ISO/TS 21931-1:2006
(Main)Sustainability in building construction — Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works — Part 1: Buildings
Sustainability in building construction — Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works — Part 1: Buildings
ISO/TS 21931:2006 provides a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings. It identifies and describes issues to be taken into account when using methods for the assessment of environmental performance for new or existing building properties in the design, construction, operation, refurbishment and deconstruction stages. It is intended be used in conjunction with, and following the principles set out in, the ISO 14000 series of International Standards.
Développement durable dans la construction — Cadre méthodologique pour l'évaluation de la performance environnementale des ouvrages — Partie 1: Bâtiments
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TECHNICAL ISO/TS
SPECIFICATION 21931-1
First edition
2006-03-01
Sustainability in building construction —
Framework for methods of assessment
for environmental performance of
construction works —
Part 1:
Buildings
Développement durable dans la construction — Cadre méthodologique
pour l'évaluation de la performance environnementale des ouvrages —
Partie 1: Bâtiments
Reference number
ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
©
ISO 2006
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope .1
2 Normative references .1
3 Terms and definitions .2
4 General aspects of environmental performance assessment .3
4.1 Overview.3
4.2 Aim of assessment .3
4.3 Interested party’s understanding of environmental performance.3
4.4 Relevance to local context.5
5 Framework for assessment of environmental performance .5
5.1 General.5
5.2 Intended use of method .6
5.3 System boundary.9
5.4 Statement of assumptions.10
5.5 Structured list of issues for environmental assessment.11
5.6 Methods for quantification of environmental performance.15
5.7 Sources of information .17
5.8 Evaluation and interpretation.17
5.9 Reporting of assessment results and report format.18
Bibliography .19
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(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.
In other circumstances, particularly when there is an urgent market requirement for such documents, a
technical committee may decide to publish other types of normative document:
— an ISO Publicly Available Specification (ISO/PAS) represents an agreement between technical experts in
an ISO working group and is accepted for publication if it is approved by more than 50 % of the members
of the parent committee casting a vote;
— an ISO Technical Specification (ISO/TS) represents an agreement between the members of a technical
committee and is accepted for publication if it is approved by 2/3 of the members of the committee casting
a vote.
An ISO/PAS or ISO/TS is reviewed after three years in order to decide whether it will be confirmed for a
further three years, revised to become an International Standard, or withdrawn. If the ISO/PAS or ISO/TS is
confirmed, it is reviewed again after a further three years, at which time it must either be transformed into an
International Standard or be withdrawn.
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/TS 21931-1 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59, Building construction, Subcommittee
SC 17, Sustainability in building construction.
ISO/TS 21931 consists of the following parts, under the general title Sustainability in building construction —
Framework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction works:
⎯ Part 1: Buildings [Technical Specification]
Construction assets other than buildings is to form the subject of a future part 2.
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
Introduction
The aim of this part of ISO/TS 21931 is to define a framework for methods of assessment for the
environmental performance of buildings.
In order to be able to communicate information to interested parties regarding the potential environmental
impact of buildings, in relation to the concept of sustainability, it is important to understand how the buildings
themselves perform in this respect and to benchmark their progress towards achieving improved performance.
To this end, assessment methods for environmental performance of buildings have been developed and have
been in use worldwide since the early 1990s. These developments have been prompted by
⎯ a shift from single performance measures to a more comprehensive set of environmental considerations,
⎯ a recognition of the benefits of proactive voluntary measures, and
⎯ the need to meet market demands for information on environmental performance.
Assessment methods for the environmental performance of buildings are the basis for demonstrating and
communicating the extent of the proactive commitment of a building’s suppliers toward achieving higher levels
of environmental performance. The methods attempt to establish an objective and comprehensive means of
simultaneously assessing a broad range of environmental considerations against explicitly declared criteria,
and to offer a summary of environmental performance.
Assessment methods for the environmental performance of buildings
⎯ provide a common and verifiable set of criteria and targets so that building owners striving for higher
environmental standards have a means of measuring, evaluating and demonstrating that effort,
⎯ provide a reference as a common basis by which building owners, design teams, contractors and
suppliers, can formulate effective environmental performance improvement strategies,
⎯ gather and organize detailed information on the building that it can be used to lower operating, financing
and insurance costs, lower vacancy rates and increase marketability, and
⎯ assist the design process by providing a clear declaration of what are considered as the key
environmental considerations and their relative importance.
Life-cycle approaches will inevitably play a greater role for setting performance criteria within methods of
assessment of overall environmental performance of buildings. However, the collection and maintenance of
current data sets for the multitude of systems and elements is not practically achievable at the moment.
Consequently, to achieve the practical goals noted above, assessment methods for the environmental
performance of buildings need to refer to a limited number of criteria and seek a balance between rigour and
practicality. This means that the deployment of LCA within the methods of assessment of overall
environmental performance of buildings must consider the significance of the individual performance criterion
within the context of the overall building performance.
Considering all these issues, there is a need to formalize an International Standard that will ensure the quality,
and comparability, of assessment methods for the environmental performance of buildings.
The purpose of this part of ISO/TS 21931 is to describe the framework and the principles behind the
assessment of the environmental performance of both new and existing buildings, taking into account the
various environmental impacts these buildings are likely to have.
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
This part of ISO/TS 21931 is part of a projected suite of standards (see Bibliography) addressing sustainability
in building construction and covering
[1]
⎯ general principles (ISO 15392) ,
[2]
⎯ terminology (ISO 21932) ,
⎯ environmental declarations of building products (ISO 21930), and
[3]
⎯ a framework for the development of indicators for buildings (ISO/TS 21929-1) .
As with ISO 21930, this part of ISO/TS 21931 deals exclusively with environmental impact and excludes
consideration of the social and economic areas that are part of sustainability.
See Figure 1.
Figure 1 — Subjects covered by the related standards
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
Sustainability in building construction — Framework for
methods of assessment for environmental performance of
construction works —
Part 1:
Buildings
1 Scope
This part of ISO/TS 21931 provides a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of
methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings. It identifies and describes issues to be
taken into account when using methods for the assessment of environmental performance for new or existing
building properties in the design, construction, operation, refurbishment and deconstruction stages.
The building is the object of the assessment defined in this part of ISO/TS 21931, and this encompasses the
building itself, the site and the associated facilities on the site. It is recognized that environmental performance
is only one of a number of significant factors in a building’s overall performance.
This part of ISO/TS 21931 is intended be used in conjunction with, and following the principles set out in, the
ISO 14000 series of International Standards.
2 Normative references
The following references 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 references
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 14001, Environmental management systems — Specification with guidance for use
ISO 14020, Environmental labels and declarations — General principles
ISO/TR 14025, Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations
ISO 14031:1999, Environmental management — Environmental performance evaluation — Guidelines
ISO 14040, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
ISO 14041, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Goal and scope definition and inventory
analysis
ISO 14042, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Life cycle impact assessment
ISO 14043, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Life cycle interpretation
ISO 14050:2002, Environmental management — Vocabulary
ISO/ TR 14062, Environmental management — Integrating environmental aspects into product design and
development
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
1)
ISO 21930, Sustainability in building construction — Environmental declaration of building products
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 14050 and the following apply.
3.1
building environment
surroundings in which a building operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, human
beings and their inter relations
NOTE Surroundings in this context extend from within a building to the boundaries of the building site.
3.2
environmental impact
any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially, resulting from environmental
aspects of a building
NOTE Construction products in this context include production of building components and onsite construction,
operation of the building, refurbishment and deconstruction of buildings.
3.3
environmental benefit
any beneficial factor and/or advantage from a building brought to the environment
EXAMPLE Rehabilitation of the exterior physical environment, such as building on a brown field site.
3.4
environmental performance
measurable (quantitative or qualitative) effect of a building on the environment relative to a scale of values or
a benchmark
NOTE 1 A positive effect of a building on the environment can be measured by the degree of the reduction of
environmental impacts and by the improvement in the quality of life given to people who utilize buildings during the
building life cycle.
NOTE 2 In both ISO 14031:1999 and ISO 14050:2002, environmental performance is defined as “results of an
organization’s management of its environmental aspects”. Environmental performance of buildings is the result of
processes of management of environmental aspects of buildings including design, construction, operation, refurbishment
and deconstruction stages.
NOTE 3 The environmental performance of a building allows comparison between the interested parties’ specific
requirements and the building’s environmentally related characteristics and attributes.
3.5
environmental aspect
characteristics of a building, its operation or its services that can interact with the environment
3.6
system boundary
interface between a building and the environment or other product systems
NOTE “Boundary” defines what is included and what is not included.
1) To be published.
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3.7
transparency
open, comprehensive and understandable presentation of information
3.8
interested party
person or group having an interest in the performance or outcome of a building
NOTE 1 “Outcome” includes agreements and utilization of products.
NOTE 2 This generic definition is neither taken directly nor adapted from any other document. Elsewhere, the concept
is defined specifically from the point of view of environmental performance, in ISO 14001 (with an identical definition being
given in ISO 14004 and ISO 14031), of type I environmental labelling, in ISO 14024, of type III environmental declaration,
in ISO/TR 14025, and of life cycle assessment, in ISO 14040.
3.9
quantitative representation
representation of an assessment result by quantitative means
4 General aspects of environmental performance assessment
4.1 Overview
Clause 4 deals with the general aspects of the assessment of the environmental performance of a building
that are important for the application of this document.
4.2 Aim of assessment
The aim of an assessment of the environmental performance of a building is to examine the ability of the
building to contribute to sustainable development with regard to the environmental dimension. It also aims to
communicate and/or to improve the building’s environmental performance. This can be achieved by
supporting the decision-making process in design, construction, transfer, operation, refurbishment and
demolition.
An improvement in environmental performance requires the appropriate operation of the building over its
lifetime. In existing buildings, this could be enhanced through the use of an environmental policy and the
implementation of a management system.
The intended use of the assessment and the life-cycle stages covered by the methods of assessment can be
varied by the aim of the assessment (see 5.2).
4.3 Interested party’s understanding of environmental performance
4.3.1 General
The environmental performance of a building is related to its characteristics, and will be understood differently
by interested parties depending on their viewpoints, for example:
⎯ a building as an end-use product and integrated assembly of products (4.3.2);
⎯ a building as a support for an active process (4.3.3);
⎯ a building as a place to live and work, as a place of activity (4.3.4).
Methods for assessing environmental performance need to explicitly define declared criteria that account for
building characteristics.
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
4.3.2 Buildings as end-use products and integrated assemblies of products
A building can be considered as an end-use product of itself.
A building physically consists of various elements, such as construction materials and components, which are
parts of a building and its technical systems. Therefore, a building can be considered as an integrated
assembly of component products, which are manufactured, used and disposed of, according to their service
life. The manner of assembly is customized having regard to the project-based specific requirements of the
building.
As a consequence, the environmental performance of a building involves issues that relate to the
characteristics of the building as an end-use product as well as issues that relates to the characteristics of the
building as an integrated assembly of component products. During their use, the products need to be
maintained and some parts will need to be replaced. In this way, the environmental performance, which
relates to the characteristics of the building as an assembly of elemental products, is subject to systematic
maintenance management of the component products during their service lifetime.
For the assessment of the environmental performance that relates to the characteristics of a building as an
assembly of component products, it is necessary to give a clear system boundary by which the extent of
processes involved in the assessment may be clearly defined.
The environmental performance that relates to the characteristics of a building as an assembly of component
products has relevance to the issues described in ISO 21930.
Because a building is an assembly of component products, impact assessments of building products have
relevance for the assessments of environmental performance of the complete building. Some assessments of
the environmental performance of buildings can be based on the aggregation of the impact assessments of
the major component products and services, assuming the availability of life cycle inventory (LCI) or life cycle
assessment (LCA) data for the components over the entire life cycle. The basic data for such summations
should be derived in accordance with ISO 21930. Environmental product declarations (EPD) may be utilized in
the assessment of buildings as established on the basis of agreed product category rules (PCR) according to
ISO/TR 14025.
4.3.3 Buildings as supports for active processes
According to systemic analysis, a building can be considered as supporting an active process. Through its
operation during the utilization stage, a building provides a number of services to its users as well as
conditions appropriate for living, working, studying, provision of health-care, leisure activities, etc. The
provision of these services involves input and output flows to make this process function. It can also be
considered as an active process when, combined with other buildings or industrial equipment, it performs, for
example, as part of an ecosystem (when pollution or waste from another building or equipment can be used
as resources).
Therefore, the environmental performance of the building relates to the quality of services to users as well as
to relevant conditions that a building generates when perceived as an active process. As an active process
and in order to function, the building is provided with energy, water and various resources. Under these
circumstances, a building yields the services for which it was intended and flows are incurred, including
atmospheric emissions, wastewater and other waste. In addition to this, a building is linked to infrastructures
both upstream and downstream, which also require energy, water and transportation energy and which
generate wastes. These processes also have input and output flows.
Consequently, the environmental performance of a building relates to input and output flows that a building
generates as a process.
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4.3.4 Buildings as places of activity
A building can also be considered as a place of activity, such as place to live and work, where it makes an
effective contribution to the creation and the life of the urban context.
Therefore, the environmental performance of the building relates to the comfort and health of its users, such
as occupants, site workers, maintenance staffs and neighbours and interested parties, over the building’s life
cycle.
4.4 Relevance to local context
The environmental performance of a building depends on the characteristics of the climatic, social, economic
and cultural context of the nation and region where the building is located.
This part of ISO/TS 21931 aims to bridge the gap between regional and national methods of assessing
environmental performance by providing a common framework for their expression.
Practical, relevant rules and recommendations concerning the environmental performance, existing on a
national or regional basis, can be examined and improved by the use of the framework of assessment that is
the basis of this part of ISO/TS 21931 (see Clause 5).
According to the objective of the assessment, the environmental performance of a building may be expressed
by absolute and/or relative results. Relative results refer to local contexts. Benchmarking based on local
contexts may be used for the expression by relative rules.
For comparison purposes between countries or regions, transparency is required and, as far as possible,
standardized calculation methods shall be used.
NOTE The characteristics and relevance of local contexts make possible the co-existence of regional and national
methods for the assessment of the environmental performance of buildings, providing that the methods are within the
framework given in this part of ISO/TS 21931.
5 Framework for assessment of environmental performance
5.1 General
Clause 5 gives the minimum requirements for the development, understanding, implementation and
improvement of methods for the assessment of the environmental performance of a building.
a) The documentation of the assessment method shall identify
⎯ responsible body,
⎯ national/regional/organizational means of recognition,
⎯ the process of development and revision of the method, and
⎯ interested party involvement.
b) The assessment method shall involve the following elements:
⎯ intended use of the method (5.2);
⎯ definition of the system boundary (5.3);
⎯ statement of assumptions (5.4);
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
⎯ structured list of issues for environmental assessment (5.5);
⎯ means of quantifying the environmental performance of a building (5.6);
⎯ sources of information (generic and specific database, etc.) (5.7);
⎯ evaluation and interpretation (5.8);
⎯ reporting of results of assessment and communication format (5.9).
These shall be clearly described in the documentation of the method.
5.2 Intended use of method
The intended use of the methods of assessing the environmental performance of a building shall be clearly
stated.
The intended use may encompass
⎯ design of a new building,
⎯ assessment of an existing building,
⎯ improvement of operation,
⎯ design for modernization, and
⎯ design for deconstruction and disposal.
The environmental performance of a building should be assessed in operational activities, including new
construction, refurbishment or retrofit.
The relationship between application cases and life-cycle stages is illustrated by Figure 2, which shows the
different points of time within the life cycle of buildings (indicated by black dots) at which assessments can be
conducted by the use of different existing assessment methods and tools. The frames express the stages of
the building life cycle that are usually considered for each analysis. However, depending on the applied
assessment method, partial modifications can exist regarding the manner and extent of the comprehension of
different stages of the building life cycle: the dashed frames indicate this circumstance. For this reason, it is
important to declare which stages of the building life cycle have actually been taken into account for the
assessment, otherwise a valid interpretation of the assessment results cannot be guaranteed.
The perspective of interested parties is shown in Figure 3.
Additionally, the arrows within the frames provide information on the character or the nature of the data
underlying each assessment, i.e. the arrows show whether the assessment is based on an analysis of past
measurements (“retrospective evaluation”), on current data (“snap-shot evaluation”) or on a well-founded
prognosis of future developments (“anticipatory evaluation”).
Figure 3 shows at which points of time within the life cycle of buildings (indicated by black dots) different
interested parties conduct assessments or are interested in assessment results respectively. Additionally,
those stages of the building life cycle usually regarded as being within the interested parties’ considerations
are shown. The continuous lines indicate the interested parties’ perceptions in a narrower sense; whereas the
dashed lines indicate the interested parties’ perceptions in an extended sense.
The relevance to intended users of the assessment information and intended stages can also be illustrated as
in Figure 4.
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NOTE “Planning for modernization” is equivalent to “retrofit” in Canada.
Figure 2 — Relationship between application cases and life-cycle stage
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ISO/TS 21931-1:2006(E)
NOTE Terms equivalent to “con
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