Validation of processes in international life cycle inventories for the characterization of carbon and energy incorporated in Brazilian buildings

• Grant number: 13/23452-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2014
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Technology
• Principal Investigator: Vanessa Gomes da Silva
• Grantee: Izabella Ferrari Jorge
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FEC). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The life cycle assessment (LCA) has been preferred internationally as methodological support for the process of decision making in order to reduce the environmental impacts related to products or processes, enabling the quantification and qualification of material and energy resources used and emissions generated in the different production stages. In Brazil, the research is still in its early stages and there is not a database of national inventories. For the construction sector, in particular, the few surveys realized did not follow a common methodological approach, which prevents the comparison of the results. Given the scarceness of inventories, the use of international databases is presented as an alternative. However, the application of data calculated in other contexts only makes sense if they are actually very similar to the original situation of application. The heterogeneity of the productive structure of Brazil may represent an additional difficulty for the application of international data and requires the development of a validation method. From the detailed analysis and comparison of processes strategically selected, this work aims to develop markers that describe the level of similarity between international and national processes and consequently their suitability for studies in Brazil.