Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the construction of healthcare buildings. Analysis of environmental impact

Abstract

Currently the optimization of raw materials, energetic efficiency and the reduction of environmental impact are aspects of such importance at the time of choosing a product, process or system. The healthcare buildings are a kind of building composed by a whole group of systems, products and processes. This means a great margin for improvement in energy efficiency and environmental impact caused during the construction as well. The main goal of this project is to verify the viability of applying a case of study of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) in a healthcare building. After the analysis of the results obtained in previous studies, a series of advantages and drawbacks have appeared as a result of applying this tool in healthcare buildings. The result has been beyond satisfactory, since clear conclusions have been obtained from an exhaustive analysis. Among the most important conclusions, it should be noted that the LCA technique is a great asset to evaluate environmental impacts. The application of LCA methodology helps to reduce the total environmental impact generated during the construction of a healthcare building, having a great impact on social benefit as well as an economic benefit. This last is usually associated to the reduction of waste and operative costs and in the energy savings. Also, it has been proposed some solutions to the main drawbacks. These can be the draw of a guide for the application of the LCA technique or the implementation of educational courses.