ISO 21931-1:2022

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 21931-1
Second edition
2022-06
Sustainability in buildings and civil
engineering works — Framework
for methods of assessment of the
environmental, social and economic
performance of construction
works as a basis for sustainability
assessment —
Part 1:
Buildings
Développement durable dans les bâtiments et les ouvrages de
génie civil — Cadre méthodologique de l'évaluation au sens du
développement durable des performances environnementales, sociales
et économiques des ouvrages de construction —
Partie 1: Bâtiments
Reference number
© ISO 2022
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Published in Switzerland
ii
Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction . vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
3.1 Terms relating to construction works and construction products . 2
3.2 Terms relating to performance . 5
3.3 Terms relating to life cycle approaches . 7
3.4 Terms relating to resources and materials . 11
3.5 Miscellaneous terms .12
4 Principles and application .13
5 The object of assessment.13
5.1 General .13
5.1.1 Perspectives on a building . 13
5.1.2 A building as a place in which to live, work or socialize . 14
5.1.3 A building as a part of the built environment . 14
5.1.4 A building as an end-use product and an integrated assembly of products . 14
5.1.5 A building as an economic asset . 15
5.1.6 A building as a project to be managed from its inception to end-of-life .15
5.1.7 A building as a system in operation . 16
5.1.8 A place for shelter and protection of contents . 16
5.1.9 A building as an object that embodies cultural value . 16
5.1.10 A building as either an enduring or short-term asset . 16
5.2 System boundary . . 18
5.3 Functional equivalent . 18
5.4 The building life cycle . 19
5.4.1 General . 19
5.4.2 The use of modules in the building assessment . 20
5.4.3 The life cycle of building components . 24
5.5 Relevance of local contexts . 25
6 Framework for methods of assessment .26
6.1 General . 26
6.2 Assessment method documentation . 26
6.3 Purpose of assessment . 27
6.4 Statement of assumptions and scenarios. 27
6.5 The structured list of issues related to the areas of concern included in the
assessment . 27
6.5.1 Environmental issues. 27
6.5.2 Social issues .29
6.5.3 Economic issues . 36
6.5.4 Issues related to the management processes for construction, delivery,
operation and maintenance .39
6.5.5 Additional issues . 41
7 Methods for quantification .41
7.1 General . 41
7.2 Information for the assessment . 42
7.2.1 Sources . 42
7.2.2 Quality . 43
7.3 Traceability and transparency . 43
7.4 Multi-effects and double counting . 43
7.5 Using performance levels . 43
7.6 Weighting and aggregation .44
iii
8 Evaluation of assessment results .45
8.1 General . 45
8.2 Comparability of the results . 45
9 Assessment report .46
Annex A (informative) Extent and application of the assessment method .48
Annex B (informative) Responsible sourcing.50
Annex C (informative) Stakeholder involvement .52
Annex D (informative) Potential multi-effects of indicators .53
Bibliography .56
iv
Foreword
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described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
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This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 59, Buildings and civil engineering works,
Subcommittee SC 17, Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 21931-1:2010), which has been technically
revised.
The main changes are as follows:
— the scope has been expanded from a framework for methods of assessment of environmental
performance to also include provisions related to methods for the assessment of economic and
social performance of construction works, as an overall basis for sustainability assessment.
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