Life Cycle Analysis is a tool for understanding the environmental impact (represented by a series of outcomes such as global warming, acidification, eutrophication, etc.) of a material or product, coupled with first and future economic costs, from resource extraction to ultimate disposal. The LCA process has emerged as a resource for industrial design, especially when used with robust datasets.

This session will discuss the application of LCA to the building design realm, and what limitations arise in that application. Using persistent bioaccumulative toxins as an example, this session will show that the conventional LCA approach can result in outcome bias. Given this bias, supplementary tools are needed. One such tool is the Materials Red List, a list of substances known to have ill effects on human health and the greater ecosystem. This session will cover the substances on the Materials Red List, describing their effects and safer substitutes. Finally, this session will discuss the role of the Precautionary Principle when making product and building design decisions.

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More Info about Living Building Leader

The Living Building Challenge^TM is Cascadia’s call to the building design and construction community to pursue true sustainability in the built environment. Imagine a building that  generates all of its own energy with renewable non-toxic resources, captures and treats all of its water, and operates efficiently and for maximum beauty. Now imagine an industry ready to design and construct such buildings: Living Buildings!

The Living Building Leader^TM program consists of a series of intensive, advanced sessions in green building topics, taught by experts in the diverse fields that underpin the multidisciplinary field that is green building.