Developing a data infrastructure to obtain reference values, baselines, and benchmarks for the Whole Life Carbon implementation in buildings in Spain: INDICATE project

Abstract

Currently, there is an urgent need to implement whole life carbon emissions reduction measures in Mediterranean regions. In the Spanish context, although there are several initiatives there is no national harmonised LCA method or national database of construction products with associated environmental data. This paper presents a summary of the methodology, preliminary results and lessons learnt from the INDICATE project Spain, whose focus on accelerating the data infrastructure for implementing WLC metrics in the building sector in Spain. It aims to provide a scientific-technical support to develop data of the national building stock harmonised with Level(s) framework and develop a robust national data infrastructure to conduct the WLC assessment, as well as providing agreed outcomes including reference values, baselines and benchmarks, contributing to the integration of the WLC in policy makers' decisions, existing regulations, and market innovation, involving key actors from representative regions in Spain and creating a multi-stakeholder network. The method is based on three main pillars: co-creation, development of new data, and collection of real LCA data. Several areas for future action have been identified, including the application of data science and technologies such as AI for the analysis of synthetic and real cases and the address of specific data gaps.