Dynamic Holistic Life Cycle Assessment: Integrating Embodied and Operational Carbon, Energy, Water and wider ecosystem impacts

建筑环境的可持续性通常与新建筑对其周围环境的影响有关，而没有充分考虑到远离项目地点但由项目引起的影响。行业开始更全面地关注新建筑项目和改造的全生命周期碳影响，但如果我们在生命周期评估方法的背景下探索生态系统健康的其他指标，会是什么样子呢？整体生命周期评估如何减少能源使用和碳排放，并促进循环经济和可再生设计？本研究的重点将放在建筑及其相关基础设施的全生命周期碳（整合具体和运营需求和供应影响）与全生命周期能源、水和其他全生命周期生态系统影响之间的相互作用上。本项目旨在为新建和改造建筑开发项目制定一个新的生命周期评估框架，以提高生命周期评估在推动应对气候变化和生态系统崩溃行动中的适用性。需要研究的方面包括：-动态：时间方面的考虑，如电网脱碳和自然系统再生所需的时间-整体：扩大生态系统健康指标（如水）的范围-现有生命周期评估方法的其他固有限制，以先前博士生的研究结果为基础。对框架的测试将包括与行业协商，并辅以对实际项目的影响评估，以对框架的学习、建议和后续步骤进行压力测试。

Sustainability in the built environment has typically been framed in relation to the impacts of new buildings on their immediate surroundings without adequately considering the impacts remote from the project site but caused by the project.The industry is starting to look more holistically at the whole life carbon impacts of new construction projects and retrofits, but what would that look like if we explored other indicators of ecosystem health in the context of life cycle assessment methodologies? How could holistic life cycle assessment reduce energy use and carbon emissions as well as facilitate a circular economy and regenerative design?The focus of this research would be on the interplay between whole life carbon (integrating embodied and operational demand and supply impacts) and whole life energy, water, and other whole life ecosystem impacts of buildings and their associated infrastructure.This project aims to develop a new framework for life cycle assessment for new-build and retrofit building development projects in order to increase the applicability of life cycle assessment in driving action against climate change and ecosystem breakdown.Aspects to research and include:- Dynamic: temporal considerations such as grid decarbonisation and the time it takes for natural systems to regenerate- Holistic: expanding the range of indicators of ecosystem health such as water- Other inherent restrictions of existing Life Cycle Assessment methods, building on previous PhD students' findingsPilot testing of the framework will include consultation with industry and be supported by an impact assessment of real-world project(s) to stress test the framework learning, recommendations and next steps.