Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Properties
Life cycle assessment is the standardised method for quantifying the environmental impact of a product across its whole life, from raw material extraction through manufacture, transport, installation, use and disposal. It is defined by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, and it is the engine underneath every environmental product declaration. An LCA is a study; an EPD is the verified, published summary of one.
A facade LCA does not compare a kilogram of GRC with a kilogram of FRP. It compares one square metre of finished wall, fixed, weathertight and maintained for sixty years, which is the only comparison a designer can act on.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Framework standards | ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006 | Principles and framework; requirements and guidelines |
| Construction product rules | EN 15804+A2 and ISO 21930 | Core product category rules for construction EPDs |
| Typical functional unit | 1 m2 of installed facade over a 60 year reference service life | Must state function, quantity and duration |
| Life cycle modules | A1 to A5, B1 to B7, C1 to C4, plus D | Boundary is stated per module; see embodied carbon |
| Core impact indicators | 13 under EN 15804+A2 | Global warming potential reported in kg CO2-e |
| Cut-off rules | 1 percent of mass or energy per process, 5 percent of the total | EN 15804 limit on excluded flows |
| Background data intensity | cement about 0.8 to 0.9 kg CO2-e/kg; polyester resin about 2.5 to 3.5 kg CO2-e/kg | Typical published background values, not ShapeShell specific |
| Panel mass assessed | GRC 30 to 50 kg/m2; FRP 5 to 32 kg/m2; GRG about 23 kg/m2 | ShapeShell-RC, RT and RG published weights |
| EPD validity | 5 years from verification | ISO 14025 and EN 15804 |
The four phases
ISO 14040 splits an LCA into four phases and expects the practitioner to move between them rather than run them once in order. Goal and scope definition sets what is studied, why, for whom and within what boundary. Inventory analysis collects every input and output crossing that boundary. Impact assessment converts those flows into environmental indicators. Interpretation tests whether the conclusions survive the assumptions.
Goal, scope and the functional unit
The functional unit is where most facade assessments are won or lost. It has to state function, quantity and duration: one square metre of external wall cladding, meeting the specified wind load and fire class, maintained and replaced as required over a sixty year study period. Mass is not a functional unit, because a glass fibre reinforced concrete (GRC, GFRC) skin at 30 to 50 kg per square metre and an FRP skin at 5 to 32 kg per square metre do the same job at very different thicknesses.
Scope also fixes the system boundary. Cradle to gate covers modules A1 to A3 and stops at the factory door; cradle to gate with options adds transport, installation and selected use and end of life modules; cradle to grave covers the whole life. Module D sits outside the boundary and reports benefits and loads beyond it, such as material recovered for recycling. Two figures quoted at different boundaries are not comparable, and the boundary is the first thing to check on a supplier’s number.
Inventory and impact assessment
The life cycle inventory is the arithmetic. Kilograms of cement, sand, alkali resistant glass fibre, resin, water and fuel in; kilograms of carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, solid waste and wastewater out, for every process inside the boundary. Primary data from the plant covers the foreground processes the manufacturer controls, and recognised background databases supply upstream materials and energy. The EN 15804 cut-off rules allow flows below one percent of the mass or energy of a process to be excluded, capped at five percent of the total.
Impact assessment then converts those flows into indicators using characterisation factors. Global warming potential in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent is the one that gets quoted, but EN 15804+A2 requires thirteen core indicators, covering acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, water use and resource depletion. A material can do well on carbon and poorly on water, which is exactly what a single carbon number hides.
Interpretation, and what an LCA cannot tell you
Interpretation identifies the significant issues, checks completeness, consistency and sensitivity, and states limitations. A useful facade LCA names the assumptions the answer depends on, usually the reference service life, the replacement cycle, the transport distance and the end of life scenario, and shows how the ranking changes when each is varied.
From an LCA to an EPD
An environmental product declaration is a Type III label under ISO 14025: a standardised, independently verified report of LCA results for a defined product, prepared to published product category rules. The LCA is the study, the EPD is the communication. For construction products the governing rules are EN 15804+A2, with ISO 21930 as the international equivalent, and a verified declaration is typically valid for five years.
That relationship decides what a specification can ask for. An unverified study without published category rules is a supplier document, not a declaration, and most green building rating schemes will not credit it. A declaration also reports only the modules its category rules require, so if the design needs installation, maintenance or end of life data it does not cover, the underlying assessment has to be extended.
Standards and references
- ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management, Life cycle assessment, Principles and framework
- ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management, Life cycle assessment, Requirements and guidelines
- ISO 14025 Environmental labels and declarations, Type III environmental declarations
- EN 15804+A2 Sustainability of construction works, Core rules for the product category of construction products
- ISO 21930 Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services
- EN 15978 Assessment of environmental performance of buildings, Calculation method
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
What is the difference between an LCA and an EPD?
The LCA is the study that quantifies the impacts. The EPD is the verified, published report of those results under ISO 14025 and a set of product category rules. Every EPD rests on an LCA; not every LCA becomes an EPD.
What is a functional unit?
A statement of function, quantity and duration, such as one square metre of installed facade maintained for sixty years. It is what makes two products comparable. Mass alone is not a functional unit.
Can two LCAs be compared directly?
Only where they share the same product category rules, system boundary, functional unit and reference service life. Comparing a cradle to gate figure with a cradle to grave figure is meaningless.
Does ShapeShift have published life cycle data?
Product and project specific environmental information is prepared on request.
Specifying environmental performance for a facade package? Talk to ShapeShift about product and project data for GRC, FRP and GRG elements. Contact ShapeShift
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.