An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
ES (Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability) implements a rational, systematic technique for selecting environmentally and economically balanced building products. The technique is based on consensus standards and designed to be practical, flexible, and transparent. BEES measures the environmental performance of building products using the environmental life-cycle assessment approach specified in ISO 14040 standards. All stages in the life of a produce are analyzed: raw material acquisition, manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and waste management. Economic performance is measured using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard life-cycle cost method (E917), which covers the costs of initial investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and disposal. Environmental and economic performance are combined into an overall performance measure using the ASTM standard for Multiattribute Decision Analysis (E1765). For the entire BEES analysis, building products are defined and classified based on the ASTM standard classification for building elements known as UNIFORMAT II (E1557).
Citation
The Environmental Life Cycle
Publisher Info
Green Building: Project Planning & Cost Estimating Chapter 12, (Robert S. Means Co.),
Pub Type
Books
Keywords
building products, green buildings, life-cycle assessment, life-cycle costing, multiattribute decision analysis
Lippiatt, B.
(2002),
The Environmental Life Cycle, Green Building: Project Planning & Cost Estimating Chapter 12, (Robert S. Means Co.),
(Accessed April 27, 2025)