Over the last 19 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 manufacturerÂs 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.
The questionnaire has been updated to better assist in the collection data that is consistent with the most up-to-date LCA processes, methods, and data.
$0
No
No
No
No
No
Uncollected
Joshua Kneifel 301 975-6857
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.