ASTM_E_2432_-_11.pdf

Designation:E243211Standard Guide forGeneral Principles of Sustainability Relative to Buildings1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2432;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1.Scope1.1 Sustainabilty has three types of general principles:environmental,economic,and social.This guide covers thefundamental concepts and associated building characteristicsfor each of the general principles of sustainability.1.2 This guide distinguishes between ideal sustainabilityand applied sustainability.Ideally,human activities would notrequire making trade-offs among environmental,economic,and social goals.However,this guide recognizes that,inapplying sustainability principles to buildings,decision makersmust often balance opportunities and challenges associatedwith each of the general principles.1.3 This guide identifies general methodologies associatedwith the decision-making process used in pursuing sustainabil-ity.1.4 This guide addresses buildings individually and inaggregate(collectively).1.4.1 The general principles identified in this guide areapplicable to all scales of building projects,including:interiorspaces,individual buildings and groups of buildings,infra-structure systems,and land use.1.4.2 The general principles identified in this guide areapplicable to all life-cycle stages of a building and itscomponents,including:materialextraction,productmanufacturing,product transportation,planning,siting,design,specification,construction,operation,maintenance,renovation,retrofit,reuse,deconstruction,and waste disposalof buildings.1.5 A variety of tools and standards exist that qualify andquantify impacts of buildings,building materials,and buildingmethods in terms of one or more of the general principles ofsustainability.It is not within the scope of this standard torecreate or replace these tools.1.6 This guide does not provide direction as to the specificimplementation of the general principles;nor does it providedirection as to the specific weighting of principles necessaryfor achieving balance.1.7 Applying the principles in this guide will require pro-fessional judgment.Such judgment should be informed byexperience with environmental,economic,and social issues asappropriate to the building use,type,scale,and location.1.8 This guide offers an organized collection of informationor a series of options and does not recommend a specific courseof action.This document cannot replace education or experi-ence and should be used in conjunction with professionaljudgment.Not all aspects of this guide may be applicable in allcircumstances.This ASTM standard is not intended to repre-sent or replace the standard of care by which the adequacy ofa given professional service must be judged,nor should thisdocument be applied without consideration of a projects manyunique aspects.The word“Standard”in the title of thisdocument means only that the document has been approvedthrough the ASTM consensus process.1.9 This standard does not purport to address all of thesafety concerns,if any,associated with its use.It is theresponsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.2.Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E631 Terminology of Building ConstructionsE917 Practice for Measuring Life-Cycle Costs of Buildingsand Building SystemsE2114 Terminology for Sustainability Relative to the Perfor-mance of Buildings2.2 ISO Standards:3ISO 14040 Life Cycle Assessment3.Terminology3.1 Definitions:1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E60 on Sustainabilityand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E60.01 on Buildings and Construc-tion.Current edition approved Aug.1,2011.Published August 2011.Originallyapproved in 2005.Last previous edition approved in 2005 as E2432 05.DOI:10.1520/E2432-11.2For referenced ASTM standards,visit the ASTM website,www.astm.org,orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org.For Annual Book of ASTMStandards volume information,refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Available from International Organization for Standardization(ISO),1,ch.dela Voie-Creuse,Case postale 56,CH-1211,Geneva 20,Switzerland,http:/www.iso.ch.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 3.1.1 For terms related to building construction,refer toTerminology E631.3.1.2 For terms related to sustainability relative to theperformance of buildings,refer to Terminology E2114.Someof these terms are reprinted here for ease of use.3.1.3 biodiversity,nthe variability among living organ-isms from all sources including:terrestrial,marine,and otheraquatic ecosystems and the