Transportation Impacts in LCA
Important: This support post is based on the Legacy Calculation Standard and may no be fully accurate for the new calculation standards, due to updates on construction waste and trade worker transport impacts allocation. For details on key differences, please refer to this section of the support article.
When it comes to transportation impacts, they’re assigned to different modules based on the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) stage. Transportation impacts are reported in the following modules:
- A2 – A component of product stage impacts (A1-A3) embedded in the AusLCI dataset, this module covers transport of raw materials to production or processing facilities
- A4 – Transport of materials and products to the construction site
- B2B3 – Transport related to repair and maintenance is included in B2B3
- B4 – Transport of replaced items is included in B4
- B5 – Transport related to refurbishment is included in B5
- C2 – Transport to landfill and/or until end-of-life status is reached.
eTool Factors
eTool incorporates various factors that provide a comprehensive approach in the LCA. These factors, set by default but also adjustable by users when defaults are not suitable (except for Transport mass factor), affects the life cycle materials quantities and subsequent calculations:
- Lost or Damaged in Transport (LDT): Requirement of EN15978 that materials lost in transport are accounted for
- Construction Waste Factor (CWF): The percent of material that is wasted (e.g. offcuts, cut-outs, over-order, construction losses, etc.) relative to the installed mass
- Transport Mass Factor (TMF): The transported mass of the product including packaging / containment etc in comparison to the mass of the installed quantity (this parameter is fixed for each material)
- Material Life: Which is used to automatically calculate the subsequent replacements over the asset’s lifespan
- Maintenance or Repair Interval & Maintenance Quantity: Which is used to automatically calculate the maintenance and repair quantities required over the assets lifespan
- Recycling Rate: Recycled materials can have different end of life transport distances set in eTool.
For instance, the Transport Mass Factor (TMF) influences the transported mass and subsequent transport impacts (Module A4). To illustrate, if you have 1000 kg of a material and the TMF is 1.02, the software calculates a total of 1020 kg of transported material, accounting for both the material itself and any packaging or means used for its transportation.
Stating that the transported mass equation will be formulated as follows:
Transported Mass = Material Quantity x (1 + CWF + LDT + TMF)
Note that return trips for transport impacts are not included in eTool in order to align with EN 15978 standards:
“The boundary for module A4 shall include:
– Transport of materials and products from the factory gate to the building site, including any transport, intermediate storage and distribution;”Most interpretations are that return journeys for material transport are not within the boundary for materials. They are however, for equipment: “transport of construction equipment (cranes, scaffolding, etc.) to and from the site;”
Example
This information is available at the elemental level. In the image below, you’ll find an example template with assumptions for a carpet (Image 1), and another for steel to provide an illustration of a material with a recycling rate at the end-of-life stage (Image 2).
Image 1: Element level, Carpet template
Image 2: Element level, Steel template
Default transport modes and distances
Users can also customise transport modes and distances, but defaults are applicable for each region when products are initially added to templates or designs. Tables 1 to 7 provide a summary of transport modes and distances defaults for each major product group in eTool. The transport modes are the same across all regions with the exception of the UK which aligns with the RICS Whole of Life Carbon Assessment for the Built Form professional statement 1st edition 2012. The RICS guidance is also used to inform transport distances for the UK.
For the new RICS WLCA 2nd Edition standard published in September 2023 and effective from 1 July 2024. We’ve created a new dataset based on the 2023 UK government conversion factors. The ‘United Kingdom RICS LCI‘ dataset will have the RICS recommended emissions factors for both transport and end-of-life impacts. Despite likely deviating from EN 15978, the WLCA PS specifies that delivery vehicle return journeys are to be included in the impact calculation for module A4. This can be added manually by including the ‘Include Return For Material Transport’ option in the Details tab at the design level, more details can be found in this section of the Modelling Guidance for RICS WLCA – PS (2nd Edition) support post.
For details on eTool transport methodology please refer to this section of the eTool Default LCI Regionalisation Methodology article.
Table 1: Australasian Data – Default Transport Distances and Modes
| Australasia | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 30 | ||||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 40 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 30 | ||
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 40 | ||
| Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 11000 | 150 | 15 |
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Light Commercial | 17000 | 150 | 15 |
| Steel | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 150 | 15 |
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 400 | 15 | ||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 150 | 15 |
| Quaried Goods | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 40 | 15 | ||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 150 | 20 | ||
Table 2: New Zealand Data – Default Transport Distances and Modes
| New Zealand | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 20 | ||||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 30 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 20 | 20 | ||
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 20 | 30 | ||
| Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 10000 | 30 | 10 |
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Light Commercial | 16000 | 30 | 10 |
| Steel | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 30 | 10 |
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 70 | 10 | ||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 30 | 10 |
| Quaried Goods | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 10 | 10 | ||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 30 | 15 | ||
Table 3: North America Data – Default Transport Distances and Modes
| North America | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 30 | ||||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 40 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 30 | ||
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 40 | ||
| Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 5000 | 150 | 15 |
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Light Commercial | 12000 | 150 | 15 |
| Steel | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 150 | 15 |
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 400 | 15 | ||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 150 | 15 |
| Quaried Goods | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 40 | 15 | ||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 150 | 20 | ||
Table 4: Europe Data – Default Transport Distances and Modes
| Europe | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 30 | ||||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 35 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 70 | 30 | ||
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 70 | 35 | ||
| Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 7000 | 110 | 15 |
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Light Commercial | 17000 | 110 | 15 |
| Steel | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 110 | 15 |
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 310 | 15 | ||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 110 | 15 |
| Quaried Goods | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 30 | 15 | ||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 110 | 20 | ||
Table 5: Global Data – Default Transport Distances and Modes
| Global | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 50 | 25 | |||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 75 | 35 | |||
| Reinforced Concrete | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 60 | 25 | |
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 90 | 60 | 32 | |
| Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 11000 | 100 | 15 |
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Articulated Truck | Light Commercial | 12000 | 100 | 15 |
| Steel | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 100 | 15 |
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 260 | 15 | ||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rail | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 500 | 100 | 15 |
| Quaried Goods | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 30 | 15 | ||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Articulated Truck | Rigid truck | 100 | 20 | ||
Table 6: United Kingdom Data RICS 1st edition 2012– Default Transport Distances and Modes
| North America | ||||||
|
Transport scenario
|
Transport Mode | Transport Distance | ||||
| Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | |
| Concrete | Rigid truck | 50 | ||||
| Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 50 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete | Rigid truck | 50 | ||||
| Reinforced Concrete Specialised | Rigid truck | 50 | ||||
| Imported Products | Rigid truck | 1500 | ||||
| Specialist Imported Products | Sea | Light Commercial | 10000 | 200 | ||
| Steel | Rigid truck | 300 | ||||
| Timber (Rough Sawn) | Rigid truck | 300 | ||||
| Timber (Engineered) | Rigid truck | 1500 | ||||
| Quaried Goods | Rigid truck | 50 | ||||
| Value Added Construction Products (eg Plasterboard) | Rigid truck | 300 | ||||
Table 7: United Kingdom Data RICS 2nd edition 2023 – Default Transport Distances
| United kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Transport scenario (both road and sea to be used) | km by road | km by sea |
| Locally manufactured (ready-mixed concrete) | 20 | |
| Locally manufactured (general), e.g. aggregate, earth, asphalt | 50 | |
| Regionally manufactured, e.g. plasterboard, blockwork, insulation, carpet, glass | 80 | |
| Nationally manufactured, e.g. structural timber, structural steelwork, reinforcement, precast concrete | 120 | |
| European manufactured, e.g. cross-laminated timber (CLT), facade modules | 1,500 | 100 |
| Globally manufactured, e.g. specialist stone cladding | 500 | 10,000 |
