Dynamic and Traditional Life Cycle Assessment of a “zero carbon” Wall Element

Abstract

This study assesses the environmental impact of zoë wall elements that are in development in a Climate-KIC project. The concept of zoë elements is not only to construct with modules but also to use sustainable building materials exclusively. The high biogenic carbon amount of the zoë elements suggested a traditional as well as a dynamic LCA study. The traditional LCA is done in accordance with ISO14040 (Finkbeiner et al. (2006)) and the dynamic LCA with the approach proposed by Levasseur et al. (2010). Two different designs of zoë elements were compared with conventional wall systems commonly used in Switzerland. The life cycle of each wall system takes three different end of life scenarios into account: landfill, energy recovery and material recycling. The study shows that it is advisable to apply a dynamic LCA method in the case of construction elements containing a substantial amount of biogenic carbon. The results reveal that in essence the zoë products perform environmentally remarkably better than the conventional products. In conclusion, it can be stated that the use of biogenic materials for building products is environmentally friendly. Specifically, using fast growing biogenic materials has higher benefits than the use of slow growing biogenic materials.