ISO/DIS 21929-2.2

DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/DIS 21929-2.2
ISO/TC 59/SC 17 Secretariat: AFNOR.2
Voting begins on Voting terminates on
2013-06-12 2013-08-12

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION • МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ПО СТАНДАРТИЗАЦИИ • ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION

Développement durable dans la construction — Indicateurs de développement durable —

Partie 2: Cadre pour le développement d'indicateurs pour les ouvrages de génie civil

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Foreword ............................................................................................................................................................ iv

Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... v

1 Scope ...................................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Normative references ............................................................................................................................ 2

3 Terms and definitions ........................................................................................................................... 2

4 General rules for sustainability indicators development and its framework .................................. 8

4.1 General ................................................................................................................................................... 8

4.2 Relationship to ISO 15392 and other general principles ................................................................. 11

4.3 Rules for the development of indicators........................................................................................... 12

4.4 Framework of sustainability indicators ............................................................................................. 13

5 Sustainability topics ............................................................................................................................ 17

5.1 General ................................................................................................................................................. 17

5.2 Description of topics ........................................................................................................................... 20

6 Development of a system of sustainability indicators .................................................................... 29

6.1 General ................................................................................................................................................. 29

6.2 Rules for developing a system of indicators .................................................................................... 30

6.3 Usability of sustainability indicators ................................................................................................. 30

6.4 Users of indicators .............................................................................................................................. 31

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................................... 33

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ISO 21929-2 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59, Buildings and civil engineering works,

This second/third/... edition cancels and replaces the first/second/... edition (), [clause(s) / subclause(s) /

table(s) / figure(s) / annex(es)] of which [has / have] been technically revised.

ISO 21929 consists of the following parts, under the general title Draft of sustainability in buildings and civil

 Part 1: Framework for the development of indicators and a core set of indicators for buildings

 Part 2: Framework for the development of indicators for civil engineering works

This part of ISO 21929 describes and gives guidelines for the development of sustainability indicators related

to civil engineering works and defines the topics of civil engineering works to consider when developing

These guidelines form a basis for the suite of ISO/TC 59 standards intended to address specific issues and

aspects of sustainability relevant to construction works. The issue of sustainable development is broad and of

global concern, and, as such, involves all communities and interested parties. Both current and future needs

define the extent to which economic, environmental and social aspects are considered in a sustainable

The built environment (buildings and civil engineering works) is a key element in determining quality of life,

and contributes to cultural identity and heritage. As such, it is an important factor in the appreciation of the

The building and construction sector is highly important for sustainable development because:

 it has a significant interface with poverty reduction through the provision of improved basic economic and

 it is one of the single largest industrial sectors and, while providing value and employment, it uses

considerable resources, with consequential impacts on economic and social conditions and the

 it creates the built environment, which represents a significant share of the economic assets of

individuals, organizations and nations, providing societies with their physical and functional environment;

 it has considerable opportunity to show improvement relative to its economic, environmental and social

Over their life cycle, construction works absorb considerable resources and contribute to the transformation of

areas. As a result, they can have considerable economic consequences, and impacts on the environment and

While the challenge of sustainable development is global, the strategies for addressing sustainability in civil

engineering works are essentially local and differ in context and content from region to region. These

strategies reflect the context, the preconditions and the priorities and needs, not only in the built environment,

but also in the social environment. This social environment includes social equity, cultural issues, traditions,

heritage issues, human health and comfort, social infrastructure and safe and healthy environments.

It can, in addition, particularly in developing countries, include poverty reduction, job creation, access to safe,

This part of ISO 21929 defines a framework for the development of sustainability indicators for civil

engineering works based on the premise that sustainable development of civil engineering works brings about

the required performance and functionality with minimum adverse environmental impact, while encouraging

improvements in economic and social (and cultural) aspects at local, regional and global levels. This part of

Indicators are figures or other qualitative or descriptive measures that enable information on a complex

phenomenon, like environmental impact, to be simplified into a form that is relatively easy to use and

The three main functions of indicators are quantification, simplification and communication. Targets can also

be set with the help of indicators. Changes in a civil engineering works over time and the development of

changes in relation to stated objectives can be monitored with the help of indicators. One of the important

functions of an indicator with reference to decision-making is its potential to show a trend.

When developing and selecting indicators, the starting point is the identification of the main users and user

needs. Sustainability indicators for civil engineering works are needed in decision-making by a number of

 Governmental and non-governmental organizations (considering interest groups both at national and at

The civil engineering and construction sector needs sustainability indicators both for its own decision-making

within design, production and management as well as for indicating to the public and to clients the economic,

environmental or social impact of civil engineering works, their products and related processes.

Indicators, as well as sets and systems of indicators, for the specification, assessment and representation of

the contribution of a civil engineering works to sustainable development can be used in many different ways.

 design and decision making process(es) during the planning, and design stage of a civil engineering

works (e.g., incorporation in the design of sustainable material, technologies, processes and other

 specification and verification of environmental and social requirements in the context of procurement;

 measuring, monitoring or evaluating the sustainability performance and achievement of objectives over

 representation of activities and results in the context of responsibility towards the economy, environment

NOTE The monitoring and evaluation of objectives can contribute to the continual improvement related to a specific

This part of ISO 21929 is one in a suite of International Standards dealing with sustainability in buildings and

civil engineering works, which includes ISO 15392, ISO 21929-1, ISO 21930, ISO 21931-1, along with the

terminology of sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works (future ISO/TR 21932).

Figure 1 — Suite of related International Standards for sustainability in buildings and civil engineering

This part of ISO 21929 establishes a list of topics which should be taken as the basis for the development of

sustainability indicators for assessing the sustainability performance of new or existing civil engineering works,

related to their design, construction, operation, maintenance, refurbishment and end-of-life. Together, the

indicators developed from this list of topics provide measures to express the contribution of a civil engineering

works to sustainability and sustainable development. The developed indicators should represent aspects of

civil engineering works that impact on issues of concern related to sustainability and sustainable development.

The object of consideration in this part of ISO 21929 is a civil engineering works, a part of the civil engineering

NOTE The topics described in this part of ISO 21929 are intended to be used for all types of civil engineering works.

Development of specific sets of indicators for different typologies of civil engineering works (industrial processes

infrastructures; linear infrastructures; dams and other fluvial works; maritime works; public spaces; other civil engineering

works-not contained in the previous typologies) will be the subject of future standardization work.

 includes a framework for developing sustainability indicators for use in the assessment of economic,

 establishes a core set of topics, which should be taken into account, when developing systems of

 describes how to use sustainability indicators with regard to civil engineering works; and

This part of ISO 21929 follows the principles set out in ISO 15392 and, where appropriate, is intended to be

used in conjunction with, and following the principles set out in, ISO 26000, ISO 14040 and the family of

International Standards that includes ISO 14020, ISO 14021, ISO 14024 and ISO 14025. Where deviation

occurs or where more specific requirements are stated, this part of ISO 21929 takes precedence.

This part of ISO 21929 does not give guidelines for the weighting of indicators or the aggregation of

The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are

indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references,

the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 6707-1:2004, Building and civil engineering — Vocabulary — Part 1: General Terms.

ISO 14040:2006, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework.

ISO 21929-1:2011, Sustainability in building construction — Sustainability indicators — Part 1: Framework for

ISO 21931-1:2010, Sustainability in building construction — Framework for methods of assessment of the

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 6707-1, ISO 14040, ISO 14050, ISO

15392 and the following apply. Where differences or conflicts occur, the definitions in 3.1 to 3.41 take

NOTE 1 Several terms and definitions from these other sources have been repeated below for ease of reference.

NOTE 2 ISO/TR 21932 is another source of terminological data on concepts related to sustainability in civil engineering

works and sustainable development that is applicable to the different aspects of both the construction (process) and use of

a civil engineering works and the effect of the civil engineering works on sustainability.

emissions that are not produced (are avoided) as a result of the implementation of voluntary initiatives or good

collection of man-made or induced physical objects located in a particular area or region

NOTE When treated as a whole, the built environment typically is taken to include buildings, external works

(landscaped areas), infrastructure and other construction works within the area under consideration.

construction works (3.8) comprising a structure (3.35), such as a dam (3.9), bridge, road (3.33), railway (3.29),

runway, utilities, pipeline (3.28), or sewerage system (3.35), or the result of operations such as dredging,

earthwork (3.11), geotechnical processes, but excluding a building and its associated site works

set of criteria specifying which unit processes are part of the specific analysis of a civil engineering works (3.5)

barrier constructed to retain water in order to raise its level, form a reservoir, or reduce or prevent flooding

partially enclosed or sheltered area of water where vessels may be moored or docked, used for shipping

[ISO 6707-1:2004, 3.3.69; modified by elaborating text to explicitly describe concept of basin (used) for

costs associated with an asset that are not necessarily reflected in the transaction costs between provider and

NOTE These costs may include business staffing, productivity and user costs; these can be taken into account in a

class representing an economic, environmental or social issue(s) of concern (3.20) (areas of protection) to

NOTE Issues of concern can involve either impacts (3.13) or aspects related to the economy, the environment or the

quantitative, qualitative or descriptive measure representative of one or more impact categories (3.14)

NOTE 1 Periodic evaluation and monitoring using indicators can show direction of any impact (3.13).

NOTE 2 Derived from the definitions of ‘impact category indicator’ in ISO 14040: 2006, 3.40 and ‘indicators’ in

indicator (3.15) that does not express the subject of interest directly or only expresses it in a proxy way

area or combination of areas surrounding a civil engineering works (3.5) that can be affected with changes to

their economical, environmental or social conditions by the civil engineering works’ operations throughout its

NOTE The influence area is variable and dependent on the construction works project, its location and its life cycle

(3.22) stage. As an overall approach, the influence area will be usually limited to the civil engineering works itself and its

civil engineering works (3.5), a part of the civil engineering works or a combination of several civil engineering

NOTE 1 In this part of ISO 21929, the term infrastructure is sometimes used as a synonym for civil engineering works.

NOTE 2 Used of preferred term, infrastructure, derived from the definition of civil engineering works (3.5) in

person or group concerned with or affected by the environmental performance (3.26) of a civil engineering

[ISO 21931-1:2010, 3.9; modified by making specific reference to civil engineering works.]

aspect(s) of the economy, the environment or the society that can be impacted by construction works (3.8),

EXAMPLES Asset value, cultural heritage, resources, human health and comfort, social infrastructure.

[ISO 15392:2008, 3.3, modified – The preferred term to designate this concept has been changed from ‘areas

NOTE 2 For consideration of environmental impacts and environmental aspects, the life cycle comprises all stages,

from raw material acquisition or generation of natural resources to final disposal.

NOTE 3 For consideration of economic impacts and economic aspects, in terms of costs, the life cycle comprises all

stages from construction to decommissioning. A period of analysis can be chosen to be different from the life cycle, see

cost(s) of an asset or its parts throughout its life cycle (3.22), while fulfilling its performance requirements

methodology for systematic economic evaluation of life cycle costs (3.23) over a period of analysis, as defined

NOTE Life cycle costing can address a period of analysis that covers the entire life cycle (3.22) or (a) selected

civil engineering works (3.5) characterized by its length, that transfers persons, materials or energy from one

NOTE It includes civil engineering works (3.5), such as roads (3.33), railways (3.29), bridges, pipelines (3.28) or

ability to fulfil required functions under intended use conditions or behaviour when in use

NOTE 2 The required functions address both the functionality requirements as well as the technical requirements.

period of time over which life-cycle costs (3.22) or whole-life costs (3.40) are analysed

long continuous line of pipe(s), including ancillary equipment, used for transporting liquids or gases

national or regional transport system for guided passage of wheeled vehicles on rails

waste treatment operation that serves a purpose in replacing other resources or prepares waste for such a

any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances

any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for

system of sewer(s) and ancillary works that conveys the contents to a sewage treatment works or other place

construction works (3.8) having an organized combination of connected parts designed to provide some

[ISO 6707-1; 2004, 3.1.4; modified by elaborating text to explicitly describe the concept as being an organized

substances or objects that the original holder has disposed of or intends to or is required to dispose of

NOTE 1 In this part of ISO 21929 this concept is not confined to hazardous waste.

NOTE 2 Adapted from the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and

Their Disposal (22 March 1989), Article 2 Definitions, Item 1. The wording has been simplified and the reference to

all significant and relevant initial and future costs and benefits of an asset, throughout its life cycle (3.22),

methodology for systematic economic consideration of all whole-life costs (3.40) and benefits over a period of

NOTE 1 The projected costs or benefits may include external costs (3.12) (including, for example, finance, business

NOTE 2 Whole-life costing can address a period of analysis that covers the entire life cycle (3.22) or (a) selected