A Spatially Explicit Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Residential Buildings in Lower Saxony: Development and Sample Application

Abstract

The ambitious goal of the German federal government to achieve a “nearly climate-neutral” building stock by 2050 should be underpinned by detailed knowledge on the whole life cycle of the housing stock in Germany. Therefore, a life cycle assessment (LCA) tool is developed, that combines the embodied energy (energy used for production of a building) as well as the energy consumption of existing buildings. By combining LCA data with a customized extract from the 2011 census for parts for Lower Saxony, the tool allows for spatially explicit assessments on a square kilometer grid. The classification of buildings, using building type and construction year, offers the possibility to quickly evaluate the building stock without the need for detailed information. In the future, the tool will be expanded to enable comparing the impact of actions like renovation of existing buildings on the one hand, and demolition with new construction on the other. Thus, scenarios can be analyzed and priorities for interventions identified. Combined with other information in regional sustainability assessments, for example mobility analyses and environmental impacts of land consumption, the tool will allow exploring paths to greater sustainability for the built environment.