Overview

The Low Carbon Building Initiative (LCBI) was launched in 2022 by major players in the real estate sector (Generali Real Estate, Covivio, BPI Real Estate, BNP Paribas Real Estate, Bouygues Immobilier, WO2, Icamap, NSI, Ivanhoé Cambridge) and BBCA (the Association for the Development of Low-Carbon Buildings). Its aim is to develop the low-carbon certification of real estate projects in Europe in order to hasten the decarbonisation of the sector. Based on key European standards and benchmarks, the LCBI methodology serves to provide a harmonized European framework for assessing and certifying the carbon performance of new buildings.

The LCBI label, audited by Bureau Veritas, takes into account the complete life-cycle of buildings, and measures the carbon footprint as well as the comprehensiveness of the LCA on three levels:

Embodied Carbon (materials and construction)
Operational Carbon (energy use and refrigerants)
Biogenic Carbon Storage (carbon stored in bio-based materials)

The label has three performance levels:

Standard
Performance
Excellence

One Click LCA is a recognized tool that supports the LCBI methodology by enabling compliant LCA modeling, data reporting, and certification preparation.

Life Cycle & Results Scope

The LCBI certification currently applies to:

New construction projects
Building typologies: Offices, Multi-family Residential, and Hotels
Countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, and the UK

Data Scope

LCBI tool is compatible with EPDs based on both versions of the EN15804 standard which means +A1 and +A2.

Assessment Scope

The methodology is based on a 50-year reference study period and the assessment is made across the full building life cycle (A1–C4 stages), excluding B6 (Operational Carbon) and B7 (Water Use) from the Embodied Carbon indicator.

Even if B6 stage is excluded from the Embodied Carbon indicator, it is included in the Operational Carbon indicator.

Guidance for using One Click LCA with LCBI

LCA parameters

When creating your new LCA project with LCBI tool you must make sure to apply the following LCA parameters:

Service life: Product-specific service life (may vary by manufacturer)
Transport defaults: not mandatory as the tool uses A4 from EPDs by default
Manufacturing localization: Either v2.1 (recommended) with target country or disabled
End of life calculation method: Use EPD EOL scenario, user adjustable
Country specific scenarios: United Kingdom - RICS 2nd Edition

Tool Requirements

One Click LCA supports:

Full life-cycle modeling (A1–C4)
Separate reporting of:
- Embodied Carbon (excluding biogenic)
- Biogenic Carbon Storage
- Operational Carbon (including refrigerants)
Calculation specifications:
- If an EPD includes impacts for A4 and A5 stages, they will be used as first priority in the calculation but they can still be modified by the user
- B1 stage never includes the refrigerant leakages, even if the EPD would have it declared, so it should be inserted in the Emissions & Removals query page
- Additional maintenance inputs can be made in the Maintenance query, since not all EPDs have use stages in the scope
Export of results in the LCBI-compliant format

Mandatory Inputs

To ensure LCBI compliance, users must provide:

General Project Information

Project name, location, typology (to be filled manually in LCBI XLSX results report in info tab)
Reference area (IPMS 2 without Component H)

Embodied Carbon

Detailed bill of quantities for all building components
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for each material:
- Prioritized as follows:
  - Product-specific EPD (local)
  - Average EPD (local)
  - Generic dataset (local)
  - Equivalent product EPD
  - Product-specific/average EPD (foreign)
  - Generic dataset (foreign)
  - Default service lives if not provided in EPDs
Reuse and demolition scenarios (if applicable)

Operational Carbon

Energy consumption estimates via:
- National Calculation Method (★☆☆)
- Dynamic Energy Simulation (★★☆)
- Monitored Consumption (★★★)
Emission factors from CRREM (location-based only)
Refrigerant leakage estimates (if applicable)

You can fill the energy consumption directly in your One Click LCA project (Energy consumption, annual tab) if you want to see results in it, or fill it manually in the LCBI XLSX results report in the 2. OPERATIONAL tab for further submission.

Filling in the energy consumption section in One Click LCA does not yet allow the energy consumption section to be filled in automatically in the exported Excel file. You will need to fill this in once the file has been exported for future submission.

Biogenic Carbon Storage

Biogenic carbon content is calculated in One Click LCA based on the information provided in the EPDs and the following calculation rules (in this order of priority):

kgCO₂e/unit (CO2e content reported in EPD)
kgC/unit × 44/12 (C content reported in EPD and calculated in CO2e as per the calculation rule for the estimation following EN 16449:2014 Wood and wood-based products)
EN 15804+A2 GWP-biogenic
For timber: 0.45 kgC/kg × density × volume

For more detailed information about the biogenic carbon content calculation you can refer to section 4. Biogenic Carbon Storage (page 20) of the LCBI guidance (see attached file).

Results

How to Obtain a Compliant File

Use One Click LCA’s LCBI tool and make sure to:

Include all required life-cycle stages (A1–C4)
Use the LCA parameters mentioned above
Use valid and prioritized EPDs

After completing the different sections, you will be able to check the Results within the Results page in One Click LCA. You can then export the LCBI Reporting Spreadsheet by going to the Results section and clicking on More actions and LCBI - XLSX results report.