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INSTRUCTOR:  
W. Adam Slivers, C.E., S.E., M.ASCE 
Dirk Kestner, P.E., M.ASCE, LEED AP BD+C

Course Length:  1 hour

Sponsored by ASCE's Structural Engineering Institute and ASCE Continuing Education.

View all webinars related to Life-Cycle Assessment.

Purpose and Background

By 2015, an estimated 40-48% of new nonresidential construction by value will be green, but you don't need to be a skeptic to agree that a "green building" is a subjective label. Can practices such as locally-sourced materials really make a difference on the man-made impacts to air, water and soil? Now with the integration of detailed environmental research and material database software, it is possible to estimate the environmental impacts attributed to making a product or performing an activity. This is called life cycle assessment (LCA). A whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) is a standardized assessment of environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a building's life, starting from the extraction of raw materials, including construction, operation, and maintenance, and ending with disposal. This webinar will introduce the concept of life cycle assessment and how it can be used to make improvements to building design.

Primary Discussion Topics

• Life cycle inventory data collection
• Embodied and operational impacts
• LCA credits in green building rating systems, such as LEED
• Steps to conducting LCA with software
• Examples of WBLCA in structural design

 Learning Outcomes

• Become familiar with LCA software
• Understand level of effort to conducting a WBLCA
• Know what improvements can be made using LCA
• Understand the role structure plays in impacts
• Define the standard scope LCA and its limitations
• Recognize opportunities to use LCA

 Webinar Benefits

• Provide green construction value to clients
• Know how traditional green design practices measure up
• Use cutting-edge technology to gain LEED credits
• List the biggest green improvements structural engineering can offer
• Hear the pitfalls of using LCA incorrectly

 Intended Audience

• Consulting design professionals: structural engineers, site civil engineers, architects, green building consultants, project managers
• Developers, project managers, owner's representatives
• Construction professionals: product sales, support technicians, and general contractors

Webinar Outline

• Life cycle assessment scope and phases
• How emissions to environment convert to impact categories
• Available LCA software for buildings
• Green building rating credits for LCA
• Relative impacts of different materials, components, and building phases
• Example of WBLCA in design using LEED v4