Ecological life cycle analysis (LCA) on the example of materials used in warehouse buildings

Construction cannot be called as an environment friendly process, hence many solutions are being developed to define the negative interactions of the buildings, determine the extent of environmental impact and find alternatives to improve design performance. The paper examines environment impacts of two warehouses using LCA methodology that has been widely applied in the construction sector, since 1990, taking into consideration life cycle stages from cradle to grave with separate summary for product stage, construction process, use stage and end of life. Phase of the building operational energy use is not discussed in the article. Paper focuses on evaluation of building materials instead of operations of facilities. Analysis takes into account following environment impacts: GlobalWarming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Photochemical Ozone Formation Potential (POFP) and Non-Hazardous Waste Disposed (NHWD). The main conclusion derived from the received results of the warehouse buildings case study is that the product stage is a particularly important phase of the life cycle, as it reveals the highest levels of emissivity impacts among the analyzed stages. The paper indicates materials that are responsible for the greatest impacts.