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2. Common approach for definition of typical cradle-to-gate values

This section presents the principles for selecting typical GWP values for resources used for the structural building. The approach described here is based on the experiences of developing such generic GWP databases in Finland (CO2data) and from Boverket, Sweden. To be as representative as possible, these databases are the first choice based on relevant environmental product declarations (EPD). The recommendation of developing a national GWP database for generic construction resources is summarised as follows:
European level
If possible, an EC-founded generic LCA database (based on life cycle inventory data) is desirable to be used for EPD calculations for frequently used upstream data (i.e. applicable for construction product EPDs). This database can then also be used for buildings, which would then support the possibility to follow the methodology according to EN 15804 and lower the cost for the end users. Based on the current scope of the content in the new EPBD, there are no plans for the development of a common EC database.
The new EPBD ‘life cycle GWP’ indicator does not require any sub-division on the GWP total. Since this indicator is reported for the full life cycle from stages A to C, it is numerically equal to the GWP-GHG indicator that accounts for all GHG emissions, except the biogenic carbon uptake in a product or its packaging materials. However, other legislations, like the EU Taxonomy, might require such subdivision of the GWP total.
Nordic level
On the Nordic level, joint efforts could be made for those countries that prefer to develop a generic database for construction products. For low-volume construction products, it is possible to develop a generic database that can be shared between several countries. The preferred LCA data source is a EPD that is selected to be representative for products consumed in the Nordic market. A product type reported in the GWP database should, as the first choice, be selected based on its functional performance.
To support the EPD, it is recommended to, during the initial stage, use conservative generic data that can be achieved by adding, e.g. 25% extra impact.
In theory, if all consumed products have an EPD and their market share is known, individual conservative factors can be calculated, but this is not possible today.
 Consequently, as this 25% rule also affects the definition of the construction product type, the variation in that selection must be less than this 25%. To fulfil this in practice, it requires that a product like floor screeds (where a wide variation exist above +/- 25%) must be further subdivided, typically based on the amount of binder used, or when defining representative data for concrete, a subdivision that takes into account if traditional cement binders are used or alternatives that lower the impact more than 25%. The perhaps most important subdivision is metals, which are often divided in primary or secondary raw materials, and if the raw material origin is not known, the conservative alternative must be used.
In the long run, when EPDs are mandatory according to the CPR, generic data should then preferably be found on typical data (without any factor). As a result, the real impacts are assessed, and communication - as well as monitoring the improvements - is easier if the data used do not have conservative factors and are based on specific data that correspond the actual impact to what is found in the statistics.
The amount of specific data used in a building ‘as built’ climate declaration will need to increase if limit values are introduced, since the aim is that those GWP values shall reflect the actual impact as built buildings.
There is a potential harmonisation of the names and terms applied for the generic products and services in the databases. Especially the integration of different planning and calculation tools requires a common understanding of the generic products or services. According to the new CPR, the grouping and naming of a product type is decided by the one that puts the construction product on the market and will therefore be different and a uniform naming will not appear. The proposal for a common Nordic approach towards the naming of construction products can be subject for future harmonisation between authorities:
National level
By combining the EPD data for construction products consumed on the national market with the different producers’ market share, truly representative data for an individual country can then be established. This approach is recommended for high-volume products in the future when such sources of data are available. If this is impossible, conservative data should be selected. Selecting EPD data for generic GWP data can still be relevant in creating joint data between countries, while the market share will be handled nationally.
The generic GWP values in the national databases of construction products should be updated in a continuous way to consider the changes in EPDs and the market. The renewal cycle of services and scenarios should also reflect the review cycle of limit values.

Selecting GWP indicators

There exists a consensus from the standardisation work, EN 15804, EU initiatives like Level(s) and PEF, that the GWP indicators shall be divided in:
GWP total
the sum of GWP fossil, GWP biogenic, and GWP luluc
GWP fossil
the sum of all greenhouse gas emissions from fossil sources
GWP biogenic
emissions of all greenhouse gases and biogenic carbon stored in the product and its packaging materials, where the later biogenic carbon always will be zero over the life cycle A to C.
GWP luluc
emissions from potential land use and land use change (luluc)
The new EPBD ‘life cycle GWP’ indicator does not require any sub-division on the GWP total. Since this indicator is reported for the full life cycle from stages A to C, it is numerically equal to the GWP-GHG indicator that accounts for all greenhouse emissions except the biogenic carbon uptake in a product or its packaging materials. However, other legislations like the EU Taxonomy might require such subdivisions of the GWP total.
The use of the GWP total indicator is unproblematic when it includes all information modules from A to C. However, the inclusion of biogenic carbon in the GWP indicator complicates the result comparison module by module. This fact is essential to handle if there are national complementary limit values, such as the proposal in Sweden where the limit value is related to the verifiable part of the life cycle, namely the construction stage (A1-A5). To address this, a complementary indicator called GWP-GHG can be applied. GWP-GHG excludes the biogenic carbon uptake in the product and its packaging, as well as the end-of-life, thereby enabling comparable LCA results module by module. The GWP-GHG indicator is not in contradiction to EN 15804 since it is a prerequisite for the modular approach, and it can be calculated with information provided in the EPD as the biogenic content declaration of the declared product and its packaging material. This problem with the GWP total is the same if a limit value does not cover or cover the full life cycle (see the next section for this case). It should be noted that as the life cycle GWP indicator, according to the Taxonomy and EPBD directive, is based on the summed impact from A to C, this summed result is the same result as if GWP-GHG was used. Thus, the GWP-GHG is a more flexible GWP indicator that supports the modular approach and allows for comparison module by module. The GWP-GHG indicator can be calculated for any construction product cradle-to-cate (module A1-3) with the existing mandatory information reported in an EPD.  This cradle-to-cate module A1-3 result from an EPD constitute the basic modular information used in an LCA calculation for any construction works.
 It should be noticed that when biogenic carbon in the product is accounted for, in combination with a decarbonisation scenario,
See the section 'Decarbonisation scenario for B1.2-B5, B7 and C1-C4', where this approach of handling scenarios is described. A scenario factor is introduced to create a simplified approach to generate a yearly improved GWP value based on data representative for today. A zero factor indicates that no impact will remain in the future and one is equal to the fact that no progress is made.
 as suggested here for stages B, C, and potentially D, the biogenic carbon shall not be part of and multiplied by the decarbonisation (scenario) factor since it would then create a biogenic sink effect.
This -/+ calculation is part of the French regulated climate declaration, where this approach is called a dynamic LCA. However, there is a significant difference with the French calculation method since this approach uses the factor as a discounting factor to reflect the reduced radiative forcing caused by this temporary biogenic sink, and the factors applied are defined to reflect this effect. The French approach is scientifically motivated and addresses the same climate impact as reports on Harvest Wood Products (HWP) in international climate reporting.
 This biogenic sink effect is created by the so-called -/+ biogenic calculation approach that addresses climate neutrality for renewable materials from sustainable sources, where the sequestration creates a negative figure in the forestry and the same amount is them emitted in the end-of-life and the sum is always zero.
To maintain this approach, the biogenic part of the GWP total need to be reported separately, where it is noteworthy that the GWP biogenic indicator result is insufficient in such calculations since it includes more than the inherent carbon stored in the product. Therefore, the GWP total must be combined with information pertaining to biogenic carbon stored in all materials. As an alternative approach to simplify this calculation, the GWP-GHG indicator may be used as the basis for the life cycle GWP indicator. In this case, additional information becomes unnecessary, and the calculation can be made without any modifications. In this context, it should be pointed out that the new EPBD directive states that the amount of biogenic carbon stored in the building may be reported (EPBD Annex V): “information on carbon removals associated to the temporary storage of carbon in or on buildings”.
A harmonisation of GWP indicator usage is needed and must be found on information given in an EPD. The GWP total shall be used when the impact is summed from A to C. If any nation introduces an additional limit value for a single stage (like A1-A5), the use of GWP-GHG is recommended. 
More extensive materials on GWP indicators are reported in the annexes.

Type of LCA data source

It was decided early to use EPDs as the main sources of information for such LCA data based on two aspects:
  1. EPDs follow the correct methodology and environmental indicators asked for, namely the European standard EN 15804 Sustainability of construction works. Environmental product declarations. Core rules for the product category of construction (2019).
  2. The legal right to report and communicate LCA data based on commercial database (also if only a part of the GWP indicator results is based on such licensed data) acts as a trade barrier, as well as license costs that are found irrational.
Based on the new End-user License Agreement (EULA) for generic LCA data (like Ecoinvent and GaBi), limitations currently exist when an LCA result partly based on commercial LCA databases is made publicly available to others. When such data is published digitally as in the national databases, these EULAs require that a fee is paid to the owner of the generic LCA databases, even though none of the underlying data is made publicly available. It is currently unclear if this also applies for EPDs, which are often made digitally available today. Until it is otherwise recognised, we will assume that digitalised EPDs can be used as a source for generic data; but using generic databases, like Ecoinvent and GaBi, requires a license agreement. This potential problem will hopefully be sorted out in CPR/Acquis, or at the latest if a mandatory regulated EPD is required for construction products and there is freely available generic LCA data from EC.
When assessing the relevance of LCA data as source for a common LCA (or climate) database, the following sources were considered (given in order of relevance):
  • Domestic LCA sources – if the domesticity rate of a building is high.
  • Nordic LCA sources – as manufacturing processes, methods, and markets are often similar, although the energy sources for electricity differ.
  • LCA sources from exporting countries are preferred when domestic consumption relies only on imports.
  • Generic LCA sources in foreign databases – as those represent average values.
LCA data were searched especially from databases, such as:
  • EPD Norway (2022)
  • EPD International (Environdec)
  • RTS EPD (Rakennustieto)
  • EPD Denmark
  • ÖkobauDat
  • IBU (Germany)
  • ICE (data used for GHG reporting calculations).
Besides information about products consumed in the national market, the market share of different manufacturers should be asked for. By combining market shares and EPDs from the actual suppliers, a true market value can be calculated. Experience from developing the GWP database proves that it was, in most cases, impossible to find data on the market share, which is why expert judgment from an informed individual was the best second choice. However, information was received from manufacturers, as well as industry representatives, such as the Confederation of the Finnish Construction Industries RT. Regarding many construction products, even if figures are not available, there is also common knowledge about the biggest manufacturers, market leaders, and the degree of domesticity in the market. It is notable that the construction market is largely domestic for high-volume products.
Another conclusion was that considering the market share revealed differences in the market shares of high-volume construction sector products, although LCA data sources are the same. Therefore, collecting source data can be shared between countries, but high-volume products must be handled nationally and the market share should be taken into consideration if possible.

How to support the use of specific EPDs

In Finland and Sweden, it has been assessed that it is not possible according to EC regulation, to ask for EPDs as a mandatory request,
This is based on the current CPR, which prohibits the mandatory requirement of anything else than a CE mark. It applies to all Member States, but some do violate it. However, the commission is not going to interfere.
 which has led to the search for an alternative solution. Actual data representing a “true” value” was then referred to as “typical” LCA data. The possibility of introducing conservative generic data was launched, and an addition of 20% was introduced in Finland and 25% in Sweden. The benefit of this approach is that it supports the use of as many specific EPDs as possible. On average, the use of EPDs will result in a discount of 20 or 25%, depending on the factor used. This is a driver for high-volume construction products that significantly contribute to the buildings' impact (e.g. concrete, steel products, insulation, boards, wood).
An obvious drawback is that it is used if only the declaration is calculated in the building permit process, since it is then often unknown how that will be the material deliverer. Another problem is that a proceeded reduction given by the rules in reality do not support any environmental improvement, only those deliverers that can afford to publish specific EPDs. These drawbacks are likely acceptable when the climate declaration is not combined with a limit value. However, if a limit value is introduced, it is preferable to use product-specific data for the most part, and the limit value is given as a 'as built' requirement to enable follow-ups.
A product type reported in the GWP database should, as the first choice, be selected based on its functional performance. If different qualities or versions of a product type are available (strength classes, etc.), those are often defined in product standards. As described above, to support EPDs, it is recommended, during the initial stage, to use conservative generic data that can be achieved by adding, e.g. 25% extra impact. This 25% rule affects the definition of a construction product type, so that the variation is less than this 25%. To fulfil this in practice, it requires that a product like floor screeds is further subdivided based on the amount of binders used; concrete if traditional cement binders are used, or alternatives that lower the impact more than 25%. The perhaps most important subdivision is metals, which can therefore be divided in primary or secondary raw materials; if the raw material used is unknown, a conservative alternative must be used.
As some EPDs represent average data, they are thus more like typical data instead of product-specific data. Regarding this, it is important to define what is meant by product-specific values and avoid a situation where conservative values are replaced by other average values, but which values are not multiplied with the conservative factor just because the average values are taken from an EPD. It is important to define what is meant by product-specific data that can be used instead of conservative data. The principle should be that the conservative values can only be replaced by product-specific values, but not product type-specific values (i.e. an EPD from a competitor), or average data.

Establishing and operating a national GWP database

Creation and maintenance of generic databases

The development and maintenance of a generic database requires considerable and continued efforts. A common approach regarding the practical issues of keeping the database up-to-date would be cost-effective and benefit all parties.
A good example of potential harmonisation are the names and terms applied for generic products and services in the databases. Especially the integration of different planning and calculation tools requires a common understanding of generic products or services. In the CPR Acquis process, this pertains to the product family and product type used. A product family is typically related to the naming used in European standards concerning the CEN product technical committees working with so-called harmonised standards (hEN) and part of the CE marking as defined in Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 for Construction Products Regulation (CPR). As the grouping and naming of a product type is decided by the one that puts the construction product on the market, it will therefore be different and a uniform naming will not appear.
The proposal for the new CPR (COM(2022) 144 final, 2022/0094 (COD)) states: It is necessary for manufacturers of construction products to determine the product type in a precise and unequivocal manner in order to ensure a precise basis for assessing the compliance of such product with Union requirements. At the same time, in order to avoid circumvention of the applicable requirements, manufacturers should be prohibited from creating ever new product types where the products in question are, in view of the crucial characteristics, identical.
A common Nordic approach for naming construction products can be subject for future harmonisation between authorities.

Extension of national databases with new data

The types of different construction products included in generic databases are selected and defined to cover a major share of all materials and products used in different building parts, and to represent a major share of the carbon footprint of a building.
A generic database cannot include representative values for all products that could be used as building materials. Boverket, in their climate database work, has developed preliminary criteria as a guide of determining when to add construction products to the generic climate database. Four main criteria are suggested, but all criteria do not need to be met for a construction product to be added to the database.
  1. The construction product is widely used and in large quantities in the Swedish construction sector or causes more than 1% of the total climate impact of the constructed building.
  2. Generic climate data are based on more than one environmental product declaration (EPD), or according to a report (referenced source) where the standard EN 15804 has been applied and preferably data on the market share in the Swedish construction market.
  3. Construction products where there are alternatives within the product group with a significantly reduced climate impact.
    This principle has been removed from Boverket´s routine, since they think it is unclear.
  4. The name of the construction product should not be associated with a trademark.
These above-mentioned criteria are proposed as the Nordic approach as well.

Cycles of data renewal

A relatively rapid renewal of data may be reasonable in the beginning because there is a rather rapid increase in the number of EPDs. On the other hand, if the values are changed often, it causes problems for the development of emission limit values for buildings.
In principle, the generic database should reflect the reality continuously as well as possible. The typical values for different product types should be based on good-quality EPDs. Those should also be based on average values considering the market shares of different products within the group. Thus, the values in the generic database should change when EPDs change due to true changes in manufacturing processes, and when the number of EPDs increases as new EPDs are published for products in the market.
The role of the generic database as the source of information for climate declarations and the limit values for the carbon footprint of buildings complicate the issue. Generic values will be applied if there is no information about the specific products to be used. If there are considerable changes in generic values, limit values should also be re-evaluated. To avoid frequent changes in regulations, the generic database should remain relatively stable. On the other hand, the development and use of better products should be encouraged, and the generic data should represent the market condition.

Databases and interoperability today

Interoperability has been an important factor in developing generic databases. Most of the efforts for interoperability have been concentrated on the use of generic data in environmental assessment tools capable of making the necessary calculations for building LCAs. Correspondingly, a wide range of calculation tools have already integrated data from generic databases. These tools include popular commercial tools, as well as internal tools of consulting companies that offer life-cycle assessment services. Lately, there have been integrations with multi-function tools where LCAs have been combined with other functionalities, such as cost estimations. A planning tool that continuously shows both the cost and carbon footprint of the design considerably enhances the chances of a climate-friendly design. 
The Swedish and Finnish databases have a common specification of their machine-readable interface (a JSON file and XML). This specification follows the common naming conventions of EPD data, but includes only the fields necessary for generic data. This type of integration with a specification and JSON files for the contents of the database has been well-taken by the parties making integrations. Data in a tabular spreadsheet form has also been a frequent request. This simple format is better for many research purposes where people are analysing the data themselves.
Today, the interoperability of generic databases falls short mainly in two ways. First, inadequate technical interoperability breaks the digital flow of information between some actors, and second, the naming and classification conventions cause misunderstandings and erroneous linking between systems. 
Technical interoperability requires well-defined common formats that can be used by every system of all related actors. Today’s technical interoperability is quite good between generic databases and many LCA calculation tools, but interoperability with BIM, for example, is practically non-existent. A potential solution for technical interoperability is the previously described data template. 
Another problem with interoperability is that there has been virtually no generic data within the scope of building products. This has caused problems in linking generic data to specific or other generic data since the naming is not unambiguous. There have been no comprehensive naming or classification schemes, and the fast pace of development has made it impossible to create exhaustive naming and classification systems. Despite the problems, the generic data has been well-adopted into relevant tools, though common classifications and formats will be needed in the future when the interoperability needs will most likely explode.

Accessibility – the interoperability with people

Even though technical integrations with other tools will facilitate most of the interaction between users and generic data in databases, the user interfaces in the web will remain convenient places to view the data as well. It is important to make these websites accessible, easy to use, and easy to understand with little chance of misunderstanding. 
A corresponding piece of legislation, the Web Accessibility Directive (Directive (EU) 2016/2102) has been in force since December 2016, requiring all websites of public sector bodies to be accessible by making them ‘perceivable, operable, understandable and robust’. The technical requirements of the legislation are based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which contain a large number of detailed technical requirements. Currently, public sector websites are expected to fulfil WCAG 2.1 standard’s A and AA level criterion.
In practice, there are several technical requirements for a website and the information within. Technical requirements for a website are typically handled by web developers while developing websites (like the user interface of a generic database). A more relevant issue to discuss is the accessibility of the content itself. All text, images, infographics, videos, online forms, and files stored on websites are subject to accessibility requirements. Some examples of the requirements are adequate contrast, an alternate description for all non-text content, consistent navigation, and compatibility with assistive technologies. During the operative phase of a website and content maintenance, the accessibility mainly needs to be considered when creating new content in the form of documents. Technically, the documents can be checked with software tools – either internal or separate software. What these tools cannot check is the understandability of the language and the content itself. A concrete example of making the content better understood is to have multiple names for products that have several commonly used names.

Current Nordic generic databases for the assessment of buildings

This section introduces the present generic GWP databases for construction products available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. The databases are typically based on the scope of the climate declaration as such, and/or a limit value. All databases include cradle-to-gate data for construction products, energy carriers, and any other resources used in A1-A3, but also in A5, and typically also B2-B6 and C1-C4 when they are part of the current declaration scope. Estonia and Iceland have not published any databases thus far, nor have they given advice for references for generic data on different generic construction products.

Climate database from Boverket

A Swedish database with generic climate impact data for building products has been developed to be used in climate declaration for all buildings. This climate declaration is required by Swedish law, where all new buildings that apply for a building permit, from 2022 onwards, must report a climate declaration for the construction stages A1-A5. The GWP values in the database are conservatively set, i.e. about 25% higher than the average values calculated for the product group. The aim is that the generic GWP values per products are based on an average value, and when possible, to use existing environmental product declarations (EPD) from the supplier on the market.
The GWP indicator is given as GWP-GHG, meaning that all greenhouse gases are accounted for except the uptake and emission from biogenic carbon stored in the products and its packaging material. This approach supports the modularity principle that was the basic idea when those modules were launched in ISO 21930 and known as the modular principal. 
The overall purpose of the Swedish regulation on climate declarations for buildings is to decrease the climate impact from buildings, i.e. to stimulate the use of construction products with climate impact as low as possible, in order to reduce the GWP impact of the whole building. The climate declaration can only be made based on the generic and conservative generic GWP data that is part of the Boverket´s Climate - database, as no other generic data sources are allowed. However, it is allowed (and preferred if possible) to replace these generic data with product-specific data if it is an EPD from a construction product manufacturer for the product delivered to the building.
The database is developed jointly by the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE). The generic GWP data in the database covers a major share of different kinds of building products used in building parts included in the climate declaration, which is why installation products and surface materials are excluded from the declaration inventory, as well as GWP data for resources used in the remaining parts of the life cycle stages B, C and D. The database is updated annually and will be expanded, as the inventory scope of the climate declaration will be in force. The next major expansion of the GWP database will add those construction products for validation for the currently missing building parts (surface materials, furnishings, and installation services). This is likely to happen when the GWP limit values in relation to the climate declaration is in force, which is proposed to be introduced in July 2025 at the earliest and will also include a declaration of all building parts (listed above), including the groundwork below the building and the foundation. Subsequently, the GWP data required for stages B, C, and D need to be added to the database for a full life cycle that likely will be valid when the climate declaration, according to the forthcoming EPBD climate declaration, is supposed to be in force.
A web-version of the generic database is available at: www.boverket.se/sv/klimatdeklaration/klimatdatabas/klimatdatabas/.
Additionally, the database is accessible via a webservice (API) and as an Excel file.
Öppna data - Klimatdatabas - Boverket

CO2data.fi database from the Finnish Environment institute

In Finland, the GWP database for building products and services – CO2data – was developed at the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) by the request of the Ministry of the Environment. The main target of the database is to support the design for low-carbon and resource-efficient buildings by providing typical environmental data for products, services, and systems to be used in the assessment of alternative design solutions. An essential function of the CO2data database is to enable the preparation of climate declarations for new buildings (YM 2022a, 2022b). The new Building Act (Act 751/2023) comes into force on 1 January 2025, but the decree of climate and building product declaration has not been given yet, and it will come into force 1 January 2026. The climate declaration will be used to prove conformation to the GWP limit values in ‘as built’ phase.
The main GWP indicator in the CO2data database is given as “GWP FOSSIL”. As a supplement to this figure, “GWP BIOGENIC” is also reported, and GWP LULUC has been estimated as zero for all products thus far. However, in terms of this report, “GWP-FOSSIL” is equal to GWP-GHG and GWP BIOGENIC is equal to GWP-BIO as defined in EN 16485, i.e. limited to only the uptake and emission of biogenic carbon in the product.
The required climate declaration can be calculated by combining the emission data based on CO2data with the information about the energy consumption and energy sources, and the information based on the bill of quantities. The database provides typical GWP data for:
  • building products and building service systems.
  • transportation, construction, deconstruction, and waste management services,
  • fuels and energy services.
The database covers a major share of different kinds of building products and services. All the data are also supported by a background report on the method of estimation, parameters, and references to source data. These reports are separate documents that can be freely downloaded from the 'results' page of any selected item.
The database also supports the consideration of potential carbon benefits of the building and benefits beyond the building’s life. In accordance with the new Building Act (Act 751/2023), the benefits include potential avoided emissions, called carbon handprints, which are divided into five parts covering avoided emissions because of:
  • the recycling or reuse of materials and products.
  • energy recovery, or using it as an energy source in power plants with efficiency ≥65%.
  • surplus renewable energy.
  • biogenic or technological carbon storage.
  • the carbonation of cement-based products after their service life.
With the help of this project, the database will be supplemented by adding data on urban trees (see separate annex) to support the carbon footprint and carbon handprint assessment for the building plot as well.
In addition, the database supports the reporting of the content and the origin of materials. The building materials and products are described by information about the types of main materials' contents, harmful substances' contents, and information about the origin in terms of the renewability of materials and secondary materials.
The database includes roughly 250 products and services. The building products of the database include insulation and waterproofing products, building boards, concrete products, other mineral materials and glass, steel and metals, wood products, floorings and surface materials, and HVAC products and electrical installations. Services include energy services, transportation services, and construction and demolition services. In addition, the database provides emission values for building service systems. There is also a separate section for conservative service life data per building part.
The generic database is available via a web-version (CO2data.fi), machine-readable JSON file for integrations (file API and specification), and as an Excel file.
The methods used for the selection of indicators and the definition of the values for indicators are described in the Häkkinen T. (2023) LCA database for building products, services, and systems. The description of the content and working methods, Reports of the Finnish Environment Institute 48 / 2022, are found at: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-11-5545-1.

Generic database used in Denmark

Denmark uses, for instance, the LCAbyg and LCCbyg calculation tools, developed by BUILD (former Danish building research institute), Aalborg University with financial support from various actors in Denmark. LCAbyg is a nationally freely available tool.
The GWP indicator used in the climate declaration is GWP TOTAL, which means that only the result for a full life cycle can be used for comparison. The underlying database used is Ökobaudat, which includes all indicators as defined in EN 15804 version A2. Since the Danish climate declaration is reported and communicated as the sum from A to C, the result is the same for GWP TOTAL and GWP-GHG.
LCAbyg has been developed for the Danish construction industry and has focused on a Danish context from the beginning. The development was carried out by BUILD in a broad collaboration with many stakeholders in the Danish construction industry from 2014 until today. The first version was launched in 2015 in collaboration between SBi (now BUILD) and the Danish Energy Agency, as part of a construction policy strategy from the government in 2014. The development of LCAbyg was based on the Excel tool SBi (now BUILD), developed for the Green Building Council Denmark for the DGNB certification of construction in Denmark since 2011.
A new beta version of LCAbyg has been launched. This version has adapted to the upcoming requirements regarding the climate impact of buildings, which will be a part of the building regulations on 1 January 2023. LCAbyg 2023 has been released as a beta version for testing between the 3rd and 28th of October. This release does not include any added new generic GWP data in the underlying database.
The tool is limited for using ready-made data for different building elements and parts. Besides the data, the user can enter the building's energy consumption and other scenario settings. In addition to the integrated generic database Ökobaudat, it is also possible to obtain environmental product declarations (EPDs) via the tool. The underlying generic database thereby reflects the GWP valid for a German context. There is no assessment available where the difference between the market for construction products in Germany and Denmark is evaluated and, for instance, recommendations on which construction products that preferably should be found on the EPD in order to reflect the Danish construction market.
A list of LCA tool and the advised generic database is available on: www.lcabyg.dk/en/download-legacy/.
Note that several LCA tools that have access to the generic Danish database can be used.
See an example list of LCA tools used in Denmark: https://byggeriogklima.dk/viden/lca-vaerktoejer/.

Norway TEK17

The Norwegian building regulation Byggteknisk forskrift (TEK17, 18.08.2023): Veileder for utarbeidelse av klimagassregnskap /Supervisor for preparation of greenhouse gas accounts, allows generic data from several sources. A generic database has not been developed in Norway; instead, the following databases are allowed to be utilised:
  • Sweden: Boverket
  • Finland; CO2data
  • Denmark: Ökobaudat
Independent of the generic database used, 25% shall be added to generate a conservative value (if not already done, as in the Swedish database). The Finnish database reports the so-called typical value that can be used and then multiplied by 1.25 to be used in the Norwegian context, and the same needs to be done before using the data from Ökobaudat.
The GWP indicator used in the Norwegian climate declaration is GWP-GHG, which is referred to as GWP-IOBC (Instantaneous Oxidation of Biogenic Carbon).
Nordic Council of Ministers I www.norden.org/publications I pub@norden.org
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