Frequently asked question about BRE LIST

Low Impact Shopfit Tool

The number of years or months the unit is designed to last for.

Responsible sourcing of materials is not quantifiable in a life cycle assessment, which does not typically include social or economic impacts.

The relationship between recycled content and environmental impact is not an easy one. If the percentage recycled content of a material is higher to the one stated in the tool, it cannot be assumed that its environmental impact will be decreased. A full environmental impact assessment of that material would need to be recalculated.

Hence, it cannot be changed.

The recycled at end of life values are based on our SMART Waste data and therefore a reflection of the working practice of the industry. This figure is not dependant on the manufacturer, but on the end of user. It is possible that we manage to get some figures specific to the retailers in the future.

Both the percentage recycled content and recycled at end of life values are typical of the UK and EU practices.

The weight of material used is the relevant factor in the assessment. In some cases, it is possible to imagine that some people won't know the density of the materials, hence: they are given the possibility to enter the length or the area of material used.

At the moment, shopfitting display equipment with electrical parts cannot be assessed. This may change in the future.

The data has been provided by BRE. Over the last decade, BRE has been working closely with industry and trade associations in order to collect primary data on materials. This data has all been independently and impartially assessed using the same methodology, the BRE Environmental Profile Methodology, and the results are therefore comparable. Where data has not been collected from industry, the Ecoinvent database was used as a reference and has been adapted for the UK market.

The lower the score, the better the result. There is no limit either up or down.

An Ecopoint is the unit of measure of the environmental impact of a unit, product or material. The Ecopoint score is a single score obtained from the combined results of a life cycle assessment against the 13 impact categories identified in the BRE Environmental Profile methodology. The Ecopoint score is also relative to the impact of an

EU citizen over one year: 100 Ecopoints = the environmental impact of 1 EU citizen over one year.

The more Ecopoints a unit or design gets, the worse the environmental impact of that unit.

Use the closest match or contact BRE.

The Ecopoints and KgCOzeq. will not changed unless the BRE methodology changes. This is very unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. However, the list of materials could be expended at any time with either more materials or with manufacturers specific data. If you wish to add to the list of materials, please contact BRE.

LIST started by concentrating on the materials making up a shopfitting display unit. The use of energy to run the unit will come at a later stage of the development of LIST.

Most environmental assessment would only consider climate change or Kg COzeq. The environmental impact of a material in LIST is assessed against 13 impact categories, according to the BRE Environmental Profile Methodology, are listed below:

• Climate Change

• Water Extraction

• Mineral Resource Extraction

• Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

• Human Toxicity

• Ecotoxicity to Freshwater and Land

• Nuclear Waste

• Waste Disposal

• Fossil Fuel Depletion

• Eutrophication

• Photochemical Ozone Creation

• Acidification

The lower the score, the better the result. There is no limit either up or down. Some products, which have sequestrated carbon during their life, can have a negative embodied carbon result.

It is possible to enter the exact travel information in the transport section, in order to achieve more accurate results.

In parts of the tool, it is possible to use default values, for example for the transport section. If details of a component are unknown or incomplete, please use the closest match. Please note that the results obtained with LIST are as good as the quality of the information entered.

Yes, that could be possible. The results of the carbon score are included in the overall Ecopoint score (as it is represented in the Climate Change impact). It preferable to consider the Ecopoint score over the carbon score.

Yes, you can compare several units.