ISO 15686-6:2004

Buildings and constructed assets — Service life planning — Part 6: Procedures for considering environmental impacts

ISO 15686-6:2004 describes how to assess, at the design stage, the potential environmental impacts of alternative designs of a constructed asset. It identifies the interface between environmental life cycle assessment and service life planning (SLP).

Bâtiments et biens immobiliers construits — Prévision de la durée de vie — Partie 6: Procédés pour la considération d'effets sur l'environnement

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 06-Sep-2004
• Withdrawal Date: 06-Sep-2004
• ICS: 91.040.01 - Buildings in general
• Technical Committee: ISO/TC 59/SC 14 - Design life
• Drafting Committee: ISO/TC 59/SC 14 - Design life
• Current Stage: 9599 - Withdrawal of International Standard
• Completion Date: 14-Mar-2013

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 15686-6
First edition
2004-09-01

Buildings and constructed assets —
Service life planning —
Part 6:
Procedures for considering
environmental impacts
Bâtiments et biens immobiliers construits — Prévision de la durée de
vie —
Partie 6: Procédés pour la considération d'effets sur l'environnement




Reference number
ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
©
ISO 2004

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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 15686-6 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59, Building construction, Subcommittee SC 14,
Design life.
It is closely related to standards in the ISO 14000 series (environmental management). While it does not
conflict with these, it complements them by describing how environmental management standards, especially
ISO 14040, may be implemented in the context of ISO 15686.
ISO 15686 consists of the following parts, under the general title Buildings and constructed assets — Service
life planning:
 Part 1: General principles
 Part 2: Service life prediction procedures
 Part 3: Performance audits and reviews
 Part 5: Whole life costing
 Part 6: Procedures for considering environmental impacts
 Part 7: Performance evaluation for feedback of service life data from existing construction works
 Part 8: Reference service life
Part 4 is under preparation.
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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
Introduction
Buildings and other constructed assets will require care from the initial proposal through to design,
construction, operation, maintenance and disposal if they are to meet the required levels of performance.
ISO 15686-1 and ISO 15686-2 explain the principles of service life planning (SLP) for different types of
constructed assets, components and assemblies. This part of ISO 15686 defines how and when to include
environmental aspects into the design of a constructed asset. It provides a procedure for assessing the
relative environmental impacts of design options and it identifies the interface between environmental life
cycle assessment (LCA) and SLP. The approach allows for consistent comparisons to be made between two
or more design options taking the relevant factors from SLP into account.
The target audience for this part of ISO 15686 includes the client, design professionals and consultants, and
the entire decision supply chain represented in the design team. It will also be relevant to stakeholders and
specialists providing information on service life and on environmental impacts.

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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 15686-6:2004(E)

Buildings and constructed assets — Service life planning —
Part 6:
Procedures for considering environmental impacts
1 Scope
This part of ISO 15686 describes how to assess, at the design stage, the potential environmental impacts of
alternative designs of a constructed asset. It identifies the interface between environmental life cycle
assessment and service life planning (SLP).
NOTE In order to illustrate the context of ISO 15686-6, other performance criteria are referred to, but they are not
defined within its scope.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. 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, Building and civil engineering — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terms
ISO/TR 14025, Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations
ISO 14040, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this idocument, the terms and definitions given in ISO 6707-1, ISO/TR 14025, ISO 14040
and the following apply.
3.1
product
produce of the building sector, from materials through components, elements and systems to entire buildings
and constructed assets
3.2
design option
one of several product alternatives that is a candidate for inclusion into the design, including functionality and
service provided
3.3
design team
individuals involved in the decision-making process affecting the service life of the constructed asset
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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
3.4
environmental aspect
element of an organization's activities or products or services that can interact with the environment
[ISO 14001:—, definition 3.5]
3.5
environmental impact
any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an
organization's environmental aspects
[ISO 14001:—, definition 3.6]
4 Description of the procedure for considering environmental impacts
4.1 General
Environmental impacts associated with constructed assets can be significant and should often be addressed
in project planning. Every product has some impact on the environment. These impacts can occur at any or all
phases of the product's life cycle and can be local, regional or global, or a combination of all three.
NOTE Improvements in one aspect of concern can lead to a reduction of performance in another field. This part of
ISO 15686 does not give any recommendation concerning the balance between environmental and other aspects.
4.2 Integrating environmental assessment into SLP
The assessment of environmental impacts of a design option should in most practical cases be performed in
parallel with technical and economic assessments. In general, these assessments have a common purpose:
information about the product should be assessed in order to provide the decision maker, and other
stakeholders, with comprehensive and reliable information about the product's performance. As constructed
assets have long service lives, some of the underlying information should be drawn from the product
application context and from scenarios concerning technical and economic performance, as well as user-
related aspects. The assessment deals with predicted performance, and may not give the same result as a
post-life retrospective performance evaluation. The purpose of SLP is to create a realistic picture of the
predicted performance and to make such performance scenarios more accurate.
The early incorporation of internal and external interests, representing a broad sphere of bodies from
stakeholders to the planning team, will assist in successfully addressing environmental aspects. This early
involvement in the setting and communication of environmental goals as well as participation in the
assessment procedure decreases the potential of a conflict of interests. Results of environmental assessment
are intended to allow the design team to include environmental aspects into their decision making.
Comparing and assessing the relative environmental impacts of design options require detailed information
about these options and the context of their application. Usually, LCA-based environmental information about
construction products and their supply chain can be acquired for early life cycle phases of these products (see
Figure 3). Direct comparisons of product or design alternatives should include information concerning use
phase and end of life (see ISO/TR 14025 and ISO 21930). Consequently, for later life cycle phases (scenarios
from current position to end of life), the assessor will have to complete the information by adding estimates for
the processes in the other significant life cycle phases. The service life should be predicted on the basis of
product performance as well as the expected application context, where relevant.
When integrating environmental assessment into SLP, the predicted service life of a design option should
reflect the current application. The better the scenarios for service life, including maintenance and exposure to
deterioration processes, reflect the current situation and the more they are based on information determined
with reference to other parts of ISO 15686, the more accurate the assessment will be.
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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
4.3 Positioning in project planning and the life cycle
The exercise of SLP and environmental assessment may occur prior to, or during, any phase in the life cycle
of a constructed asset.
The client's brief as well as building regulations have significant influence on the formulation of the initial
concept for the project. Goals identified in regulations and the client's brief, paired with goals in the
management routines of the parties represented in the project team can be translated into performance
requirements. In relation to these requirements, a technical, economic and environmental assessment should
be carried out, as indicated in Figure 1. Depending on the degree to which a design option fulfils the
performance requirements, the project team can make the decision whether or not to include a design option.
Again, the level of detail of an assessment and the character of the underlying information depend on the
current phase in project planning. Early in the planning process, as in the initial design stage, the information
will be less accurate and more general and directional. Later, in detailed design, many decisions concerning
the constructed asset have already been made and the assessment can be made in more detail. Meanwhile,
the earlier the design team considers environmental matters, the easier it will be to identify design solutions
that meet identified requirements. Decisions, as well as underlying information, should be well documented
and ultimately be included in the project documentation.

Figure 1 — Technical, economic and environmental assessment in SLP and the location of
project planning in the life cycle of the building/constructed asset
4.4 Design options and functional equivalency
When there are options available to fulfil a requirement, the goal is to enable the decision maker to make a
tentative decision and to implement the option that best meets the requirements.
NOTE 1 Identification of design options is not considered in this part of ISO 15686.
In order to make meaningful comparisons of options, their functional equivalency should be determined. When
that equivalency has been established, the decision should be based on criteria such as initial cost, whole life
cost and environmental impacts, or a combination of these. In this context, some criteria may be assigned
greater importance than others.
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ISO 15686-6:2004(E)
Fitness for purpose should be included in the technical assessment. To make a meaningful environmental
comparison between two design options, they should be equivalent in their fitness for purpose and other
technical criteria. Economic criteria may not necessarily be equivalent.
NOTE 2 It is not within the scope of this part of ISO 15686 to advise on methods to determine functional equivalency,
nor to advise on the balance between various aspects of performance.
LCA methodology requires comparative assessments to be based on a common “functional unit”. For LCA in
SLP, the functional unit should correspond to the identified performance requirements. This means that the
functional equivalency should comprise aspects of performance of the options as well as of the constructed
asset, where relevant (see Figure 2).
After identifying functionally equivalent options, environmental information for these options should be
gathered and assessed. As the design team is not necessarily a team of LCA practitioners, they may rely on
external sources for LCA data. In
...