In line with the latest European industry guidelines, FS Engineering’s design process encompasses a product's entire lifespan, following a strict Life Cycle Thinking approach. Specifically, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a methodology that enables the identification, description, and quantification of the environmental impacts associated with a product, process, or service throughout all stages of its lifecycle.
Within the context of infrastructure design, the LCA study provides a quantitative, practical method for capturing the environmental footprint of a scheme. By selecting and calculating varied impact indicators, it serves as a valuable tool to support decision-making across the design, construction, and management phases—facilitating the choice of engineering solutions and strategies with the lowest environmental impact. For this reason, FS Engineering also conducts LCA assessments for research and development purposes, applying them directly to innovative technical materials and emerging technologies.
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LCA IN SUSTAINABILITY DOCUMENTATION
FS Engineering, in line with the requirements of Article 11 of Annex I.7 of the new Public Contracts Code, assesses the environmental and energy impacts associated with the life cycle of the infrastructure project during the Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFTE) phase. The scope of analysis used is ‘cradle-to-grave’: it includes an assessment of the impacts associated with the material procurement and construction phases and, based on appropriate assumptions, also with the use, maintenance and end-of-life phases.
GUIDELINES FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LCA METHODOLOGY TO RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE
FS Engineering, in line with the objectives of the UNI EN ISO 14040 and 14044 standards, has set out in a specific set of guidelines the methodological approach for carrying out a life-cycle assessment of railway infrastructure, with a view to guiding design choices aimed at ensuring a more beneficial balance between infrastructure and the environment.
SUSTAINABILITY AND DIGITAL INNOVATION
As part of the BIM LCA 2.0 project, FS Engineering is developing a tool that integrates the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology into its Information Management system, with the aim of making the assessment of the potential environmental impacts generated by an infrastructure project more efficient and digital.