Over the last 16 years, the
Engineering Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) has developed and automated an approach for
measuring the life-cycle environmental and economic performance of
building products. Known as BEES (Building for Environmental and
Economic Sustainability), the tool reduces complex, science-based
technical content (e.g., over 500 material and energy flows from
raw material extraction through product disposal) to
decision-enabling results and delivers them in a visually intuitive
graphical format. BEES Please is a voluntary program to collect
data from product manufacturers so that the environmental
performance of their products may be evaluated scientifically using
BEES. NIST will publish in BEES an aggregated version of the data
collected from manufacturers that protects data confidentiality,
subject to manufacturers review and approval. BEES measures
environmental performance using the environmental life-cycle
assessment approach specified in the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) 14040 series of standards. All stages in the
life of a product are analyzed: Raw material acquisition,
manufacture, transportation, installation, use, and recycling and
waste management. Economic performance is measured using the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard
lifecycle cost method, which covers the costs of initial
investment, replacement, operation, maintenance and repair, and
disposal.
Barbara Lippiatt 301 975-6133
barbara.lippiatt@nist.gov
No
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.