LCI Data and Design

Abstract

LCA gathers and presents facts that can appeal to both those who aspire to save the planet while not materially impacting the financial bottom line.

Steady and relentless fact-based reporting can counteract the worst effects of climate denialism. Data-driven actions are especially effective when aligned with major stakeholder interests. LCA systems thinking is predicated on the quality and quantity of available foundational life cycle inventory (LCI) information. It is transparent in how it arrives at its conclusions and qualifies its findings. Thus, even a result with a relatively low level of certainty, when accurately stated, is superior to an unquantified assertion.

LCA data quality improvements in recent years create the foundation for a trustworthy evaluation system. More public and private service providers are leveraging statistically more accurate environmental impact reporting. Verified quality data provides a continuity that compensates for the vagaries of changing political decisions such as the funding or defunding of any particular nation’s environmental protection agency.

When armed with “good” data, designers are in a unique position to present options, early in decision-making stages, that simultaneously provide elegant solutions and improve the environmental profile of a project. Multiplying these effects by all of the projects of even a single designer who employs LCA over the course of a career creates a material environmental benefit. This chapter presents an overview of the LCI data and the environmental impact assessment tools available to designers working at the building scale.