Evaluation of the LCA approaches for the assessment of embodied energy of building products

In this study among current approaches that involve usage of LCA that are employed in different countries and established by different institutions, Athena, BEAM, BEES, BREEAM, DGNB, EcoHomes, GaBi, Green Star and LEED are studied. Findings related to General Information, Usage Features, LCA Processes, Environmental Impact Assessment Criteria, Features of Assessment and Energy in Environmental Impact Assessment Criteria of Evaluated Tools are given and tools are compared related to these subjects. Comparison and evaluation of embodied energy criteria in selected tools that evaluate environmental impacts that have occurred throughout the lifespan of building products present the importance of product decision processes in building design. Appropriate product decision requires an adequate level of product information and this necessitates an information database. Besides, development of weightings, grading, and/or calculation methods that are appropriate to countries and regions where the evaluation tool is used is important in terms of effectiveness and productivity of the evaluation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.