The Sidac system: Streamlining the assessment of the embodied energy and CO2 of Brazilian construction products

Abstract

Life cycle indicators are essential for supporting decisions to decarbonize the construction sector. However, the use of such indicators remains limited in the construction industry, particularly in developing countries, partly because of their complexity, high cost, and fragmented life cycle assessment (LCA) tools. Therefore, we have developed the Information System for Environmental Performance in Construction (Sidac) to change this scenario. The system applies a streamlined LCA approach for assessing the cradle-to-gate embodied energy and CO2 emissions of construction products. This online system includes all functionalities to consistently calculate, verify, communicate, and benchmark life cycle indicators. Based on primary data, the system is intended to facilitate the calculation and disclosure of life cycle indicators for construction products. This paper presents the principles and primary functionalities of this system. The first version of the system database contains generic data for 86 Brazilian construction products and 40 basic inputs, including electricity and fuels, and it is ready to receive manufacturer-specific data. By addressing barriers to assessing life cycle indicators of construction products, Sidac represents an important step towards the mainstream consideration of these indicators in the Brazilian construction value chain. This system can aid public policy in promoting low-carbon construction by providing a centralized and reliable environmental performance information system. Moreover, the development of Sidac is aligned with the trend of increasing digitalization and simplification of LCA. This system can serve as a model for developing similar simplified tools to accelerate the adoption of life cycle thinking in other countries and sectors.