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Development of an Approach to Assess the Life Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of General Hospitals through the Analysis of a Belgian Case

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  • Milena Stevanovic

    (Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
    VK Studio Architects, Planners & Designers, 8800 Roeselare, Belgium)

  • Karen Allacker

    (Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering Science, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Stéphane Vermeulen

    (VK Studio Architects, Planners & Designers, 8800 Roeselare, Belgium)

Abstract

With the aim of moving towards a more sustainable society, hospital buildings are challenged to decrease their environmental impact while continuing to offer affordable and qualitative medical care. The aim of this paper was to gain insight into the main drivers of the environmental impacts and costs of healthcare facilities, and to identify methodological obstacles for a quantitative assessment. More specifically, the objective was to assess the environmental and financial impacts of the general hospital Sint Maarten in Mechelen (Belgium) by using a life cycle approach. The hospital building was analyzed based on a combination of a simplified life cycle assessment and life cycle costing. The “MMG+_KULeuven” assessment tool was used for the calculation of environmental impacts and financial costs. The study revealed that the environmental impact was mainly caused by electricity use for appliances and lighting, cleaning processes, material production, and spatial heating, while building construction and electricity use caused the highest financial costs. The most relevant impact categories identified were global warming, eutrophication, acidification, human toxicity (cancer and non-cancer effects), and particulate matter. Various methodological challenges were identified, such as the adaptation of existing methods to ensure applicability to hospital buildings and the extraction of data from a Revit model.

Suggested Citation

  • Milena Stevanovic & Karen Allacker & Stéphane Vermeulen, 2019. "Development of an Approach to Assess the Life Cycle Environmental Impacts and Costs of General Hospitals through the Analysis of a Belgian Case," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:856-:d:204023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ignacio Zabalza & Sabina Scarpellini & Alfonso Aranda & Eva Llera & Alberto Jáñez, 2013. "Use of LCA as a Tool for Building Ecodesign. A Case Study of a Low Energy Building in Spain," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(8), pages 1-21, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ali Alhaij & Bassem Jamoussi & Asad Abu-Rizaiza, 2023. "The Development of a Life-Cycle-Based Sustainability Index That Incorporates Patient-Centredness for Assessing and Reporting the Sustainability of Healthcare Buildings in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Wafaurahman Wafa & Amir Hamzah Sharaai & Nitanan Koshy Matthew & Sabrina Abdullah J Ho & Noor Ahmad Akhundzada, 2022. "Organizational Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (OLCSA) for a Higher Education Institution as an Organization: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-29, February.
    3. Bassem Jamoussi & Asad Abu-Rizaiza & Ali AL-Haij, 2022. "Sustainable Building Standards, Codes and Certification Systems: The Status Quo and Future Directions in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-24, August.
    4. Andrea Brambilla & Jan Marvin Apel & Inga Schmidt-Ross & Maddalena Buffoli & Stefano Capolongo, 2022. "Testing of a Multiple Criteria Assessment Tool for Healthcare Facilities Quality and Sustainability: The Case of German Hospitals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-25, December.
    5. Tiziano Dalla Mora & Erika Bolzonello & Carmine Cavalliere & Fabio Peron, 2020. "Key Parameters Featuring BIM-LCA Integration in Buildings: A Practical Review of the Current Trends," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-33, September.
    6. Ahmad Jrade & Farnaz Jalaei & Jieying Jane Zhang & Saeed Jalilzadeh Eirdmousa & Farzad Jalaei, 2023. "Potential Integration of Bridge Information Modeling and Life Cycle Assessment/Life Cycle Costing Tools for Infrastructure Projects within Construction 4.0: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-25, October.
    7. Patricia Schneider-Marin & Werner Lang, 2022. "A Temporal Perspective in Eco 2 Building Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    8. Patricia Schneider-Marin & Anne Winkelkotte & Werner Lang, 2022. "Integrating Environmental and Economic Perspectives in Building Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-27, April.

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