As part of the work on the environmental performance of new buildings and with a view to the RE2020 environmental regulation, default environmental data has been developed for construction or decoration products and equipment. They are made available by the Ministry in charge of construction. In the absence of specific data, these default environmental data are intended to allow an as complete as possible calculation of the LCA of a building. These default environmental data shall be used in the absence of an environmental declaration for the chosen construction or decoration product, or equipment (they always include a safety factor in order to cover the uncertainty on the environmental performance of the installed product, in absence of specific data).
Catégorie FAQ: General
01
What is a configurator? What is a configurable FDES?
The FDES present in INIES correspond to well-identified products. In the case of products with a wide variety of dimensions, formulations, etc., it is difficult to provide all possible configurations in the INIES Database. Some professions have created tools for editing an FDES by leaving the user the choice to enter the few parameters specific to his building or work project.
Configurators are software with input masks for identified configurable data. These configurators contain LCI data (Life Cycle Indicators) for the product family concerned.
To be listed on the INIES database, the tools must allow editing FDES that are compliant with the NF EN15804 standard and the French complementary standard, and must be checked in the INIES programme. The INIES Programme requested that the FDES of the most commonly used products on the market are present in INIES, in order to be directly accessible on the Database and transmitted to the software by the INIES webservice. For the other configurations of these products, a direct link to the configurator is added in the same section of the INIES nomenclature. Today 5 configurators are available:
- BETie (ready-mixed concrete)
- Environnement IB (concrete)
- SAVE (steel)
- DE-bois (wood)
- DE-bois de France (wood from France)
What is a Life Cycle Analysis?
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is an environmental evaluation method that makes it possible to quantify the impacts of a product, service, or process over the span of its life cycle, from extracting raw materials to end of life processing, not forgetting the inclusion of implementation and working life. A standardised, recognised tool (standards in the ISO 14040 series), the LCA is the most complete method in terms of overall multi-criteria evaluation, a result of interpreting the quantified balance sheet of material flows and incoming and outgoing energy flows at each stage of the product’s life cycle. To convey the results of the analysis, and to compare the same product or service, a functional unit is defined. This is a means of measurement that quantifies the function performed by the product being studied.
The results of an LCA are expressed as a series of environmental indicators, which include both potential impacts (e.g., x kg of CO2 equivalents for the greenhouse effect) and physical flows (e.g., y kg of hazardous waste).
Standards NF EN 15804, and NF XP C08-100-1, NF EN 15978 are industrial variations of standard ISO 14040 respectively for construction products, equiquements and buildings.
Learn more about product LCA and building LCA
What is a PEP ecopassport®?
A PEP or Product Environmental Profile is an environmental declaration for electrical, electronic, and HVAC equipment that is based on the results of a life cycle analysis. Standard NF XP C08-100-1 and PCR (Product Category Rules) edition 3 define the rules for creating a PEP ecopassport®.
See more : PEP (Building equipment)
What is a FDES?
A FDES is an Environmental and Health Declaration Sheet. This declaration is drawn up under the responsibility of the product’s manufacturers (or trade association). Standard NF EN 15804 and its national supplement defines the production method and the format for declaring environmental and health information.
Creating a FDES entails having a product’s life cycle analysis (LCA, a very detailed environmental performance assessment) and health information, often the results of specific tests.
What is the INIES database?
INIES is the French national reference database for environmental and health data on construction products and equipment. INIES offers Environmental and Health Declaration Sheets (FDES) for construction products and Product Environmental Profiles (PEP) for building equipment, provided by manufacturers and trade associations in the format set out in European standard NF EN 15804 and its national supplement NF EN 15804/CN for construction products and standard NF XP C08-100-1 and PCR version 3 for equipment.
The INIES database is run by the supervisory board and the technical committee. The supervisory board, chaired by the Alliance HQE-GBC, ensures that the database operates ethically and professionally. The technical committee oversees the collection and processing of data as well as database content updates.
