Lina is an online LCA tool produced by BRE for the construction industry which provides a route to
EPDs for a wider audience than has been possible before. Lina empowers managers in the
construction industry to achieve Environmental Product Declarations in line with BREEAM.
Lina is a simplified EPD tool offered by BRE. Lina helps managers in the construction industry who are not necessarily LCA experts to produce EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations) in line with BREEAM, the UK Building Research Establishment's green credit system.
With sustainability at the top of the global agenda, there is an ever growing need for product manufacturers to both understand, and be more transparent about, the environmental impacts of their products. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) looks at the environmental impacts of a product through its lifespan from raw materials acquisition and manufacturing to application, use and disposal. Following independent verification, the results of an LCA study can be presented and communicated in the form of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).
However an LCA consultant is normally required as an intermediary between the manufacturer and their LCA results. This linear process does not encourage engagement of the manufacturer with their impacts and is reliant on the time availability of both parties.
BRE's online LCA tool Lina has been designed to be easy to use by all, and the data provided within the tool has already been modelled to the standard EN15804. This reduces the complexity of the process allowing the user to simply enter their data directly into the tool and to generate instant LCA results. BRE LCA consultancy support is available to the user at all stages of the LCA process, but the manufacturer (or user) is the one in the driving seat.
As LINA is a pre-verified tool, the verification process leading up to issuing an EPD is faster than for results from other sources. Therefore, the results obtained from LINA along with supporting documentation can be submitted to BRE Global’s EPD programme for a quick and efficient third party verification and issue of a BRE EPD.
LINA can also be used for internal benchmarking purposes and as ISO 14001 now places greater emphasis on life cycle perspective, the outputs of LINA can complement an existing Environmental Management System.
The environmental impact data of construction products will have greater currency in the leading construction asset rating systems such as BREEAM and CEEQUAL over the coming years and could also feed into BIM. An investment in LINA is to ensure your organisation can meet the demands of an increasingly data intensive construction value chain.
The LINA tool is powered by SimaPro, the world's leading and most trusted LCA software.
BRE has produced a video on Youtube that introduces LINA: watch
