IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i10p6025-d816484.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Temporal Perspective in Eco 2 Building Design

Author

Listed:
  • Patricia Schneider-Marin

    (Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Arcisstr. 21, 80333 Munich, Germany
    Department of Architecture and Technology, Faculty of Architecture and Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Alfred Getz’ vei 3, 7491 Trondheim, Norway)

  • Werner Lang

    (Institute of Energy Efficient and Sustainable Design and Building, TUM School of Engineering and Design, Technical University of Munich (TUM), Arcisstr. 21, 80333 Munich, Germany)

Abstract

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector has great potential and responsibility for reducing its considerable resource consumption and high share of global emissions. However, economic factors are often cited as barriers to more environmentally friendly solutions in building design. Hence, environmental and economic life cycle assessment (LCA and LCC) are of utmost importance in building design. They serve as the base methodologies for what we call the “Eco 2 ” framework. In this context, monetary valuation of multiple environmental impacts allows to integrate the results as a basis for design decisions. A case study representative of small-scale office buildings in Germany illustrates the Eco 2 framework and shows the influence of temporal parameters (discount rates and price changes), as well as of differing monetary valuation, on the ranking of design options. Varying the temporal parameters affects the ranking of different solutions for the structure and finishes of the case study building but not for its mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) systems and operation. However, the ratio of environmental life cycle cost (eLCC) to financial life cycle cost (fLCC) is significantly higher for MEP systems and operation than for the structure and finishes. This investigation shows that it is possible to achieve simultaneous emission and cost savings, whereas temporal factors can decisively influence decision making in design processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Patricia Schneider-Marin & Werner Lang, 2022. "A Temporal Perspective in Eco 2 Building Design," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-28, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6025-:d:816484
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6025/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/10/6025/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Weidema, Bo Pedersen, 2009. "Using the budget constraint to monetarise impact assessment results," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1591-1598, April.
    2. Asdrubali, F. & Baggio, P. & Prada, A. & Grazieschi, G. & Guattari, C., 2020. "Dynamic life cycle assessment modelling of a NZEB building," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    3. Azar, Christian & Sterner, Thomas, 1996. "Discounting and distributional considerations in the context of global warming," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 169-184, November.
    4. Rauf, Abdul & Crawford, Robert H., 2015. "Building service life and its effect on the life cycle embodied energy of buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 140-148.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. Patricia Schneider-Marin & Hannes Harter & Konstantin Tkachuk & Werner Lang, 2020. "Uncertainty Analysis of Embedded Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Using BIM in Early Design Stages," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Anni Orola & Anna Härri & Jarkko Levänen & Ville Uusitalo & Stig Irving Olsen, 2022. "Assessing WELBY Social Life Cycle Assessment Approach through Cobalt Mining Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-26, September.
    3. Hoel, Michael & Sterner, Thomas, 2006. "Discounting and relative prices in assessing future environmental damages," Working Papers in Economics 199, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    4. Richard S.J. Tol, 2003. "The Marginal Costs Of Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Assessment Of The Uncertainties," Working Papers FNU-19, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Apr 2003.
    5. Rintaro Yamaguchi, 2019. "Intergenerational Discounting with Intragenerational Inequality in Consumption and the Environment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(4), pages 957-972, August.
    6. Benjamin Leard, 2011. "Joan Martinez-Alier and Ingo Ropke (eds.): Recent developments in ecological economics (2 vols.)," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 161-178, July.
    7. Mustafa S. Al-Tekreeti & Salwa M. Beheiry & Vian Ahmed, 2022. "Commitment Indicators for Tracking Sustainable Design Decisions in Construction Projects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, May.
    8. Yohe, Gary W. & Tol, Richard S. J. & Anthoff, David, 2009. "Discounting for Climate Change," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 3, pages 1-22.
    9. Christian Azar, 1999. "Weight Factors in Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Change," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 13(3), pages 249-268, April.
    10. Richard S.J. Tol & Samuel Fankhauser & Richard G. Richels & Joel B. Smith, 2000. "How Much Damage Will Climate Change Do? Recent Estimates," Working Papers FNU-2, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Sep 2000.
    11. Fleurbaey, Marc & Zuber, Stéphane, 2015. "Discounting, risk and inequality: A general approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 34-49.
    12. Pierluigi Morano & Francesco Tajani & Felicia Di Liddo & Debora Anelli, 2020. "A Feasibility Analysis of The Refurbishment Investments in The Italian Residential Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Juan Pablo Fernández Goycoolea & Gabriela Zapata-Lancaster & Christopher Whitman, 2022. "Operational Emissions in Prosuming Dwellings: A Study Comparing Different Sources of Grid CO 2 Intensity Values in South Wales, UK," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-24, March.
    14. Toman, Michael, 1998. "Sustainable Decisionmaking: The State of the Art from an Economics Perspective," RFF Working Paper Series dp-98-39, Resources for the Future.
    15. Tol, Richard S.J., 2006. "The Polluter Pays Principle and Cost-Benefit Analysis of Climate Change: An Application of Fund," Climate Change Modelling and Policy Working Papers 12058, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    16. Shew, Aaron M. & Nalley, Lawton L. & Durand-Morat, Alvaro & Meredith, Kylie & Parajuli, Ranjan & Thoma, Greg & Henry, Christopher G., 2021. "Holistically valuing public investments in agricultural water conservation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    17. Chau, C.K. & Xu, J.M. & Leung, T.M. & Ng, W.Y., 2017. "Evaluation of the impacts of end-of-life management strategies for deconstruction of a high-rise concrete framed office building," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1595-1603.
    18. Riccardo Fraboni & Gianluca Grazieschi & Simon Pezzutto & Benjamin Mitterrutzner & Eric Wilczynski, 2023. "Environmental Assessment of Residential Space Heating and Cooling Technologies in Europe: A Review of 11 European Member States," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, February.
    19. Kornek, Ulrike & Klenert, David & Edenhofer, Ottmar & Fleurbaey, Marc, 2021. "The social cost of carbon and inequality: When local redistribution shapes global carbon prices," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    20. Gowdy, John M. & Ferreri Carbonell, Ada, 1999. "Toward consilience between biology and economics: the contribution of Ecological Economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 337-348, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:10:p:6025-:d:816484. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.