In recent years, there has been a growing interest in addressing human-induced impacts on the environment, with a particular focus on transitioning to sustainability and achieving carbon neutrality. However, the current implementation of Whole Life Carbon (WLC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the construction sector in the Czech Republic is hindered by several challenges. These include gaps in stakeholders’ knowledge, limited availability of LCA data on construction products and buildings, insufficient market incentives, and low institutional capacity. This study, conducted as part of the INDICATE project, aims to streamline the process of WLC calculation and establish a consistent national assessment method specific to the Czech context. The project encompasses various phases, i.e., a case study collection of office, multi-family, single-family, education, and logistic hall buildings, followed by the development of a comprehensive unified materials database, classification of building parts and uniform work with the bill of quantities, stakeholder engagement, an LCA of case studies with a sensitivity analysis, and WLC policy suggestions, including the quality of the project data, simplifications, and a benchmarks definition. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) is calculated throughout the entire life cycle of each considered building, utilizing the EU Level(s) methodology incorporated in the OneClick LCA software. By adhering to these newly developed methodological steps, benchmarks for multi-residential buildings are shown. The same methodology could be replicated by stakeholders in other countries to enhance their evaluation processes and ensure consistent results across their projects.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become an important part of building design optimization. Design studios need tools that make the LCA of buildings faster and simple, and provide results that allow comparison between variants. The objective of this study was to show the possibility of LCA data integration into the existing building design tool, the DEK Building Library, which is already widely used in the Czech Republic, by connecting it to 1200 items of the largest Czech cost-estimating database, and the application of this connection into building information modeling (BIM) tools. This process also included the large-scale adaptation of 160 relevant LCA data. The main result was obtained using EnviBIM, a freely accessible BIM plugin, as well as a web interface that allows users to receive cradle-to-gate environmental impacts of DEK Building Library elements. Additionally, a semi-automated algorithms system for different groups of building materials and elements named EnviDataGenerator was developed in MS Excel, which enables the consistent linking of LCA data to the cost-estimating database items. This allows EnviBIM extensions and upgrades. The EnviBIM module was validated using case studies of three buildings modeled in ArchiCAD and REVIT. The difference in results compared to the manual calculation was 3.1% to 10.9%, which was considered a success.

The primary measures against radon in buildings are a tight contact structure or venting the subsoil beneath the building. In many cases, ventilation systems used in buildings to ensure good indoor air quality can also be used to reduce the radon concentration. This study aims to evaluate the environmental impacts of residential ventilation systems for their ability to lower the concentration of this gas. The life cycle assessment methodology was used to assess two kinds of ventilation systems. The results indicate that 95% of environmental impacts are associated with operational emissions, while 5% are associated with embodied ones. Moreover, an increase in radon supply rates resulted in an increase in energy consumption and related emissions, for example, the operational energy of an exhaust ventilation system aimed for a reduction to 200 Bq/m³ in a 9/15 cyclic mode range from 9.69 for a radon supply rate of 50 Bq/m³h to 32.27 for 200 Bq/m³h. These simulations show that ventilation systems cannot be considered universally suitable measures to reduce the radon concentration because they may become very energy demanding, and their environmental impact may be significant even considering the type of energy source. Based on this study, we can determine whether it makes sense for a given radon supply rate and energy source to use a ventilation system to reduce the radon concentration in residential buildings.

Pre-demolition and Pre-reconstruction audits can enable more circular deconstruction by identifying recoverable materials and planning End-of-Life (EoL) pathways. However, evidence is still limited on how EU circularity frameworks and environmental assessment align at the audit stage. This study applies Level(s) circular indicators together with and EU Taxonomy benchmarks to a Czech case-study building based on data obtained through a Pre-demolition audit. Five EoL scenarios were modelled, ranging from business-as-usual practice to more circular strategies reflecting feasible market and regulatory conditions. The scenarios were subsequently assessed using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), focusing on the EoL stage - Module C (C1–C4) and Module D - benefits beyond the system boundary, using Global Warming Potential (GWP). Results show that scenario ranking differs depending on whether the assessment emphasises material circularity benchmarks or environmental impacts, and that modelling choices, notably system boundaries and treatment routes such as backfilling versus recycling, can materially change conclusions. The study demonstrates the value of combining circularity indicators with LCA and explicit performance targets to robustly evaluate deconstruction strategies at the audit stage.

Pre-demolition audits represent a key instrument for enabling selective deconstruction and improving the environmental performance of construction and demolition waste (CDW) management. This paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA)–based case study in which a pre-demolition audit and the subsequent real deconstruction of a administrative building were used to systematically map and evaluate alternative CDW management scenarios. The study compares a real deconstruction scenario, implemented on the basis of a detailed pre-demolition audit, with a conventional business-as-usual (BAU) scenario reflecting standard demolition and waste treatment practices. The system boundary covers demolition-related life cycle modules C2–C4 and benefits beyond the system boundary (module D), including transport, processing, disposal, and recycling benefits, in accordance with EN 15804 + A2. Modelling was performed in SimaPro software using the ecoinvent 3.7 database. The results show that the real scenario based on selective deconstruction achieved substantially higher environmental benefits than the BAU scenario. Overall, the selective approach resulted in a net saving of 872 t CO₂ equivalent, corresponding to approximately 15% higher climate benefits compared to conventional demolition practices. Transport impacts were found to be relatively low, while the most significant environmental benefits originated from recycling of aluminium, steel, and glass. Concrete recycling also contributed to climate benefits, particularly when highquality recycling routes were applied. The case study demonstrates how predemolition audits can serve as a robust data source for scenario-based LCA of CDW management and for identifying environmentally preferable waste treatment pathways.