Learn about life-cycle assessment (LCA) for the LEED Green Associate Exam. Understand how LCA quantifies environmental impacts of materials, products & projects.
Table of Contents
Question
Which of the following approaches refers to the identification and quantification of environmental effects throughout the life of the materials and products used in a project as well as the project itself?
A. Commissioning
B. Integrative process
C. Life-cycle costing (LCC)
D. Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
Answer
D. Life-cycle assessment (LCA)
Explanation
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the approach that refers to the identification and quantification of environmental effects throughout the life of the materials and products used in a project as well as the project itself.
LCA evaluates the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service from cradle to grave, or from raw material extraction to disposal or reuse. LCA considers various impact categories, such as global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, smog formation potential, and human health impacts.
LCA can help to compare the environmental performance of different design options, select more sustainable materials and products, and reduce the environmental footprint of a project.
Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is the approach that refers to identifying and quantifying the environmental effects throughout the life of materials, products, and the project itself.
LCA looks at impacts across the full lifecycle, from raw material extraction, to manufacturing, transportation, installation, product use, and ultimately disposal or recycling at the end of a product or project’s useful life. LCA quantifies effects such as embodied energy, carbon footprint, resource depletion, air and water pollution, and waste generation.
The goal of LCA is to comprehensively understand the total environmental burdens associated with a product or project, in order to identify opportunities to minimize negative impacts and support more sustainable choices. LCA helps inform decisions about material and product selection in green building projects pursuing LEED certification.
In contrast, commissioning (A) focuses on verifying that building systems perform as intended. Integrative process (B) emphasizes collaboration early in design but does not specifically involve lifecycle impact quantification. Life-cycle costing (C) considers project costs over the full lifecycle but is an economic rather than environmental analysis. So LCA (D) is the best answer to this question.
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