ACV/EPD services to offer to companies (and their financing)
The rational use of resources, the rationalization of energy consumption and the circular economy are subjects at the heart of our initiatives. In Europe, the construction sector is a major consumer of energy and resources. There is therefore considerable potential for improvement in construction, both in terms of greenhouse gas emissions and resource use.
With this in mind, Wallonia, Flanders and the Brussels Region have developed a tool for assessing the environmental impact of building materials, the Totem tool (Tool to Optimise the Total Environmental impact of Materials), whose use will certainly become compulsory in the long term (in the same way as the PEB). This tool is based on life-cycle analyses (LCA) of materials, summarized in the form of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
The current problem is the lack of representation of certain construction sectors in the B-EPD database. This applies both to the wood sector and to other bio-based materials. If nothing is done, this situation will only worsen over time, and natural, renewable materials risk being ignored in favor of other, non-renewable materials. A product that does not appear in the B-EPD database is a product whose use is ultimately doomed!
Carrying out an EPD is costly and time-consuming (the cost of carrying out an LCA of a product is estimated at around €15,000, to which must be added the cost of an EPD verifier for validation). Structural reasons could also prevent sectors linked to natural materials, such as wood and other eco-materials, from benefiting from the Totem tool. These sectors are mainly made up of small businesses (SMEs and SMMEs), which often don't have the resources to invest in LCAs.
If we want this tool to be as representative as possible of all construction sectors, and to integrate natural and renewable materials, support and guidance for the smallest companies is essential, and must be provided quickly.
The primary aim of this project is to develop the B-EPD database for wood , by supporting and assisting manufacturers of wood and wood-based products to produce collective EPDs.
Following on from a project initiated a few years ago jointly with the Office économique Wallon du Bois, Hout Info Bois and the Cluster Eco Construction, Filière Bois Wallonie (born of the merger between the Office économique Wallon du Bois and Ressources naturelles Développement), as part of the Valbowal initiative, intends to set up a working group to bring this project to fruition.
