The Environmental Effects of Water Damages : Assessing the CO2e footprint of water damage resolution methods from a life cycle perspective

Sammanfattning: This study assesses the primary drivers of CO2e footprint for three types of water damage resolution methods and identifies relevant focus areas to support a reduced environmental footprint from water damage restoration. To face the global challenge of climate change, mitigation actions need to be taken on a broad level, with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings being a key part. Although the number of environmental assessments of buildings is increasing, there is a lack of scientific literature quantifying the CO2e footprint of water damages, which makes it difficult for stakeholders in the industry to make sound decisions in order to combat climate change. In particular, this relates to the various methods that can be applied to resolve water damages. Therefore, this study conducts an attributional life cycle assessment of the CO2e footprint of three actual water damages, resolved using different methods requiring various degrees of material replacement. The study finds that both the total CO2e footprint and its main drivers vary significantly depending on the selected method. It further finds that the choice of method is crucial in order to reduce the CO2e footprint from water damage restoration, more specifically that a higher degree of material reuse, enabled by drying of damaged materials, appears to be preferred where applicable.