Environmental Value Engineering: An environmental life cycle assessment methodology for comparing built environment alternatives

摘要

Engineering education should prepare graduates to properly consider the environmental impact of their decisions toward sustainable development. Built environment alternatives compete for inputs of environment, fuel energy, goods, and human services (labor). Current assessment methodologies for comparing built environment alternatives only consider money related to labor or embodied energy in terms of fuel energy. Environmental life cycle assessment methodologies are being developed that consider all inputs and related environmental impacts. The purpose of this paper is to present Environmental Value Engineering as an environmental life cycle assessment methodology that applies the concept of EMERGY as an environmental decision making tool. Elements of the methodology are described, including EMERGY calculation procedures, and an application of the methodology that compares two built environment alternatives (exterior wall system alternatives for a building) is presented. Educational use of the Environmental Value Engineering methodology will create an awareness of the environmental effects that decisions on built environment alternatives will have on the availability of competing inputs of environment, fuel energy, goods, and services (labor).