Bygningsreglementet (BR25)
The Bygningsreglementet (BR25) LCA requirements apply to nearly all new buildings requiring a permit, expanding the scope set by BR18. All buildings larger than 50 m² must perform a life cycle carbon calculation, and those over 1,000 m² or meeting §297 definitions must comply with binding carbon thresholds.
Threshold values are significantly lower than in BR18. For example:
Building Type | CO₂ Limit (kg CO₂e/m²/year) |
Small holiday homes (<150 m²) | 4.0 |
Detached or row houses | 6.7 |
Apartments, offices, institutions | 7.5 |
Other building types | 8.0 |
A voluntary Low Emission Class is available with stricter limits, e.g., 5.4 kg CO₂e/m²/year for homes and 1.1 kg CO₂e/m²/year for A4–A5 phases.
Life-Cycle & Results Scope
Mandatory Stages for BR25
The BR25 tool reports Global Warming Potential (GWP) across a broader scope than BR18:
Stage | Description |
A1–A3 | Raw material supply to manufacturing |
A4–A5 | Transport to site and construction (capped at 1.5 kg CO₂e/m²/year) |
B4 | Replacement (using national standard values) |
B6 | Operational energy use |
C3–C4 | Deconstruction and disposal |
D | Benefits from recycling/reuse |
Note: Unlike BR18, A4 and A5 are now required and have specific CO₂ caps.
Data Scope
The BR25 tool uses environmental data aligned with EN15804 (+A1) and EN15804 (+A2) as well as Denmark’s national guidelines:
Generic Data must follow Annex 2, Table 7 (e.g., predefined product categories)
Product-specific EPDs are encouraged, and required in Low Emissions Class
Operational energy factors are provided in Annex 2, Table 8
Service life data for B4 is standardized in accordance with BUILD RAPPORT 2021:32
Assessment Scope
BR25 defines which parts of the building must be included in the assessment:
Structural frame and envelope
Internal walls and finishes
Floor and ceiling layers
Windows, doors, stairs, balconies
HVAC systems, heat sources, and ventilation
Lighting (for non-residential buildings)
This scope is detailed in Annex 2, Table 6, replacing BR18’s Appendix 2.
Exclusions: Very small parts (e.g., screws), consumables, and IT/data equipment can be excluded.
Create a Project and Select BR25 Tool
Start a building project and choose the “LCA according to Bygningsreglementet BR25” tool.
Create your first design and set up the LCA parameters
On project setup, please ensure Selecting Project Parameters.
For the 'Service life values' choose 'Product-specific service life'.
For the 'End of life calculation method' choose 'EPD-EOL Scenario, user adjustable', this opens the 'Country specific end of life scenarios', and you should set this to 'Denmark'.
Check the mandatory scope
The scope can be found above or in the guidance directly.
Input required material data (A1-A3)
Fill in your project information as per the scope detailed in the BR18 guidance by entering to the Build materials query design either manually or by importing your data (see different import options here; guidance for data import can be found here).
If you need help finding the right datasets for your building materials, check our guidance pages here.
Generic BR18 data is available in the tool and can be found by applying 'BR18' as the data source in the material filters. The tool also includes standard value options under the 'HVAC components and equipment' category and includes options that can be input with the heated area as the quantity.
Mass data for the materials is automatically added to the detailed report.
Input the transportation data (A4)
The transportation of building materials (A4) is calculated automatically by the software with the generic BR18 transportation data. However, you can still adjust the transportation distances as well as the transportation mode accordingly.
Input the construction Site operations (A5)
Add your site impacts by adding project-specific data. The construction Site operations in BR25 are divided into 3 sections.
Energy use on the site
Materials use on the site (that do not constitute part of the asset)
Waste generated on the site
You can find more guidance on Construction site operations here.
Input annual energy consumption (B6)
Input energy as required by calculation scope for one year. This value will be multiplied by the calculation period for full-lifecycle results. The profiles that are available in the tool are provided by the Bygningsreglementet (BR18) guidance and represent different construction years/scenarios.
Fill in the calculation period
Set the calculation period to 50 years by opening the ‘Calculation Period’ and inputting 50 years.
Fill in the building area
Fill in the Building area question form by entering the appropriate areas. There are five different area definitions and each of these can be added with the relevant quantity depending on the area in question. The total reference area is based on the weighting of these areas. Further guidance on this can be found here: 1.3 Arealopgørelse
Results
The results are provided as Global Warming Potential (GWP) expressed as kg CO2e per m2 of heated floor area, per year. Full results can be found under the 'More actions' button by selecting 'Detailed report'.