Data compiled comprises:
- datasheets - generic scenario-based data to support modelling decisions for specific stages of the building life cycle
- materials data - BRANZ CO₂NSTRUCT contains embodied greenhouse gas and embodied energy data for construction materials and products
- New Zealand grid electricity - this datasheet contains calculated potential environmental impacts as a result of possible future scenarios published by MBIE, which have been calculated based on an LCA model of New Zealand low voltage grid electricity.
Datasheets
The datasheets are generic. They do not relate to specific building products and are for use in early design when decisions on products are less likely to be made.
Each Excel datasheet has a worksheet that provides guidance on the structure of the datasheet and how to use the presented information. We recommend you read this prior to use. Datasheets may be useful for other LCA applications, but it is up to the user to determine the suitability of the data for these other purposes.
For more information on how these datasheets were developed, see SR351 New Zealand whole-building whole-of-life framework: Development of datasheets to support building life cycle assessment.
Download datasheets
- Construction transport (module A4) [XLSX, 3MB] - generic transport distances of construction products by mode from the last manufacturer, fabricator or assembler to a construction site in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.
- Construction site waste (module A5) [XLSX, 9MB] - construction site waste generation rates by material. Data is also provided on subsequent fate in terms of reuse, recycling, recovery or landfill.
- Building service life (module B1 to B7 (use stage)) [XLSX, 11KB] - default estimated building service life.
- Building materials maintenance (module B2) [XLSX, 1MB] - scheduled maintenance information during the building service life.
- Building materials replacement (module B4) [XLSX, 1MB] (updated December 2021) - estimated service life data for materials in building constructed assets.
- Operational energy (module B6) [XLSX, 305KB] - defaults for simulating energy use in buildings. It is important that these defaults are used in energy models of designed buildings in order that the reference building results are comparable.
- Operational water (module B7) [XLSX, 131KB] - benchmark water consumption data.
- Building end-of-life (module C1) [XLSX, 10MB] - current and best practice data on fate of construction waste at building end of life. Data for current practice should be used as the default.
Construction materials embodied environmental impacts
CO₂NSTRUCT contains embodied greenhouse gas and embodied energy data for construction materials and products that is derived from several sources that are provided in the database. All data is also provided with a data quality metric.
Care should be taken when basing decisions on data for embodied environmental impacts only as this does not consider the full life cycle.
New Zealand grid electricity environmental impacts
MBIE provides five possible future scenarios for New Zealand grid electricity from now to 2050. These are based on assumptions about GDP and population growth and prices of carbon and renewable technology.
Using an LCA model of New Zealand low voltage grid electricity, these five scenarios have been evaluated in the following datasheet:
- New Zealand grid environmental factors (module B6) [XLSX, 152KB] (updated December 2021)
The LCA model includes aspects such as pre-combustion processes for fossil fuels (exploration, extraction, transport, processing) and infrastructure.