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Climate Mitigation in the Swedish Single-Family Homes Industry and Potentials for LCA as Decision Support
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Sustainability Assessment and Management. Plant An Idea AB.
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Sustainability Assessment and Management.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2949-422X
WSP Sweden.ORCID iD: 0000-0001-7248-5535
2022 (English)In: Buildings, E-ISSN 2075-5309, Vol. 12, no 5, p. 588-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Decision support tools for incentivizing environmentally sound decisions in building design,such as LCA (life cycle assessment), have been highlighted as an essential feature for enhancingthe realization of more sustainable buildings. Nevertheless, the use of LCA to support decisions inbuilding design is still limited in practice. A better understanding of the social dynamics and detailedcontexts of the decisions leading up to a final building design is therefore critical for better integrationof LCA-based information in the decision-making processes. This paper reports a qualitative, semistructuredinterview study of single-family home producers in Sweden and their decision-making inrelation to climate mitigation, with a particular focus on embodied carbon mitigation. By studying aspecific branch of the building and construction sector, a more in-depth record can be obtained of theparticularities of implementation contexts and decision-making situations in which LCA may, or maynot, have a role in driving climate mitigation. Four primary decision contexts in which LCA mayhave an influential role to drive embodied carbon reduction include: (1) the development of buildingsystems, (2) development and offering of house models, (3) the selection of construction products forthe building system as well as for the offer of add-on products to customers, and (4) the dialoguesin the individual house-buyer projects. Decision-making that affects sustainable outcomes in thispart of the sector is very much dependent on a supporting regulatory context. Over the years, usingbuilding LCA in early design stages, for optimization towards low-impact final buildings, has been arepeatedly promoted recommendation both in academia and practice. This study, however, revealsthat such a conclusion is too simplistic. The different overarching decision contexts identified for thisparticular branch display the variety of needs for life cycle-based information.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI , 2022. Vol. 12, no 5, p. 588-
Keywords [en]
housing industry, life cycle assessment (LCA), decision-making, embodied carbon, interview study, buildings, climate impact
National Category
Environmental Management
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-313457DOI: 10.3390/buildings12050588ISI: 000801657000001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85130169523OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-313457DiVA, id: diva2:1663933
Projects
KlivPå Småhus
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 49546-1Swedish Energy Agency, 46881-1
Note

QC 20220607

Available from: 2022-06-03 Created: 2022-06-03 Last updated: 2025-02-10Bibliographically approved

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Brismark, JohannaMalmqvist, Tove

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