Call for Submission

New tender out about the potential of digital tools and Building Information Models in building LCA

Publiceret 13-01-2023
News WP1

Nordic countries are among the first in the world to set normative limits for the carbon footprints of buildings.
In the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme, the Ministry of Environment in Finland is responsible for the efforts to enable further integration regarding building LCA in the Nordics. Further Nordic integration will be beneficial to harmonise the methods for evaluating these carbon footprints and for following the decarbonisation of the entire building stock in the Nordic region.
To enable this work, a tender on Building Information Models integration with LCA assessment (LCA), where digitalisation and capacity building are essential tools, has been published. The deadline for submission is 6 February 2023.

The potential of digital tools and BIM in building LCA

The development of digital tools, such as Building Information Models (BIMs) is opening important possibilities for enabling a smoother and faster route to building LCA. Research in the field has been going on actively in recent years in the Nordic countries. The normative definitions of building LCA can benefit greatly, if the integration to BIM-based building design process is taken into account. There are questions related to the maturity of the BIM, its system boundaries, as well as, roles and responsibilities in the combination of BIMs from various fields of design. The tender covers Nordic Harmonisations of LCA's task three. Read more about the work package here

The tender includes the following subtasks:

Task 3.1: Guidance for BIM-based LCA and material declaration

This task will develop guidance for life cycle assessment that is performed with the help of BIMs. The guidance takes Nordic harmonisation of LCA into account and establishes connections to Nordic BIM consortiums and their work. The main objective of the task is to develop guidance for easing LCA and material inventory in all Nordic countries. Furthermore, task 3.1 will also include a scoping study of the possibilities of including data on chemicals into a material declaration.

The task will also address the possible implications of accessibility of public web services in accordance with the latest version the Web Content Availability Guidelines.

Specific focuses that task 3.1 will address include:

a) Process for BIM-based material inventory for normative climate declarations

b) Instructions for BIM-based material inventory

c) Guidance for transferring data from BIM to LCA tools

d) Guidance for iterative design & analysis work flow between BIM and LCA tools.

e) Examples for compiling the normatively required declarations.

Task 3.2: Reference buildings for BIM and LCA tools

Based on task 3.1, a set of exemplary reference buildings will be developed for Nordic use. These buildings will be construed in relevant BIM native formats as well as an corresponding inventories for LCA tools. The aim of the reference buildings is to serve as examples for validating the performance of different LCA tools and BIM plugins or other digital solutions that are aimed at normative building LCA.

Task 3.3:Training and online learning for BIM-based LCA

Based on tasks 3.1 and 3.2, online learning will be developed for universities and professional use. For this purpose, a stakeholder consultation shall be carried out for ensuring good match with the needs of the sector. The learning platform will offer information on LCA and BIM for the Nordic audience.

Specifics:

  • The work will begin in January 2023 and be finalised by July 2024, unless otherwise jointly agreed.
  • The main language of the project is English. The experts conducting the work should also have a sufficient knowledge of both Finnish and Swedish.
  • The Ministry of the Environment in Finland will select one (1) supplier, with whom it will conclude a contract.
  • The total compensation for task 3 is 5.000.000 NOK (VAT 0%), divided into annual budgets

For more information on the tender project and application, follow this link

The larger context: Nordic Harmonisation of LCA's tasks in the Nordic Sustainable Construction programme

This tender is only one out of the four tasks Nordic Harmonisation of LCA works with. The tasks of the project are arranged according to their timely relevance for policymaking as well as for building the required competence and capacity in the sector.
The specific objectives deal with timely relevant questions that all have Nordic importance. These include:

  1. The strategic options for Nordic LCA harmonisation, in relation to European Commission´s key initiatives, such as Level(s), revision of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Construction Products Regulation, New European Bauhaus and taxonomy for sustainable finance (task 1);
  2. Questions related to the processes of developing and maintaining generic data and scenarios (task 2);
  3. The potential of digital tools and Building Information Models in building LCA (task 3), and
  4. Setting carbon footprint limit values for buildings and follow-up of the decarbonisation of the Nordic buildings stock (task 4).