BS EN 15978

BS EN 15978
Title	BS EN 15978
Type	Standard
Year	2011
Issuer	British Standards Institution; European Committee for Standardization
Subject	Assessment of environmental performance of buildings

BS EN 15978

BS EN 15978 is a European standard that sets out a method for assessing the environmental performance of buildings, focusing on life cycle assessment, environmental impact indicators, and modules for construction, use, and end-of-life. It was published amid concurrent developments in sustainability frameworks and interacts with numerous international, national, and sectoral institutions concerned with building performance, environmental policy, and product certification. The standard is referenced by building regulators, professional bodies, certification schemes, and research organisations across Europe and beyond.

Overview

BS EN 15978 provides a calculation framework, modules, and reporting requirements that align with other architectural, engineering, and sustainability initiatives championed by bodies such as the European Committee for Standardization, the British Standards Institution, the International Organization for Standardization, the World Green Building Council, and the United Nations Environment Programme. It informs life cycle inventory approaches used by organisations including the Carbon Trust, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, and it is often cited alongside sustainability assessment schemes such as BREEAM, LEED (United States Green Building Council), and DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council). The standard is used by consultants, manufacturers, and academics linked to institutions like the University of Cambridge, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Delft University of Technology, the ETH Zurich, and the Politecnico di Milano.

Scope and Objectives

The objective of BS EN 15978 is to define a harmonised method for evaluating the life cycle environmental performance of buildings across modules that correspond to construction stages, use, and end-of-life, reflecting policy frameworks developed by entities such as the European Commission, national ministries like the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, professional regulators like the Royal Institute of British Architects, and sector programmes such as the EU Green Public Procurement criteria. The scope covers whole-building assessment, encouraging alignment with product standards including those from the International Electrotechnical Commission and material sector protocols practiced by organisations like CEN/TC 350 and national bodies such as the German Institute for Standardization. It aims to produce comparable outputs useful to stakeholders ranging from local authorities like the Greater London Authority to multinational developers and financial institutions including the European Investment Bank.

Methodology and Calculation Framework

The methodology in BS EN 15978 applies life cycle assessment (LCA) principles compatible with standards promulgated by the International Organization for Standardization (notably ISO 14040 and ISO 14044) and integrates environmental indicators that mirror impact categories used in studies by research centres such as IRSTEA, Fraunhofer, TNO, and CIRAD. It divides the life cycle into modules that correspond to concepts familiar to practitioners from the Royal Academy of Engineering, lifecycle thinking taught at universities such as Imperial College London and TU Delft, and product category rules developed by the European Platform on Life Cycle Assessment. Calculations rely on life cycle inventory databases like those maintained by Ecoinvent, GaBi, and ELCD, and are implemented using software tools designed by vendors associated with organisations such as One Click LCA and SimaPro BV. The framework defines mandatory and optional reporting elements, mirroring disclosure practices recommended by bodies like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures and standards referenced by the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.

Application and Implementation

Practitioners apply BS EN 15978 in projects overseen by authorities and clients including the City of Copenhagen, the Government of France, and private developers working with certification schemes such as WELL Building Standard, Living Building Challenge, and national variants of Passivhaus Institut certification. Implementation involves cross-disciplinary teams from organisations like the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, consultancies akin to Arup, Atkins, and AECOM, and product manufacturers collaborating with test houses such as BRE Global and UL (Underwriters Laboratories). Results from assessments feed into planning consents, procurement frameworks used by entities such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and corporate sustainability reporting by firms listed on exchanges like London Stock Exchange and Euronext.

Limitations and Criticism

Critiques of BS EN 15978 have been raised in the literature and by stakeholder groups including academic researchers at University College London, policy analysts at the Institute for Environmental Studies, and consultants active in the Sustainable Development Unit. Common concerns include data quality and representativeness in life cycle inventory databases such as Ecoinvent and GaBi, allocation rules challenged by life cycle practitioners linked to ISO, and boundary choices debated in forums hosted by the European Commission and the International Energy Agency. Others note the complexity of integrating operational performance measured by smart-building platforms from companies like Siemens or Schneider Electric and the difficulty of reflecting embodied carbon targets promoted by networks such as the World Resources Institute and C40 Cities. These criticisms have prompted iterative updates to guidance and complementary technical documents from standards committees like CEN/TC 350 and national bodies like the British Standards Institution.

Relationship to Other Standards

BS EN 15978 interoperates with ISO standards on LCA (ISO 14040, ISO 14044), with construction product standards referenced by CEN/TC 350, and with environmental product declaration frameworks such as EN 15804 and programmes maintained by the International EPD System, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU), and the EPD Norway. It is often used in concert with building energy standards and regulations from authorities like the European Committee for Standardization and national building codes in countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. The standard’s outputs inform certification criteria for schemes including BREEAM, LEED (United States Green Building Council), and DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council), and are referenced in policy initiatives led by the European Commission and international agreements discussed at forums like the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Category:Standards