Life cycle assessment at UBC Vancouver campus

Students from CIVL 498C course conducted a Life Cycle Assessment study on the academic buildings on the UBC Vancouver Campus. This study determined the environmental impacts from material use and construction of the buildings, which gave an opportunity for students to understand the changes needed to minimize the life cycle impacts of constructing buildings at UBC. To conduct the study and accompanied analysis, students used the Athena Environmental Impact Estimator tool. Results from the study determined that in order to institutionalize LCA studies at UBC Vancouver Campus, guidelines and standards similar to those used in the course’s LCA study must be set by the Campus and Community Planning Green Building Division. The LCA studies should also be marketed to encourage a healthy dialogue between stakeholders who will potentially request these studies. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Applied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofUnreviewedUndergraduat