Consider operations and materials together

The European life-cycle approach includes emissions associated with building operation and with construction products over their life stages. In project planning, record energy use and material decisions as distinct, traceable datasets.

Geometry can help prepare quantities and locations. It does not verify the condition behind a lining or the origin of a product. Those properties require records, investigations or specialist confirmation.

European Commission · Global warming potential of buildings ↗

Example: assess retention before replacement

In an illustrative hall renovation, designers assess which façade elements can remain, be improved or require replacement. The model provides location and structure. Condition, building-physics suitability and possible contaminants require separate investigation.

Only then can a useful comparison be prepared. Quantities inferred from geometry remain estimates until construction and measurement assumptions are checked. Environmental calculations require compatible datasets, system boundaries and service-life assumptions.

Make reuse a concrete question

Beyond recording a component’s existence, document its checked condition, connections, accessibility and possible next use. Reuse also depends on dismantling, storage and a suitable receiving application.

Level(s) addresses material quantities, adaptability and deconstruction. A practical project question follows: which information is still missing before deciding whether this component should remain or be removed?

European Commission · Level(s): Putting circularity into practice ↗

Hand over an accountable record

Connect product evidence, investigations and decisions to the relevant component. Distinguish rejected options from the approved solution. After the works, record what was actually retained or installed so the next renovation can use it.

  • Separate measured, documented and estimated quantities.
  • Record sources and reference units for environmental datasets.
  • Check condition and suitability before reuse.
  • Agree assumptions and assessment boundaries with specialists.

Your next step

The value is a traceable basis for decisions. A model or building passport alone does not prove that a factory is carbon-neutral or that its components can be reused.

From an idea to an application

Sources & further reading

Sources checked on 23 October 2026.