September 5, 2007—The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released the newest version of its software tool for selecting environmentally preferred, cost-effective building products. BEES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) 4.0 updates data on more than 200 products and adds 30 new products for review.
BEES 4.0 measures both the environmental and economic performance of building products with lifecycle assessment techniques developed respectively by the International Organization of Standardization (ISO) and ASTM International.
With BEES a user can ascertain the environmental impact of a product at any stage of its existence—raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and waste management.
The environmental ramifications of the product at each of these stages is provided for each of 12 categories: global warming, acidification, eutrophication, fossil fuel depletion, indoor air quality, habitat alteration, human health, ecological toxicity, ozone depletion, smog, criteria air pollutants, and water intake.
The software also offers users the option of a new set of consensus weights for scoring the environmental impact of individual building products. The new option allows users to evaluate environmental impacts considering short-, medium- and long-term effects. Comprehensive economic performance data are similarly available for the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal.
BEES 4.0 includes a number of new non-biobased products, including carpeting from several manufacturers who agree to purchase carbon credits to offset the product’s lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. These and other products, such as biobased carpets, roof coatings, building maintenance products, and fertilizers that qualify for a government “green” preferential purchase program, could increase builder participation in the nation’s green building drive, says NIST.
For more information on BEES 4.0, available for free download, visit the NIST Web site.
