scope:

This European Standard provides the specific principles and requirements, expressed through a suite of standards, for the assessment of environmental performance of buildings in terms of quantitative environmental aspects and impacts, taking into account technical characteristics and functionality of a building. Assessment of environmental performance is one aspect of sustainability assessment of buildings under the general framework of prEN 15643-1. NOTE 1 ISO 21931-1 is taken into consideration. The framework applies to all types of buildings, both new and existing, and it is relevant for the assessment of the environmental performance of new buildings over their entire life cycle, and of existing buildings undergoing refurbishment, renewal or extension, to the end of their life. The environmental dimension of sustainability is limited to the assessment of environmental impacts of a building on local, regional and global environment on the basis of Life Cycle Assessment expressed with the quantitative assessment categories. It excludes the environmental risk assessment of a building on the local environment and it excludes environmental aspects of a building relating to the built environment that extend beyond the area of the building site, e.g. environmental impacts of construction of local infrastructure or environmental impacts resulting from transportation of the users of the building. Other means for measurement of environmental performance of buildings, which are not based on the Life Cycle Assessment methodology, are not considered within this framework. NOTE 2 In the future, the assessment methodologies within this framework standard should be part of an overall assessment of integrated building performance. The assessment methodologies may also be extended to an assessment of the neighbourhoods and the built environment. The standards developed under this framework do not set the rules for how the different assessment methodologies may provide valuation methods nor do they prescribe levels, classes or benchmarks for measuring performance. NOTE 3 Valuation methods, levels, classes or benchmarks may be prescribed in the requirements for environmental performance in the client's brief, building regulations, national standards, national codes of practice etc. The rules for assessment of environmental aspects of organizations are not included within this framework. However, their results, which impact the impact the environmental performance of the object of assessment are taken into account.