The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has released preliminary research findings that will help set a new standard in life-cycle assessment modeling. The studies, which are part of an ongoing research initiative at the MIT Concrete Sustainability Hub, will quantify the cradle-to-grave environmental costs of paving and building materials and will ultimately result in the most comprehensive LCA model produced to date.
MIT is set to release a follow-up study in 2011 that will examine economic costs to provide a comprehensive analysis of the total costs of building and paving materials. Interim reports on the LCA of pavements and the LCA of buildings are available at the Foundation’s website. The MIT CSH was co-founded by the Portland Cement Association and the RMC Research and Education Foundation.
www.rmc-foundation.org