SIST-TP CEN/TR 15941:2011

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
SIST-TP CEN/TR 15941:2011
01-maj-2011
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0HWRGRORJLMDLQLQIRUPDFLMH]DJHQHULþQHSRGDWNH
Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Methodology
and data for generic data
Nachhaltigkeit von Bauwerken - Umweltproduktdeklarationen - Methoden und Angaben
für generische Daten
Contribution des ouvrages de construction au développement durable - Méthodologie et
informations relatives aux données génériques
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 15941:2010
ICS:
13.020.99 Drugi standardi v zvezi z Other standards related to
varstvom okolja environmental protection
91.040.01 Stavbe na splošno Buildings in general
SIST-TP CEN/TR 15941:2011 en,fr
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 15941:2011

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SIST-TP CEN/TR 15941:2011


TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 15941

RAPPORT TECHNIQUE

TECHNISCHER BERICHT
May 2010
ICS 91.010.99
English Version
Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product
declarations - Methodology for selection and use of generic data
Contribution des ouvrages de construction au Nachhaltigkeit von Bauwerken -
développement durable - Déclarations environnementales Umweltproduktdeklarationen - Methoden für Auswahl und
des produits - Méthodologie pour la sélection et l'utilisation Verwendung von generischen Daten
des données génériques


This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 31 August 2009. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 350.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.






EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2010 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 15941:2010: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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Contents Page
Foreword .3
Introduction .4
1 Scope .5
2 Normative references .5
3 Terms and definitions .5
4 Generic data .6
4.1 General .6
4.2 Types of Generic Data .6
4.3 Application of generic data in EPD .7
4.3.1 Manufacturer's EPD .7
4.3.2 Trade Association EPD .7
4.3.3 Scenarios in EPDs .7
4.3.4 Compensating with generic data for differences in local conditions .8
4.4 Sources of Generic data .8
4.4.1 General .8
4.4.2 LCI/LCA data for materials or processes .8
4.4.3 Bibliography and documented expert experiences .9
4.5 Generic data quality .9
4.5.1 General .9
4.5.2 Judging the quality of generic data . 10
4.5.3 Meta data . 10
4.5.4 Data verification . 10
5 Pre-verification . 11
5.1 General . 11
5.2 Scope of pre-verification . 12
5.3 Procedure . 12
5.4 Documentation of results . 12
6 Quality Criteria . 13
6.1 Time-related coverage . 13
6.1.1 Age of data . 13
6.1.2 Period of Data Collection . 13
6.2 Technology coverage . 13
6.3 Geographical coverage . 14
6.4 Plausibility . 14
6.5 Completeness . 14
6.6 Consistency . 14
6.7 Uncertainty . 15
6.7.1 Reliability of the source . 15
6.7.2 Data differences . 15
6.7.3 Sensitivity analysis . 15
Bibliography . 16

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Foreword
This document (CEN/TR 15941:2010) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 350
“Sustainability of construction works”, the secretariat of which is held by AFNOR.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This Technical Report supports the use of Product Category Rules (prEN 15804) for construction products.
Together they are used as the means for arriving at Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).
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Introduction
This Technical Report is a supporting document referenced in prEN 15804. The Technical Report provides
guidance for the selection and use of different types of generic data available for practitioners and verifiers
involved in the preparation of EPD in order to improve consistency and comparability.
The TR provides a common language to improve understanding and introduces the concept of pre-verification
to help with the selection of generic data. It also indicates the types and possible sources of data that exist
and gives guidance on how to judge their selection. The TR also recognises that there are different levels of
aggregation of data for material components, elements and buildings. The TR provides an explanation of the
quality requirements for the data.
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1 Scope
This Technical Report supports the development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD).
It assists in using generic data according to the core product category rules (prEN 15804) during the
preparation of EPD of construction products, processes and services in a consistent way, and also in the
application of generic data in the environmental performance assessment of buildings according to
prEN 15978.
The requirements for the use of generic data are described in prEN 15804.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
prEN 15804:2008, Sustainability of construction works — Environmental product declarations — Product
category rules
EN ISO 14025:2010, Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental declarations —
Principles and procedures (ISO 14025:2006)
EN ISO 14040:2006, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and framework
(ISO 14040:2006)
EN ISO 14044:2006, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements and guidelines
(ISO 14044:2006)
ISO/TR 14049:2000, Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Examples of application of
ISO 14041 to goal and scope definition and inventory analysis
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1
average data
data combined from different manufacturers or production sites for the same declared unit
NOTE Average can relate to a number of issues such as location or time.
3.2
data set
collection of data appropriate for a specific LCA, LCI or for information modules
3.3
generic data
surrogate data used if no system specific data are available
NOTE 1 Data can be site specific or average.
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3.4
meta data
information about the data being used, e.g. the data source, its age, the accuracy and precision, etc.
3.6
product
goods or service
[Adapted from EN ISO 14024:2000]
3.7
site specific data
data derived from one production site
NOTE Data might include different production lines.
3.8
system specific data
data specific to the product system under study
3.9
upstream, downstream process
process that either precedes (upstream) or follows (downstream) a given life cycle stage
3.10
verification
confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been fulfilled
[EN ISO 9000:2005]
4 Generic data
4.1 General
Generic data are used instead of system specific data to describe the environmental impacts and aspects of a
product's life cycle in an LCA study. Generic data are used for calculations where system specific data
LCI/LCA data are not available or where other non-system specific LCI or technical data are required.
Generic data are needed for calculation of LCA/EPD as well as for the development of scenarios supporting
the use EPD for the assessment of the environmental performance of construction products and construction
works. Therefore, the methodological requirements of prEN 15804 also apply to generic data.
The guidance on selection of generic data illustrates different aspects the LCA practitioner is confronted with
when collecting data for a LCA/EPD.
Generic data and average data are not necessarily the same. Average data are information that has been
calculated as a mean value. Generic data are information (a data set) not specific to the system under study,
although they may be average (i.e. calculated as a mean value) or obtained from a specific site.
4.2 Types of Generic Data
There are different types of generic data relevant within the practice of the building assessment arrived at by
using information from EPDs:
a) generic LCI data for the development of the LCI results for an EPD (example: generic LCI result data set
for the "production of 1 kWh electricity" used in the production process or data set for "incineration of 1 kg
cardboard (packaging waste)" for end-of-life treatment of product packaging);
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b) generic technical data for scenarios in the foreground system (example: default distance (km) to disposal
place, unless known);
c) generic LCA, LCI and information module data for the use in building assessment (example: generic LCA
2
result data set for the "production of 1 m outer wall bricks-and mortar-built" or for "delivery of 1 kWh
space heating from a heat pump using geothermal energy".
It is always important to choose data that fit to the goal and scope of the performed LCA study. The selection
of generic data must not skew the results of the study with respect to its scope and goal.
4.3 Application of generic data in EPD
4.3.1 Manufacturer's EPD
Normally when undertaking LCA for an EPD, specific data for a certain product or process should be used.
Often, however, such specific data are missing and the practitioner has to seek information from other
sources; generic data then replaces specific data. Generic data should never replace specific data if specific
data are available.
A manufacturer knows his own product and its production processes and the EPD can be prepared using
specific data for theses processes. Generic data however describe upstream and downstream processes in
addition to the data describing the manufacturer's own process, e.g. on his site. Generic data may also help to
describe a product's position in the supply chain of the building.
4.3.2 Trade Association EPD
When industry associations create EPDs, they are normally based on average system specific data,
representing the products of the association members in average values. Producers having production at
multiple sites as a rule apply average data to represent their product.
4.3.3 Scenarios in EPDs
4.3.3.1 General
Generic data are often used when scenarios have to be created in an EPD, to fill out data gaps and to make
the study plausible.
Generic data can be used both for the direct calculation of a process, but it is also used for the creation of
scenarios where no direct information about future conditions are available or where it is impossible to know
precisely how the information shall be applied since there may exist more than one option for its application.
The latter is often the case when applying scenarios in a sensitivity analysis to track how sensitive the
outcome of a study is in relation to different influencing parameters.
Generic data for scenarios should be as realistic as possible and properly documented (covering the present
or anticipated situation), rather than idealistic or "carefully selected".
4.3.3.2 Building elements description scenarios
The aggregation of (specific or average) data from individual components into new generic elements is helpful
for calculations in the early design stages, when the details of the construction and materials are not yet
decided.
4.3.3.3 Construction process scenarios
Construction process scenarios are of importance for the construction, use and end-of-life stage; and of
particular importance for comparing products over the entire life cycle of the building. The reference scenario
for which the EPD is calculated, should reflect and be extrapolated from a present, realistic situation and not
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from a future "visionary" situation. The scenario should fit with the life cycle considered (examples: the
appropriate electricity grid for a material or component produced on a global market, i.e. on another continent,
versus for local recycling of demolition waste; transport for primary raw materials versus transport during the
construction stage, etc.).
4.3.3.4 End of life scenarios
The use of generic data for scenarios describing the end-of-life stage (downstream processes) should reflect:
a) existing technology;
b) current regulations;
c) today's average practice and mix of different end-of-life treatments of the product group in the location
where the process takes place.
4.3.4 Compensating with generic data for differences in local conditions
Often generic data will not directly reflect the local conditions (i.e. the actual situation) under study. Data
compensation then has to take place. Compensation on a quantitative empirical basis for local conditions is
always the best option. This however presupposes the practitioner's detailed understanding of the information
under the local conditions and therefore understanding the different measures to be taken for compensating
any bias in the information. When informed compensation of the data is not possible, informed assumptions
have to be made. These kinds of assumptions are common in LCA since often no other option is available.
Such assumptions should always be reported in the LCA-report and the sensitivity of the analysis resulting
from such assumptions should be evaluated.
4.4 Sources of Generic data
4.4.1 General
Generic data vary in their nature and quality. Sometimes they include information from sources with a long
tradition in gathering, sampling and processing information. In other cases, they may include information that
is gathered or sampled in just a few observations or even a single observation.
...