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The Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) is hosting its 2019 conference in Sydney on 5 & 6 March. This is a great opportunity to get on top of the latest developments in the field of LCA, meet (inter)national experts and talk to your peers.
For more information and to register: https://www.lcaconference.com.au/2019conference
At the conference, Rob Rouwette will present on the development of a regional PCR Appendix for the asphalt sector.
He will also lead an interactive session about whether products should be penalised if they don't have high-quality LCI data. This topic should make for an interesting discussion and we look forward to your input!
Congratulations to ACCIONA Energy for publishing the Environmental Product Declaration for "Mt. Gellibrand wind farm" under the International EPD System.
ACCIONA Energy is one of the world's largest developers and operators dedicated to the production of electricity exclusively from renewable sources. ACCIONA has developed and operates wind, solar, hydro and biomass power assets in over 20 countries. This environmental product declaration (EPD®) describes the lifecycle environmental impact of Mt. Gellibrand wind farm (132 MW, in Victoria, Australia), per (functional unit) "1 kWh of net electricity generated by the wind farm and distributed to a high voltage grid (66 KV)."
This is the first EPD of a renewable energy project in Australia. The full lifecycle approach shows in a transparent and verified way how low the greenhouse gas emissions of the electricity generated actually are.
Congratulations to all involved!
start2see is proud to have assisted ACCIONA Energy with the verification of its LCA and EPD.
A webinar on Thursday 29th November 2018 outlined the basics of Environmental Product Declaration (EPDs).
Presenters:
- Stephen Mitchell – Australasian EPD Programme
- Rob Rouwette – start2see
- Jeff Vickers – thinkstep ANZ
The webinar covered:
- EPDs: what are they and what they aren't
- The environmental impacts included
- Examples of basic comparison between functional units
- Overview of how EPDs are being used by third-parties (e.g. within Green Star tools and ISCA rating systems)
- 9 reason why (and how) companies use EPDs
The full webinar slides are available here and the full webinar can be viewed on the video below.
Congratulations to New Zealand Steel (a wholly owned subsidiary of BlueScope Steel) for publishing the Environmental Product Declaration for "COLORSTEEL® ENDURA and COLORSTEEL® MAXX" under the Australasian EPD Programme.
COLORSTEEL® ENDURA is a roofing solution for mild and moderate to severe environments, while COLORSTEEL® MAXX has been specifically developed to withstand higher atmospheric salt concentrations, making it perfectly suited to more extreme building environments, including near New Zealand's rugged coast.
Through the publication of this EPD, New Zealand Steel allows a comprehensive consideration of the environmental performance of its products to match its technical performance. Congratulations to all involved!
start2see is proud to have assisted New Zealand Steel with the verification of its LCA and EPD.
start2see has worked with the Australian Asphalt Pavement Associaton (AAPA) in developing an Australian PCR appendix for asphalt mixtures.
The document describes additional Product Category Rules for the assessment of the environmental performance of the product category asphalt mixtures (UN CPC 1533 & 3794). It outlines additional criteria to the main PCR for asphalt mixtures (PCR 2018:04 version 1.01; date 2018-10-10) published by the International EPD System for setting out the parameters to prepare an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD®) according to ISO14025 and EN15804.
A draft is available for open consultation until 2018-12-04. Any stakeholder may comment on the draft by completing the approved feedback form and submitting to the Australasian EPD Programme Secretariat ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). Any questions on the document should be submitted to the PCR appendix moderator ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).
The PCR appendix is compliant with the main PCR, EN15804 and General Programme Instructions v3.0, and the Australasian Annex to the General Programme Instructions.
The draft PCR appendix on Asphalt mixtures for public consultation as well as the template for feedback can be accessed here.
start2see has recently updated the ISCA Materials Calculator to v2.0 (ISv2.0). (ISAP's can download ISv2.0 after logging in to ISCA's website portal.)
You might have heard us talk at the ISCA conference in Sydney on October 18, about how ISv2.0 has been aligned with EN 15804 compliant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). start2see and ISCA have developed a simple one-page document to assist the infrastructure sector in understanding how EPD data can be entered directly into the new calculator, making it easier to compare products and use those with the lowest environmental impact.
Furthermore, through its ISupply program, ISCA is providing manufacturers with an opportunity to have their branded products included in the ISv2.0 calculator. If you want to make the most of your EPDs and add your products to the calculator, then get in touch with ISCA or start2see. You can also contact us if you have any questions about EPDs or the ISv2.0 Materials Calculator in general. We're happy to help.
Pacific Steel (NZ) Ltd has finalised its Environmental Product Declaration for "SEISMIC® Steel reinforcing bar, coil, rod and wire" under the Australasian EPD Programme.
These reinforcing products are manufactured by Pacific Steel at its Otahuhu based mill in Auckland, New Zealand. As a result of the publication of this EPD, life cycle assessment studies for the New Zealand construction, building and infrastructure sectors can be done with greater accuracy and robustness. Congratulations to all involved!
start2see is proud to have assisted Pacific Steel (NZ) with the verification of its LCA and EPDs.
NXT TEC has completed the first Australian Environmental Product Declaration for a whole building under the Australasian EPD Programme. The Wyndham LUX hotel in Perth showcases the versatility and capability of the NXT™ Building System. The eight storey, 10-level, luxury hotel features 120 rooms and contemporary hospitality facilities. Utilising the core technologies of NXT™ Building System, the Wyndham LUX Perth project will deliver a five-star luxury hotel within 12 months from foundation to completion. The Hotel was designed by NXT using only NXT™ Technology components, which will be manufactured locally to specification for on-site assembly. Each technology plays an important role within the NXT™ Building System and, when manufactured to scale for this project, they will work together to result in a fully-functioning showcase of the system. Although materials are prefabricated, Wyndham LUX Perth will be an attractive, architecturally-designed structure rivalling the aesthetics of conventional construction hospitality builds. The critical differences, however, include the time, budget, onsite wastage and quality of the final product, for all of which NXT's Wyndham LUX Perth Hotel produces superior results.
start2see is proud to have assisted NXT TEC with the verification of its LCA and EPD.
Downer EDI has completed the first Australian Environmental Product Declaration for a trainset under the Australasian EPD Programme. The EPD for Sydney Growth Trains has been published only days after the first train has entered service for Transport for NSW.
start2see is proud to have assisted Downer EDI with the verification of its LCA and EPD.
start2see has completed its update of the ISv2.0 Materials Calculator.
The new calculator is scheduled to be released as part of the broader ISv2.0 launch on July 1.
Users will see a significant improvement in the way the calculator works, with more materials and options to choose from. start2see has given it a fresh new look and added graphs to allow a much easier interpretation of results and assist with testing project design changes. Furthermore, the IS EnviroPoints methodology has been aligned with the impact assessment method used in EN 15804 compliant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), providing manufacturers with a direct pathway for their low environmental impact products to be rewarded.
Keep an eye out for the launch of ISv2.0, or contact start2see if you have any questions about the existing or new IS Materials Calculator.
Are you looking to add an Infrastructure Sustainability Accredited Professional (ISAP) to your next project team?
We would be happy to talk to you!
Rob Rouwette was the first person in Australia to achieve Certified Professional status by the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment (in 2011).
In 2015, the Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS) and Life Cycle Association of New Zealand (LCANZ) adopted the American LCA Certified Professional scheme. Australian and New Zealand LCA professionals can now have their knowledge of LCA practice independently tested. The certificates are mutually recognised across the participating countries. For information on how to become certified, click here.
You can trust start2see to provide you with expert LCA advice. start2see achieves to work towards the highest international standards.
Contact start2see to find out more.
"You can't manage what you don't measure"
Our services evolve around life cycle assessments and life cycle thinking. The overarching aim is to help clients understand and quantify environmental issues. A whole-of-life approach is essential if we are to make better decisions and become more sustainable.
A detailed understanding of the relevant topics and contributors enables our clients to undertake positive action. start2see is proud to be a part of this process.