The Construction Sector's Environmental Calculation Tool, Climate Calculation Test

Lifecycle Analysis Calculations Demonstration Project

In 2018, Stockholm's Environmental Administration initiated a demonstration project for lifecycle analysis calculations. One of the aims was to test and evaluate a climate calculation tool (BM1.0) developed by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute in collaboration with the KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The tool calculates the carbon footprint of buildings from a lifecycle perspective. Numerous climate calculations have been conducted by, among others, municipal housing companies in Stockholm, and important lessons have been learned. At the same time, guidelines for climate calculations have been developed.

Background

The climate impact of the construction and property sector has increasingly gained attention in Sweden in recent years. Studies have shown that constructing an energy-efficient building causes as much climate impact as heating the building for 50 years. In 2018, the construction and property sector in Sweden was responsible for emissions of greenhouse gases (domestic emissions and imports) of approximately 17.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. The domestic emissions from the sector accounted for 20.6 per cent of Sweden's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.

To identify the main source of climate emissions and potential reduction measures, all developers in Stockholm Royal Seaport are to perform climate calculations for buildings. To date, the results have been diverse and difficult to compare, as there has been a lack of a unified methodology.

With the development of the Building Sector's Environmental Calculation Tool (BM) by IVL, in collaboration with the City of Stockholm and other municipalities, a sector-wide approach was introduced. The lifecycle analysis demonstration project has contributed to the tool being tested and evaluated by several actors, including municipal housing companies testing the tool on buildings and the Development Administration on facilities.

Purpose and goal

The project's aim has been to test the usability of BM as a tool to calculate carbon footprint and evaluate climate requirements, with the aim of being able to set clear and verifiable lifecycle analysis (LCA) requirements during land allocation, the design phase, and procurement stage for buildings and facilities.

Results and experiences

The project has resulted in, among other things:

• A large number of climate calculations as a basis for instructions and requirement setting.
• A climate calculation instruction that is used as guidelines for verification.

Results linked to the Stockholm Royal Seaport:

• Clearer requirement setting and methodology for calculating the carbon footprint from buildings in upcoming land allocations in the Stockholm Royal Seaport.
• Routine for climate calculation of infrastructure and facilities on public land.

Ongoing activities

The project concluded with a final seminar in March 2022. Further reading: