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Building material ecology

IBO reference values for building materials

To date, IBO reference values have been set for more than 500 building materials. The building materials are assessed using the “cradle-to-gate” approach. This takes into account all of the processes up to the point when the product is ready for delivery to the customer. Material, transport and energy inputs as well as emissions into the air, soil, water and waste must be determined for each step in the process. The lifecycle assessment calculations are made with the SimaPro program using CML2 Baseline 2001. The following ecological parameters are specified:

  • Global warming potential (GWP)
  • Acidification potential (AP)
  • Demand for renewable and non-renewable energy resources (PEI e, PEI ne)
  • Global warming potential (GWP) without storage

The IBO reference values are continuously updated and extended. The following associations and companies all use the IBO reference values for building materials:

  • Eco2Soft
  • baubook standard and
  • energy certificate software manufacturers (Archiphysik, Ecotech Gebäuderechner, GEQ, EDV-Software-Service/AX3000)

The IBO reference values for building materials are valid for housing subsidies in Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Tyrol.