Technical Guides
Calculating Impacts
Practical Guidance to Estimating and Minimising Impacts
While the aim of sustainable design and product and materials selection is to be exactly that - sustainable - as a rule the reality is that the aim of the design team is to minimise impacts.
The primary aim of the design team then becomes one of identifying what are the high and low-impact areas in the project at hand. What are the various techniques available? What guidance exists on how to use them? Are there any rules of thumb to assist in rapid decision-making?
Information Resources and Guides
One excellent Australian resource is the Build-LCA project commissioned by Environment Australia. Topics covered in the 'Decision Support Tool' include:
- I want to green my building
- I want help choosing materials
- I would like my building to be energy efficient
- I would like my building to be water efficient
- My main focus is waste minimisation
- What do and don't I do about data
- What tools are most appropriate for my project
- I am interested in optimising Indoor Air Quality
