civil engineering sector, we see more and more clients including environmental performance as an award criterion in tenders.
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