Comparative study on establishing life cycle assessment (LCA) in buildings: drivers

Abstract

LCA is a method that systematically evaluates environmental impacts attributed to the building by quantifying environmental inputs and outputs over the lifecycle of buildings. LCA facilitates a sophisticated assessment procedure to promote eco-efficient designs to reduce environmental impacts. Although building-related LCAs are well-rooted in developed counties, it is challenging to disclose evidence of LCA application in Sri Lanka as a developing country. Therefore, this study aims to compare drivers that promote the application of LCA in developed countries and Sri Lanka to determine the deviation between two contexts. The qualitative research approach was adopted, and expert interviews were conducted with ten experts from Sri Lanka and nine LCA experts representing developed countries. The results indicated that 'identifying opportunities to improve environmental sustainability,' discovering energy-saving opportunities' etc. are the mostly identified drivers related to developed countries. In contrast, the mostly identified drivers in Sri Lanka were limited to two as 'growing industrial interest to build more green buildings' and 'as a new tool for R&D'. Initiation of strong government policies and effective incentive mechanisms, rising awareness on LCA, etc. identified as strategies to bridge the deviation between Sri Lanka from developed countries context in the implementation of LCA.