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sustainability
Article
Analysis of Major Environmental Impact Categories
of Road Construction Materials
Won-Jun Park 1, Rakhyun Kim 2, Seungjun Roh 3,* and Hoki Ban 4, *
1Department of Architectural Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok 25913, Korea;
wjpark@kangwon.ac.kr
2GREENers, Ansan 15455, Korea; redwow6@grners.com
3School of Architecture, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi 39177, Korea
4Department of Civil Engineering, Kangwon National University, Samcheok 25913, Korea
*Correspondence: roh@kumoh.ac.kr (S.R.); hban@kangwon.ac.kr (H.B.); Tel.: +82-54-478-7595 (S.R.);
+82-33-570-6508 (H.B.)
Received: 20 July 2020; Accepted: 20 August 2020; Published: 2 September 2020
Abstract:
To address the environmental problems associated with construction materials, the
construction industry has made considerable efforts to reduce carbon emissions. However,
construction materials cause several other environmental problems in addition to carbon emissions
and thus, a comprehensive analysis of environmental impact categories is required. This study aims
to determine the major environmental impact categories for each construction material in production
stage using the life cycle assessment (LCA) technique on road projects. Through the review of
life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodologies, the abiotic depletion potential (ADP), ozone
depletion potential, photochemical oxidant creation potential, acidification potential, eutrophication
potential, eco-toxicity potential, human toxicity potential, as well as the global warming potential
(GWP) were defined as impact categories. To define the impact categories for road construction
materials, major environmental pollutants were analyzed for a number of road projects, and impact
categories for 13 major construction materials were selected as mandatory impact categories. These
materials contributed more than 80% to the impact categories from an LCA perspective. The impact
categories to which each material contributed more than 99% were proposed as specialization impact
categories to provide basic data for use in the LCIA of future road projects.
Keywords:
construction materials; major environmental impact categories; life cycle assessment;
road project
1. Introduction
Concerns over global environmental problems, such as climate change and resource depletion,
have been growing worldwide. The United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 included
details on climate change and resource depletion in 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and major
countries agreed on the efforts to combat climate change by signing the Paris Agreement in December
2015 [
1
,
2
]. Accordingly, South Korea set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37%, compared
to the forecasted emissions in 2030, and is promoting reduction measures, such as improving energy
efficiency and increasing the use of waste as an energy resource across industries [
3
,
4
]. Each country
has made efforts to preserve its environment through direct environmental regulations, such as various
product-oriented emission allowance standards, which include integrated product policy (IPP) and
ecodesign requirements for energy-using products (EUP), and indirect environmental regulations, such
as environmental product declaration (EPD) and renewable energy 100% (RE100). The IPP requires the
consideration of the life cycle of a product, and EPD also induces eco-friendly design considered the
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951; doi:10.3390/su12176951 www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 2 of 18
life cycle environmental impacts. In light of this movement, structures, products, and services in all
areas must be developed or operated to minimize environmental loads.
To this end, efficient measures to reduce the emissions of environmental pollutants are
required from the construction industry, which consumes energy and resources in large quantities.
Social overhead capital (SOC) facilities, such as roads, require strategic support on a national level,
and interest in developing technologies to preserve limited resources and reduce environmental
loads has been growing in the road construction area. Road construction materials have achieved
considerable progress, such as service life extension through durability improvement, recycling of
pavement materials, and carbon reducing materials and construction technologies [5–7].
Road construction projects are composites composed of materials, and parts manufactured
through various methods, massive resources and energy are required for material production and
construction. As for the physical components of the road, such various construction materials are used
in the production stage of the infrastructure life cycle process. After such use, they are affected by
the life cycle of each road or the life cycle is affected by the service life of each construction material.
Basically, the environmental loads, which occur as roads are completed, can be seen as the sum of the
environmental loads generated by each construction material.
Therefore, it is necessary to attempt to reduce the environmental loads of each material that
constitutes a road to reduce the environmental loads of the road. Entire environmental loads
can be reduced considerably if the construction material industry adopts eco-friendly systems,
and energy-saving or low-environmental-load construction materials are used at construction sites.
To evaluate the environmental load reduction performance, some studies on life cycle assessment
(LCA) methods have been conducted, but it is necessary to calculate the environmental loads for each
life cycle stage from the material production stage to the construction and operation stage.
Since construction materials involve various conditions throughout the life cycle, technology to
systematically assess the impacts of various environmental parameters suitable for the conditions
and circumstances of each stage is required. However, basic materials for LCA of construction
materials are still insufficient because a life cycle environmental load emission estimation methodology
for the construction area has not been established and an environmental impact database with
representative features by material has not been constructed. Several studies have been conducted
in the road construction area to reduce the environmental impact of construction materials in the
material production stage [
8
–
10
]. Most studies have focused on the assessment of carbon dioxide
(CO
2
) emissions; however, emissions of other greenhouse gases (CH
4
, N
2
O, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, SF
6
) also contribute to global warming and climate change. In addition to global
warming, other environmental problems such as the depletion of the ozone layer and acid rain should
also be considered in the assessment of the environmental impacts of construction
materials [11,12]
.
In the construction industry, swift decision-making must be performed due to the limited road
project budget and schedule; thus, it is difficult to examine the environmental impacts of all
construction materials.
In the construction material area, active efforts are also being made to minimize environmental load
emission and to develop low-carbon and low-energy technologies with high resource recycling rates.
However, it is currently difficult to prepare objective environmental load reduction measures through
product applicability or reusability improvement by assessing the potential environmental impacts of
construction materials and analyzing processes on which environmental load emission is concentrated
because there are no detailed procedures and standards for estimating the environmental impacts of
the production stage of construction materials. Therefore, it is necessary to provide information on
major environmental impact categories that require intensive examination to reduce the environmental
load of each input material [13–16].
This is part of a study for the reduction and management of environmental loads during the life
cycle of a road project. In this study, major environmental impact categories were selected for each
road construction material to reflect the characteristics of the construction materials in production stage
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 3 of 18
using LCA. By reviewing various life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methodologies, environmental
impacts were defined, and criteria for evaluating these impacts were presented. Environmental
loads were calculated using the life cycle inventory database (LCI DB), which constructed the
environmental loads per functional unit for specific resources as a DB, for the following eight
impact categories: global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion potential (ODP), acidification
potential (AP), abiotic depletion potential (ADP), photochemical oxidant creation potential (POCP),
eutrophication potential (EP), human toxicity potential (HTP), and eco-toxicity potential (ETP). Based on
the analysis of major construction materials used in road construction, impact categories to which
such materials contributed more than 95% were proposed as specialization impact categories for each
construction material.
2. Literature Review
The LCA is an environmental assessment technique for quantifying the amount of resources input
to the production process and for systematically evaluating the impact of pollutant emissions on the
environment. The environmental load that quantifies the environmental impact of a product in the
LCA is calculated through (1) life cycle inventory analysis (LCI), which quantifies and collects the input
resources into the production process and subsequent emissions, and (2) LCIA, which evaluates the
contribution of resources and emissions to the impact categories. As the environmental performance
of a product may vary depending on the impact category or assessment criteria, it is important to
define appropriate impact categories and assessment criteria according to the assessment target and
purpose [
17
–
19
]. To date, several LCIA methodologies have been developed; each LCIA method
defines various impact categories and assessment methods for each category. LCIA is a step to interpret
the LCI results more clearly for evaluating the potential environmental impact of the results. It is also a
technical process in which the categories of the environmental load substances identified in the LCI are
classified by analyzing their environmental impact characteristics, and the results are converted to
indicator results by applying indicator values (e.g., characterization, normalization, and weighting
values) for evaluation [20–22].
Each country is developing LCIA methodologies according to their environmental goals and
ecosystem characteristics (Table 1). Such methodologies have been developed most actively in the
Netherlands at government, industrial, and university research institutes [
23
–
26
]. In Europe, studies
on LCIA methodologies have been mainly conducted at university research institutes. For example,
CML 2001 is a method developed by the Center of Environmental Science at Leiden University in the
Netherlands. Impact categories can be evaluated using Ecoinvent, which is an internationally used
method that provides European and global normalization factors. Eco-indicator 99, which was also
developed in the Netherlands in 1999, presents assessment results for resources, ecosystem quality,
and human health. In Eco-indicator 99, the effect of inputs or emissions on each of these three items
is defined so that the damage for three impact categories can be calculated. EDIP 2003 is a method
developed at the Technical University of Denmark in mid-1997 by improving EDIP 97. The method is
specific to Europe, except for GWP and ODP, which are considered global impact categories [27–30].
In the United States (US), studies on LCIA and LCA methodologies have been conducted
mainly by government agencies. The Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other
Environmental Impacts (TRACI) is an environmental impact assessment tool developed by the US
Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) in 2003 to evaluate nine impact categories. The ozone
depletion and global warming sectors were developed on a global level, and the other sectors were
developed based on the North American source data. TRACI has limitations in evaluating the resource
depletion sector. EPS 2000 is a method created in 1990 and 1991 to present environmental loads
by converting them into costs. The influence of emissions on each impact category as well as the
importance of impact categories defined as cost are presented (five impact categories were considered:
human health, ecosystem production capacity, non-biological resources, influence on biodiversity,
and cultural and recreational value). The LCIA method established by the Ministry of Trade, Industry,
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 4 of 18
and Energy (MOTIE) and the Ministry of Environment (ME) in South Korea was developed based on
CML 2001 of the Netherlands and have great potential for universal applications [31–35].
Table 1. LCIA (life cycle impact assessment) methods.
Method Nation Institute Data Scope Environmental Impact Category
CML 2001 Netherlands
Center of
Environmental
Science of Leiden
University
Global, Europe
Acidification potential, Climate change,
Eutrophication potential, Freshwater aquatic
ecotoxicity, Human toxicity, Marine aquatic
ecotoxicity, Photochemical oxidation,
Resources, Stratospheric ozone depletion,
Terrestrial ecotoxicity
EDIP 2003 Denmark
Technical
University of
Denmark
Europe
Acidification, Terrestrial eutrophication,
Photochemical ozone exposure of plants,
Photochemical ozone exposure of human
beings, Global warming
TRACI U.S.A. US EPA North America
Ozone depletion, Global warming,
Acidification, Eutrophication, Photochemical
oxidation, Ecotoxicity, Human health
ReCiPe Netherlands
National Institute
for Public Health
and the
Environment
Global, Europe
Climate change, Stratospheric ozone depletion,
Ionizing radiation, Fine particulate matter
formation, Photochemical ozone formation,
Terrestrial acidification, Freshwater
eutrophication, Toxicity, Water use, Land use,
Mineral resource scarcity, Fossil
resource scarcity
Eco-indicator 99 Netherlands PRéSustainability Global, Europe
Mineral and fossil resources, Ecosystem quality,
Human health
EPS 2000 Sweden IVL North America,
Europe
Life expectance, Severe morbidity, Morbidity,
Severe nuisance, Nuisance, Crop growth
capacity, Wood growth capacity
3. Methods
3.1. Overview
This study aims to select major environmental impact categories for each construction material
to reflect the characteristics of construction materials via LCA. To this end, the LCA was performed
in the order of setting the goal and scope, analyzing the LCI, and evaluating the life cycle impact in
accordance with ISO 14040 (Figure 1) [36].
Figure 1. LCA’s (life cycle assessment) stages according to ISO 14040.
Goal and scope definition is a step to determine the purpose of performing the LCA and the scope
of data collection accordingly. The goal and scope of this LCA were defined as the environmental
impact categories specialized in the construction materials through analyzing the impact categories
that are emitted in large quantities among impact categories for each construction material in order to
induce the selection of the environmental load-reduced construction materials for the road projects.
LCI is the step of collecting data based on what is defined in the goal and scope definition.
To this end
,
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 5 of 18
in this study, the types and quantity data of construction materials for three road projects were collected
and the inventory was analyzed only in the production stage among the life cycle system boundaries.
LCIA is a step to evaluate the environmental impacts of the evaluated subjects. In this study, the major
environmental impact categories were selected by performing the analysis of the environmental impact
categories of construction materials input into road projects.
3.2. Goal and Scope Definition
Figure 2shows the goal and scope of this study based on the theoretical investigation of LCA and
impact categories. LCIA was composed of classification, characterization, normalization, and weighting.
Roads that play a pivotal role in the transportation system in modern society are composed of three
types: road construction, bridges, and tunnels. Road construction refers to a road section completed
by performing pavement work on the roadbed mainly created through earthwork. Tunnels are mainly
installed in mountain areas, but they are sometimes replaced by the earthworks department depending
on the conditions of the site or project. Therefore, it is difficult to judge it as a universal facility applied
to all roads. Bridges are structures that are constructed to pass through valleys or rivers, and materials
are mainly made of concrete and steel, but the size and structural type applied according to the site
conditions are different. Due to these characteristics, it is expected that the environmental impact
factors and emission units of the bridge will appear differently depending on the materials used
and the applied structural type. Therefore, for bridges and tunnels, it was judged that it would be
more reasonable to perform analysis according to materials and types rather than by construction
project units, and thus, they were excluded from the scope of this study.
Figure 2. Concept of goal and scope definition.
For the selection of major environmental impact categories for each construction material,
construction materials used in the drainage, pavement, and auxiliary tasks, which are the representative
tasks of road construction, were analyzed for the material production stage specified in ISO 21930
(Figure 3) and EN15804. In this study, the CML 2001 method was used to define the impact categories
and assessment criteria because it can be applied universally as it provides global impacts. Furthermore,
the eight impact categories of the previously mentioned CML 2001 methodology were used.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 6 of 18
Figure 3. Life cycle stages for the infrastructure assessment in ISO 21930.
3.3. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI)
LCI is the step of collecting data based on what is defined in the goal and scope definition. For the
analysis of the major environmental impact categories of construction materials input into road projects,
major construction materials were selected by studying three road project cases, as shown in Table 2,
operated by the Korea Expressway Corporation. Among the target cases, projects related to tunnels
and bridges were excluded in this study because they cannot be applied universally because of their
different sizes and structural types depending on the site conditions. In this study, the material types
input to the road projects and their amounts were obtained by analyzing the unit cost calculation data
of the three road project cases.
Table 2. Overview of road construction project.
Classification Project 1 Project 2 Project 3
Project National road 86 line National road 33 line Northern arterial road
Administrative district Gyeonggi, Namyangju Gyeongbuk, Goryeong-Sungju Seoul-Gyeonggi, Namyangju
Design speed 80 km/h 80 km/h 80 km/h
Terrain Mountainous area Mountainous area Downtown area
Length 5.36 km 21.00 km 6.52 km
As the unit weight of the materials, the standard data of the estimates were used. In the case of
ready-made products, unit conversion was performed based on their weight. The analysis results
showed that major construction materials based on weight are ready-mixed concrete, asphalt concrete,
rebar, coarse aggregate, cement, recycled coarse aggregate and concrete products (Table 3).
To calculate the environmental impacts of major construction materials, the Korea National LCI
DB (Ministry of Trade, Industry/Energy and Ministry of Environment (MOTIE/ME LCI DB)), which was
constructed using the direct estimation method, and the LCI DB of construction materials, which was
constructed by investigating the status of the national DB (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and
Transport (MOLIT LCI DB)) for the environmental impacts of the construction products, were selected.
The MOTIE/ME LCI DB and MOLIT LCI DB, to ensure the representativeness of the database
for each construction material, quantify inputs and outputs for the production, transportation,
and manufacturing stages of raw materials by selecting companies that produce more than 50% of
total production volume or, if there is representative production technology, that uses the technology.
For this, inputs and outputs were quantified in the raw material supply phase, transportation phase,
and manufacturing phase. For the LCI DB of construction materials commonly constructed both in the
MOTIE/ME LCI DB and in the MOLIT LCI DB, the MOTIE/ME LCI DB was applied preferentially
depending on the Korea LCI DB certification. For the LCI DB of construction materials that are not
constructed in the MOTIE/ME LCI DB, the MOLIT LCI was used [
6
]. Consequently, 41 construction
materials were surveyed based on seven categories: 15 materials from the MOTIE/ME LCI DB and 26
from the MOLIT LCI DB as shown in Table 4.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 7 of 18
Table 3. Material quantity of road construction project.
No. Project 1 Project 2 Project 3
Materials Quantity (ton) Materials Quantity (ton) Materials Quantity (ton)
1 Asphalt concrete 46,525.00
Ready-mixed concrete
165,618.00
Ready-mixed concrete
37,411.80
2 Coarse aggregate 44,053.50 Coarse aggregate 83,295.32 Coarse aggregate 22,365.00
3
Ready-mixed concrete
40,572.00 Asphalt concrete 67,359.00 Asphalt concrete 18,504.00
4Recycled coarse
aggregate 14,356.50 Concrete product 5089.77 Recycled coarse
aggregate 6667.50
5 Concrete product 4089.77 Electric steel
deformed bars 2449.56 Electric steel
deformed bars 4490.16
6 Cement 602.84 Cement 2220.29 Cement 2653.92
7 Granite 416.71 Electro galvanized
coil 2106.85 Concrete product 1415.51
8 Asphalt 78.72 Electric steel sections 2006.45 Granite 717.46
9Electric steel
deformed bars 63.79 Asphalt 258.84 Asphalt 101.76
10 Polyethylene pipe 61.85 Polyethylene pipe 123.44 Guard rail 29.76
11 Guard rail 24.80 Guard rail 98.20 Polyethylene pipe 4.80
12 Steel grating 13.14 Steel grating 21.22 Steel grating 3.36
13 Stainless pipe 8.17
Table 4. LCI DB (life cycle inventory database) of construction materials.
Classification No. LCI DB Functional
Unit
Constructed
Year Source Selection
Ready-mixed
concrete
1 Ready-mixed concrete 25-210-12 m32003 MOTIE/ME Yes
2 Ready-mixed concrete 25-210-15 m32003 MOTIE/ME Yes
3 Ready-mixed concrete 25-240-12 m32003 MOTIE/ME Yes
4 Ready-mixed concrete 25-240-15 m32003 MOTIE/ME Yes
Cement
5 Portland cement type I kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
6 Portland cement type II kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
7 Portland cement type III kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
8 Portland cement type V kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
9 Blast furnace slag cement kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
Asphalt concrete
10 Asphalt concrete (base course BB-2) kg 2013 MOLIT Yes
11 Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-2) kg 2013 MOLIT Yes
12 Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-5) kg 2013 MOLIT Yes
13 Hot recycled asphalt concrete (base course BB-2) kg 2014 MOLIT Yes
14
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (surface course WC-2)
kg 2014 MOLIT Yes
15
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (surface course WC-4)
kg 2014 MOLIT Yes
Rebar 16
Electric steel deformed bars kg 2003 MOTIE/ME Yes
Deformed reinforcing steel bar kg 2003 MOLIT No
High-tension deformed reinforcing steel bar kg 2003 MOLIT No
Steel
17 Electro galvanized steel sheet kg 2005 MOTIE/ME Yes
18 Steel plates ton 2005 MOTIE/ME Yes
19 Electric steel sections kg 2002 MOTIE/ME Yes
Aggregate
20 Crushed sands kg 2005 MOLIT Yes
21 Crushed gravels kg 2005 MOLIT Yes
22 Recycled fine aggregate kg 2007 MOLIT Yes
23 Recycled coarse aggregate kg 2007 MOLIT Yes
Steel grating
24 Steel grating I-25-200 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
25 Steel grating I-44-300 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
26 Steel grating I-32-300 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
27 Steel grating I-50 s-400 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
28 Steel grating I-32-400 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
29 Steel grating I-32-500 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
30 Steel grating I-25-500 mm kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
Guard rail 31 Guardrail (4 ×350 ×4330 mm) kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
32 Guardrail end treatments(4 ×350 ×765 m) kg 2018 MOLIT Yes
HDPE pipes
33 Structured-wall polyethylene pipes (D =100 mm) m 2018 MOLIT Yes
34 Structured-wall polyethylene pipes (D =150 mm) m 2018 MOLIT Yes
35 Structured-wall polyethylene pipes (D =200 mm) m 2018 MOLIT Yes
36 Structured-wall polyethylene pipes (D =300 mm) m 2018 MOLIT Yes
37 Structured-wall polyethylene pipes (D =400 mm) m 2018 MOLIT Yes
Stainless steel 38 Stainless steel pipe kg 2005 MOTIE/ME Yes
Precast concrete 39 Precast concrete product kg 2019 MOLIT Yes
Stone block 40 Granite m32013 MOLIT Yes
Asphalt primer 41 Asphalt emulsion RC(C)-1,2,3,4 `2018 MOTIE/ME Yes
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 8 of 18
3.4. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
In the LCIA step of the LCA, the impact quantification factor (characterization factor) of each
impact category is calculated [
37
], and the potential contribution to the environmental load is obtained
by multiplying the loads (emission or release) of the inventory data classified into each impact category
by the characterization factor (Equation (1)).
Impact category indicatori=Σ(Ejor Rj)×CFi,j, (1)
where the impact category indicator (characterization value, impact category indicator i) is the indicator
value i for the impact category per functional unit; E
j
or R
j
(emission or release) is emission j or resource
consumption j per functional unit; CF
i,j
is the characterization factor that represents the contribution of
emission j or resource consumption j to impact category i.
The characterization factor is a value that represents the potential contribution of emissions
to a specific environmental effect. For example, the contributions of NH
3
to AP and EP can be
expressed as 0.13 PO
4-eq.
, which is 0.13 times the contribution of the reference substance (unit) PO
4
for AP,
and 1.88 SO2-eq.
, which is 1.88 times the contribution of the reference substance SO
2
for EUP.
These are referred to as the characterization factors. A high characterization factor means high potential
contribution to an environmental effect [38].
When characterization is performed, global characterization factors are applied or local
characterization factor models in consideration of regional or temporal characteristics are selected
depending on the impact category. This can be determined according to the regional boundary of
the environmental effect of the impact category. In the case of global warming impact category,
the influence of substances on global warming is not significantly different by region, even though it
varies depending on the residence time of the substances in the atmosphere. Therefore, the residence
time of the substances (based on 100 years) is determined and the global characterization factor (GWP)
is applied to obtain the characterization value of the global warming impact category. In the case of the
non-biological resource impact category, if environmental impacts are evaluated for a certain region,
biased values can be applied because the reserves and types of such resources are limited depending
on the resource depletion or the regional boundaries in South Korea, and they vary globally [
39
,
40
].
Therefore, using global values are more appropriate. In the toxicity, eutrophication, and acidification
impact categories, however, the characterization factors derived from the target area must be used
when inventory data are collected and characterization models are applied because there are large
differences in the environmental effects depending on the local environmental conditions.
As the environmental performance of a product may differ depending on the environmental
impact assessment categories or assessment criteria, these categories and assessment criteria must
be properly defined according to the assessment target and purpose. Various LCIA methods
have been developed so far, and each methodology has defined various impact categories and
assessment methods for each category. LCIA methods are largely divided into midpoint- and
endpoint-level approaches. With the midpoint-level (i.e., problem-oriented) approach, environmental
impacts are classified based on environmental problems caused by inputs and outputs, such as
global warming, acidification, and eutrophication. With the endpoint-level (i.e., loss-oriented) approach,
environmental impacts are classified according to the final damage. These include human damage
and ecosystem destruction. These two approaches have different benefits and drawbacks because of
their natures. Although midpoint-level methodologies generally include all environmental impacts,
the assessment results are difficult to understand. Although the results of endpoint-level methodologies
are easy to understand, the inclusion of all losses caused by environmental impacts is not guaranteed.
The aim of this study was to define categories for assessing environmental impacts based on a
problem-oriented approach for more objective results. The LCIA methods, which had been developed
earlier, was applied to this purpose.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 9 of 18
The characterization factors and methods that have been used in South Korea are based on
the European models or CML 2001 from the Netherlands. Normalization is performed to obtain
a more in-depth interpretation of the relative importance of each characterized impact category
value or the scale of the indicator results. In other words, the relative contributions (rankings) of
impact categories to the environment are evaluated after making the impact category values with
different units dimensionless by dividing them by common units, such as the total environmental
load, population, and GNP at a certain region and time. When normalization values are obtained,
data on the environmental loads of the reference area (assessment area) are required to evaluate
the contributions of impact categories by dividing the environmental loads by the reference value.
In Europe, the total environmental load values are published each year and used for the LCA [
41
–
45
].
In South Korea, however, the total environmental loads generated in South Korea cannot be obtained
because pollutant emissions are published only for a few pollutants by several agencies, such as
ME [
46
]. Therefore, to substitute more accurate normalization values (reference values), impact
categories that significantly affect the regional environmental characteristics (geographical boundaries),
such as eutrophication, acidification, and toxicity, should also use the data collected by each country,
which reflect the regional boundaries, when normalization factors are obtained as characterization
factors are calculated. In this study, impact categories and assessment criteria were applied based
on the CML 2001 method, which can be universally applied, and the Korean impact assessment
methodology (Table 5) developed using the CML 2001 method.
Table 5. Impact category of normalization and weighting factor.
Impact Category Normalization Factor Weighting Factor
Value Unit Value
ADP 2.49 ×104g/person-year 2.31 ×10−1
GWP 5.53 ×106g CO2-eq/person-year 2.88 ×10−1
ODP 4.07 ×10 g CFC-eq /person-year 2.92 ×10−1
POCP 1.03 ×104g C2H4-eq/person-year 6.50 ×10−2
AP 3.98 ×104g SO2-eq/person-year 3.60 ×10−2
EP 1.31 ×104g PO43−-eq/person-year 3.80 ×10−2
ETP 1.63 ×103g DCB-eq/person-year 2.16 ×10−1
HTP 1.48 ×106g DCB-eq/person-year 1.05 ×10−1
4. Analysis of Major Environmental Impact Categories by Construction Material
4.1. Analysis of Impact Category Classification by Construction Material
The classification of data involves the process of classifying and collecting impact substances
derived from the LCI DB according to the impact category using the LCIA method, which is based
on the existing studies. The classification makes it possible to accurately identify the effect of
each substance on the global environment. For example, CO
2
, CFC-11, CFC-114, and CFC-12 are
among the reference and influence substances that impact global warming, and the results of the
classification of ready-mixed concrete 25-240-15 using the national LCI DB are 4.20
×
10
2
kg-CO
2
/m
3
,
2.05 ×10−9kg-CFC-11/m3
,
2.10 ×10−9kg-CFC-114/m3
, and 4.40
×
10
−10
kg-CFC-12/m
3
. Table 6shows
the results of the classification of building materials, such as ready-mixed concrete 25-240-15, electric
steel deformed bars, and asphalt concrete for base courses (BB-2) using the LCI DB.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 10 of 18
Table 6. Classification of LCI DB of building materials (particle).
Classification Environment Ready-Mixed
Concrete 25-240-15
Electric Steel
Deformed Bars
Asphalt Concrete
(Base Course BB-2)
CO2Air 4.20 ×1023.40 ×10−14.04 ×100
CFC-11 Air 2.05 ×10−94.02 ×10−13 5.87 ×10−13
CFC-114 Air 2.10 ×10−94.12 ×10−13 3.08 ×10−11
CFC-12 Air 4.40 ×10−10 8.64 ×10−14 1.97 ×10−13
Ethane Air 1.91 ×10−34.34 ×10−77.92 ×10−14
Ethanol Air 2.73 ×10−66.19 ×10−10 2.47 ×10−15
Halon-1301 Air 3.82 ×10−68.68 ×10−10 1.25 ×10−11
NO2Air 6.93 ×10−41.38 ×10−67.17 ×10−11
SO2Air 2.67 ×10−14.42 ×10−43.63 ×100
PO43−Water 1.76 ×10−44.22 ×10−85.74E ×102
Crude oil Soil 4.61 ×10 2.35 ×10−22.76 ×102
Lead (Pb) Soil 1.39 ×10−62.89 ×10−15 1.08 ×10−3
4.2. Analysis of Impact Category Characterization by Construction Material
Although influence substances were identified and connected by impact category through
classification, they have different impact quotients. Thus, there are limitations in quantitatively
identifying their influence. Therefore, the environmental impact coefficient of construction materials can
be quantitatively calculated through characterization, in which the emission of each influence substance
is multiplied by the impact quotient of each impact category and the results are added. For example,
the impact quotients of CO
2
, which is the reference substance of global warming, and CFC-11, CFC-114,
and CFC-13, which are the influence substances of global warming,
are 1.00 ×100kg-CO2/kg-CO2
,
4.00 ×103kg-CO2/kg-CFC-11
, 9.30
×
10
3
kg-CO
2
/kg-CFC-114, and 8.50
×
10
3
kg-CO
2
/kg-CFC-13,
respectively. When these values are multiplied by the classification results of ready-mixed
concrete (25-240-15) (4.20
×
10
2
kg-CO
2
/m
3
, 2.05
×
10
−9
kg-CFC-11/m
3
, 2.10
×
10
−9
kg-CFC-114/m
3
,
and 4.40 ×10−10 kg-CFC-12/m3)
and added, the environmental impact coefficient of ready-mixed
concrete (25-240-15) for global warming (4.29
×
10
2
kg-CO
2eq
/m
3
) can be calculated. Main raw
materials of ready- mixed concrete include cement, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate, fly ash, and water,
and it is produced using electric power. Various emissions and waste materials are generated during
its production process. The LCI DB of the ME was used in this study to evaluate the environmental
impacts of such byproducts.
The impact categories used to derive the environmental impacts were ADP, GWP, ODP, POCP,
AP, EUP, ETP, and HTP. Table 7shows some of the environmental impact coefficients of construction
materials calculated in this study. The characterized environmental impacts of four ready-mixed
concrete types, five cement types, and six asphalt concrete types, which have many construction
materials of the same type among the seven major construction materials selected in this study,
are presented for eight impact categories.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 11 of 18
Table 7. Environmental impact coefficient of construction materials.
Classification Construction Materials DB Functional Unit
Environmental Impact Category
GWP ADP EP ODP POCP AP HTP ETP
kg-CO2-eq kg kg-PO43−-eq kg-CFC-eq kg-C2H4-eq kg-SO2-eq kg DCB-eq kg DCB-eq
Ready-mixed
concrete
Ready-mixed concrete 25-21-12 Am34.10 ×1022.04 ×1007.96 ×10−24.65 ×10−59.05 ×10−16.82 ×10−15.57 ×10 1.59 ×10−3
Ready-mixed concrete 25-21-15 A m34.20 ×1022.05 ×1008.08 ×10−24.61 ×10−59.33 ×10−16.94 ×10−15.52 ×10 1.57 ×10−3
Ready-mixed concrete 25-24-12 A m34.15 ×1021.66 ×1008.08 ×10−22.34 ×10−59.28 ×10−16.79 ×10−12.88 ×10 8.04 ×10−4
Ready-mixed concrete 25-24-15 A m34.30 ×1022.08 ×1008.20 ×10−24.59 ×10−59.58 ×10−17.05 ×10−15.50 ×10 1.57 ×10−3
Cement
Portland cement type I A kg 9.50 ×10−12.70 ×10−31.34 ×10−41.70 ×10−82.43 ×10−31.28 ×10−32.25 ×10−25.94 ×10−7
Portland cement type II A kg 9.50 ×10−13.00 ×10−39.43 ×10−51.39 ×10−93.26 ×10−51.12 ×10−36.30 ×10−39.20 ×10−8
Portland cement type III A kg 9.37 ×10−12.93 ×10−39.52 ×10−51.25 ×10−93.10 ×10−51.09 ×10−36.11 ×10−38.70 ×10−8
Portland cement type V A kg 9.44 ×10−11.49 ×10−39.20 ×10−51.28 ×10−94.10 ×10−65.19 ×10−46.00 ×10−38.44 ×10−8
Blast furnace slag cement A kg 2.09 ×10−16.48 ×10−46.69 ×10−54.14 ×10−94.52 ×10−45.51 ×10−45.73 ×10−31.44 ×10−7
Asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete (base course BB-2) B kg 4.11 ×1001.55 ×10−21.68 ×10−50.00 ×1002.93 ×10−31.09 ×10−44.17 ×10−33.68 ×10−8
Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-2)
B kg 3.98 ×1001.54 ×10−21.75 ×10−50.00 ×1002.86 ×10−31.19 ×10−44.15 ×10−33.68 ×10−8
Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-5)
B kg 4.00 ×1001.54 ×10−21.72 ×10−50.00 ×1002.87 ×10−31.19 ×10−44.15 ×10−33.68 ×10−8
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (BB-2) B kg 1.16 ×10 4.73 ×10−23.24 ×10−53.62 ×10−86.71 ×10−31.12 ×10−31.10 ×10−11.58 ×10−5
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (WC-2) B kg 1.19 ×10 4.85 ×10−24.29 ×10−52.88 ×10−86.89 ×10−31.14 ×10−37.64 ×10−22.41 ×10−5
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (WC-4) B kg 1.19 ×10 4.85 ×10−24.29 ×10−52.88 ×10−86.89 ×10−31.14 ×10−37.64 ×10−22.41 ×10−5
Rebar Electric steel deformed bars A kg 4.38 ×10−11.85 ×10−35.83 ×10−78.68 ×10−93.16 ×10−44.44 ×10−41.72 ×10−22.98 ×10−6
Aggregate
Crushed sands B m35.10 ×1001.79 ×10−25.70 ×10−60.00 ×1003.56 ×10−37.88 ×10−59.32 ×10−40.00 ×100
Crushed gravels B m31.13 ×10 3.98 ×10−21.53 ×10−50.00 ×1007.92 ×10−31.76 ×10−42.07 ×10−30.00 ×100
Recycled fine aggregate B m39.98 ×1022.73 ×1001.24 ×10−32.86 ×10−11 6.92 ×10−14.52 ×10−35.36 ×10−17.12 ×10−6
Recycled coarse aggregate B m34.49 ×10 1.25 ×10−15.68 ×10−51.28 ×10−11 3.14 ×10−23.04 ×10−41.50 ×10−13.18 ×10−6
Note: The mark in the DB, ‘A’ is the MOTIE/ME LCI DB; ‘B’ is the MOLIT LCI DB.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 12 of 18
4.3. Analysis of Impact Category Normalization/Weighting by Construction Material
In this study, an integrated factor was calculated by applying the weighting factor of each impact
category to consider the relative importance of eight impact categories for each construction material.
Normalization (environmental impact on one category is divided by the total environmental impact
contributing to the impact category during a certain period) and weighting (the relative importance of
the impact categories) were performed. The Global Normalization, Centre of Environmental Science
normalization factor and the CML 2001, Center of Environmental Science weighting factor presented
in Table 5were used. For 13 types and 41 construction materials included in the ME LCI DB and
the MOLIT LCI DB, impact categories for each construction material were analyzed by applying a
cut-offlevel cumulative weight of 99%. The cut-offcriteria presented by ISO 21930 and guidelines on
the preparation of building LCA were utilized for the LCA in South Korea. According to the cut-off
criteria, the unit process, the substance amount, energy consumption, and environmental significance
will be excluded from the study, and substances that contribute more than 99% in terms of mass or
environmental relevance among the substances that constitute the assessment target will be included
in the LCA. The results are shown in Table 8.
Table 8.
Weighting coefficient according to environmental impact categories of construction materials.
Classification Construction Materials DB Environmental Impact Category (%)
GWP ADP EP ODP POCP AP HTP ETP
Ready-mixed
concrete
Ready-mixed concrete 25-21-12 A 41.65 36.92 0.45
0.65
11.14 1.20
7.71
0.27
Ready-mixed concrete 25-21-15 A 42.04 36.55 0.45
0.64
11.32 1.21
7.53
0.27
Ready-mixed concrete 25-24-12 A 46.98 33.48 0.51
0.36
12.73 1.34
4.44
0.15
Ready-mixed concrete 25-24-15 A 42.27 36.42 0.45
0.62
11.41 1.20
7.36
0.26
Cement
Portland cement type I A 53.10 26.88 0.42
0.13
16.46 1.24
1.71
0.06
Portland cement type II A 62.42 35.11 0.35
0.01
0.26 1.28
0.56
0.01
Portland cement type III A 62.65 34.90 0.35
0.01
0.25 1.27
0.56
0.01
Portland cement type V A 76.59 21.53 0.42
0.01
0.04 0.73
0.66
0.01
Blast furnace slag cement A 52.10 28.78 0.93
0.14
13.65 2.39
1.95
0.06
Asphalt
concrete
Asphalt concrete (base course BB-2) B 56.81 38.16 0.01
0.00
4.91 0.03
0.08
0.00
Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-2) B 56.23 38.75 0.01
0.00
4.90 0.03
0.08
0.00
Asphalt concrete (surface course WC-5) B 56.34 38.64 0.01
0.00
4.90 0.03
0.08
0.00
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (BB-2) B 55.13 40.04 0.01
0.02
3.86 0.09
0.71
0.13
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (WC-2) B 55.23 40.10 0.01
0.02
3.88 0.09
0.48
0.19
Hot recycled asphalt concrete (WC-4) B 55.23 40.10 0.01
0.02
3.88 0.09
0.48
0.19
Rebar Electric steel deformed bars A 51.89 39.14 0.00
0.14
4.54 0.91
2.77
0.60
Steel
Electro galvanized steel sheet A 26.85 60.79 0.00
0.05
8.37 1.54
0.99
1.41
Steel plates A 30.07 53.20 0.00
0.22
12.18 0.56
3.69
0.09
Electric steel sections A 45.92 43.23 0.00
0.35
3.97 0.71
5.35
0.46
Aggregate
Crushed sands B 58.42 36.60 0.00
0.00
4.95 0.02
0.01
0.00
Crushed gravels B 58.41 36.61 0.00
0.00
4.95 0.02
0.01
0.00
Recycled fine aggregate B 63.63 30.97 0.00
0.00
5.34 0.01
0.05
0.00
Recycled coarse aggregate B 63.09 31.27 0.00
0.00
5.34 0.01
0.29
0.01
Steel grating
Steel grating I-25-200 B 28.63 35.59 0.06
0.61
2.22 4.78
21.57
6.54
Steel grating I-44-300 B 28.10 35.09 0.06
0.64
2.08 4.48
22.67
6.89
Steel grating I-32-300 B 27.01 33.75 0.06
0.70
1.80 3.85
25.18
7.65
Steel grating I-50 s-400 B 28.68 35.67 0.06
0.61
2.23 4.80
21.44
6.52
Steel grating I-32-400 B 30.32 37.63 0.06
0.51
2.66 5.76
17.70
5.37
Steel grating I-32-500 B 30.60 37.93 0.06
0.50
2.73 5.91
17.09
5.19
Steel grating I-25-500 B 29.20 36.33 0.06
0.57
2.37 5.11
20.19
6.16
Guard rail Guardrail (4 * 350 * 4330 mm) B 44.30 50.41 0.23
0.05
1.54 1.04
0.79
1.65
Guardrail end treatments(4 * 350 * 765 m) B 39.58 53.69 0.45
0.13
1.02 1.39
2.20
1.54
HDPE pipes
Structured-wall PE pipe (D =100 mm) B 23.82 71.38 0.27
0.04
3.02 0.44
0.49
0.54
Structured-wall PE pipe (D =150 mm) B 23.78 71.44 0.27
0.04
3.01 0.44
0.49
0.53
Structured-wall PE pipe (D =200 mm) B 23.82 71.39 0.27
0.04
3.01 0.44
0.49
0.53
Structured-wall PE pipe (D =300 mm) B 23.77 71.44 0.27
0.04
3.01 0.44
0.49
0.54
Structured-wall PE pipe (D =400 mm) B 23.74 71.48 0.27
0.04
3.01 0.44
0.49
0.53
Stainless steel Stainless steel pipe A 18.76 18.04 0.30
0.99
1.06 0.46
42.17
18.19
Precast concrete Precast concrete product B 53.18 35.70 0.37
0.10
1.65 0.13
7.82
1.04
Stone block Granite B 36.82 42.60 0.09
0.98
4.24 0.27
13.87
1.12
Asphalt primer Asphalt emulsion A 18.62 50.92 0.60
0.81
2.74 1.00
4.49
20.82
Note: The mark in the DB, ‘A’ is the MOTIE/ME LCI DB; ‘B’ is the MOLIT LCI DB.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 13 of 18
The normalization/weighting reference values were analyzed along with the results applied to
the characterization results. The top major environmental impact categories for each construction
material were ADP, GWP, and POCP (in descending order) for ready-mixed concrete, and GWP and
ADP for cement. Only ordinary Portland cement and blast furnace slag cement exhibited high impact
on POCP. The top major environmental impact categories were GWP, ADP, POCP for rebar; and ADP,
GWP, POCP for steel; GWP, ADP, POCP for crushed gravels and recycled aggregate. Only electro
galvanized steel sheet, steel plates and electric steel sections exhibited high impact on HTP. The top
impact categories for steel grating were ADP and GWP, while steel grating exhibited the highest
influence on HTP. This result was significantly affected by the use of a coagulant in the hot dip
galvanizing process. Those for guard rail were GWP and ADP. HDPE pipes highly influenced ADP,
GWP, POCP and ETP in descending order.
The top major environmental impact categories were HTP, GWP, ADP, ETP for stainless steel;
and GWP, ADP for precast concrete product; ADP, GWP, HTP for granite stone block. Asphalt primer
also showed high impact on ADP and GWP, but HTP exhibited higher environmental impact than
GWP because of the use of emulsifying agent during the chemical treatment process. For GWP,
which exhibited high unit values in the characterization results for all the construction materials,
the values became relatively smaller through normalization due to the large normalization
reference value. To determine the specialization impact categories for each construction material,
impact categories to which each material contributes more than 99% were derived (Table 9). The impact
categories that occupy a weighting factor of 80% or higher for all the construction materials were
selected as mandatory impact categories, and those that occupy a weighting factor of 99% or higher,
excluding the mandatory impact categories, were proposed as specialization impact categories for each
construction material. The mandatory impact categories were GWP and ADP. The specialization impact
categories were AP, POCP, and HTP for concrete; POCP for cement; HTP for asphalt;
AP for rebar
;
AP and HTP for steel; and AP, POCP, and HTP for concrete products.
Table 9. Deduction of major environmental impact categories.
Classification GWP ADP EP ODP POCP AP HTP ETP
Ready-mixed concrete • • #•# #
Cement • • # # #
Asphalt concrete • • #
Rebar • • # # #
Steel • • # #
Aggregate • • #
Steel grating • • # # •#
Guard rail • • # # # #
HDPE pipe • • # # #
Stainless steel • • # # • •
Precast concrete • • # # #
Stone block • • # # •#
Asphalt primer • • # # # # •
•Mandatory Environmental Impact Category, #Specialization Environmental Impact Category
5. Discussion
The major environmental impact categories for construction materials are shown in Figure 4.
The analysis of the impact categories of ready-mixed concrete showed that GWP, ADP and POCP
accounted for more than 80%.
As the strength of the ready-mixed concrete increased, GWP, ADP, and POCP also showed
an increase, but ADP was inversely proportional to the strength of the ready-mixed concrete. This is
because the content of cement generally increases and that of aggregate (gravel and sand) decreases
as the strength of the ready-mixed concrete increases. As the content of cement, which has higher
environmental impact on GWP, EUP, and POCP than the aggregate, increased, the corresponding
environmental impacts also increased. Meanwhile, ADP declined because the amount of aggregates,
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 14 of 18
which has a high environmental impact on ADP, decreased. To analyze the environmental impact
characterization values of asphalt concrete, 2.9% virgin asphalt was used relative to the product weight,
but virgin asphalt was found to have high environmental impacts on categories of ADP, ODP, and EUP.
For six asphalt concrete types, the manufacturing process and the input amount of virgin asphalt
exhibited high contribution to GWP and HTP.
Figure 4. Major environmental impact categories of construction materials.
For Portland cement, the environmental impact contribution to GWP, ADP, and EP showed
an increase in the order of Portland cement type III (high early strength cement), Portland cement
type V (sulfate-resisting cement), Portland cement type I (ordinary cement), and Portland cement
type II (moderate heat cement). This is because the content of belite, which is among the calcium
silicates that constitute clinker, generally increases in the same order, but the alite content decreases.
Belite is expected to have a higher environmental impact on GWP, ADP and EP than alite. Meanwhile,
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 15 of 18
blast furnace slag cement has a very low environmental impact on GWP and ADP but relatively high
environmental impact on ODP and POCP compared to Portland cement. This is because the blast
furnace slag, which is added during the production of blast furnace slag cement, has an excellent
environmental impact on GWP but high environmental impact on ODP and POCP, compared to the
clinker of Portland cement. Therefore, the use of blast furnace slag cement is favorable for GWP
and ADP, but its eco-friendliness may vary depending on the impact categories considered during
the LCA.
6. Conclusions
This study was conducted to select the major environmental impact categories for each construction
material, which reflect the characteristics of construction materials, using the LCIA. The results can be
summarized as follows.
•
To determine the major environmental impact categories for evaluating the environmental impacts
of construction materials and to present assessment methods for each major environmental impact,
various impact categories were defined by analyzing the previous studies on LCIA.
•
Thirteen major construction materials, including ready-mixed concrete, asphalt concrete and
electric steel deformed bars, and 41 types of materials in three road project cases were selected.
In addition, eight impact categories, i.e., ozone depletion potential (ODP), abiotic depletion
potential (ADP), acidification potential (AP), eutrophication potential (EP), photochemical oxidant
creation potential (POCP), human toxicity potential (HTP), terrestrial eco-toxicity potential (TETP),
and global warming potential (GWP), which is represented by CO
2
emissions, were defined
as major environmental impact categories, and assessment criteria for each impact category
were presented.
•
Impact categories to which all the construction materials contributed more than 80% were selected
as mandatory impact categories, and those to which each construction material contributed more
than 99% were proposed as specialization impact categories for each construction material.
•
The analysis of the environmental impacts calculated in this study showed that the content of
cement is the main factor that determines the environmental impact of ready-mixed concrete,
and that the contents of alite and belite determine the environmental impact of cement.
•
Blast furnace slag cement exhibited a low environmental impact for GWP but high environmental
impact for ODP and POCP compared to Portland cement. As eco-friendliness differs depending
on the impact category considered, it is deemed necessary to evaluate eco-friendliness in
various aspects.
•
The impact categories to be evaluated for all the construction materials were GWP and ADP.
Specialization impact categories for each construction material were AP and POCP for concrete;
HTP for asphalt concrete; AP for rebar; AP and HTP for steel; and EP and AP for concrete products.
•
For a more accurate assessment of the environmental impact of construction materials, it is
necessary to perform an assessment of various environmental impacts in addition to GWP.
This study can provide basic data for reviewing the environmental properties of construction
materials in the planning stage of the road projects. Through this, by quickly grasping the major
construction materials subject to review and changes in environmental impacts in the early stages
of project execution, delays or cost incurred due to unnecessary trial and error are prevented,
and alternative resources or construction methods for eco-friendly construction will be able to
facilitate development.
Author Contributions:
Conceptualization, W.-J.P. and H.B.; methodology, R.K. and S.R.; formal analysis, R.K.;
data curation, S.R.; writing—original draft preparation, W.-J.P.; writing—review and editing, R.K. and S.R.;
supervision, S.R.; project administration, H.B.; funding acquisition, W.-J.P. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Sustainability 2020,12, 6951 16 of 18
Funding:
This research was supported by a grant (20CTAP-C141186-03) from Technology Advancement Research
Program (TARP) funded by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korean Government. This work
was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government
(No.NRF-2018R1D1A3B07045700).
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Nomenclature
ADP Abiotic Depletion Potential
AP Acidification Potential
C2H4-eq Equal to Ethylene
CFC-eq Equal to Chloro Fluoro Carbon
CML Center of Environmental Science of Leiden University
CO2-eq Equal to Carbon Dioxide
DCB-eq Equal to Dichlorobenzene
EDIP Environmental Design of Industrial Products
EP Eutrophication Potential
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPD Environmental Product Declaration
EPS Environmental Priority Strategies
ETP Eco-Toxicity Potential
EUP Ecodesign Requirements for Energy-Using Products
GHG Greenhouse Gas
GWP Global Warming Potential
HTP Human Toxicity Potential
IPP Integrated Product Policy
LCA Life Cycle Assessment
LCI Life Cycle Inventory
LCIA Life Cycle Impact Assessment
ME South Korea’s Ministry of Environment
MOLIT South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport
MOTIE South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy
ODP Ozone Depletion Potential
PO43−-eq Equal to Inorganic Phosphate
POCP Photochemical Oxidant Creation Potential
RE100 Renewable Energy 100%
SO2-eq Equal to Sulfur Dioxide
SOC Social Overhead Capital
TRACI
Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts
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