Report on final LCSA-framework

This Deliverable (D2) documents the finalization and operationalization of the Life-Cycle Sustainability and Resilience Assessment Framework (LCSA-F) for renovation measures in Swiss multi-family buildings, and its implementation in the SUSTAINOVATE decision-support tool. Building on the initial SP1.4 report, which established the conceptual framework conditions, indicator hierarchy, expert-based weighting profile, and the selection of Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) as aggregation method, the present report translates these elements into a fully specified, tool-ready architecture with pre-modelled data for selected renovation measures and a functioning software prototype. The final LCSA-F maintains the four-pillar domain structure—environmental life cycle assessment (eLCA), life cycle costing (LCC), social life cycle assessment (sLCA), and resilience assessment (RA)—and the cradle-to-grave system boundaries (A1–C4) and functional unit (“heated area per year of building lifetime”) defined in Deliverable 1. The indicator set comprises 16 criteria and 56 subcriteria covering climate and energy-related impacts (e.g. GWP, CED, acidification, eutrophication, ozone depletion, abiotic depletion), cost components (total life-cycle costs and revenues disaggregated into CAPEX, OPEX, fees, taxes, energy and material sales, rental income, subsidies), social aspects (comfort, indoor air quality, user influence, accessibility, local value creation, cultural heritage, value-chain responsibility), and hazard-specific resilience descriptors for floods, heavy rain/hail, heat- and coldwaves, and blackout/energy shortages. For eLCA and LCC, the framework is now operationalized through explicit LCIA method choices (CML-IA baseline/non-baseline, IPCC 2021 GWP 100a, CED 1.11) and a conventional life-cycle cost structure aligned with sectoral guidelines, together with pre-modelled data for a set of predefined renovation measures (e.g. heat pumps, photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, insulation materials, window replacement options) based on established background databases. For sLCA and RA, the conceptually defined criteria and subcriteria from the initial framework are retained, but their quantification is delegated to structured user inputs within the tool, reflecting the strong dependence of social and resilience performance on building- and context-specific characteristics. The RA domain operationalizes resilience via phase-specific subcriteria (Absorb and Recovery) across the four selected hazards, systematically exploiting shared building-physics parameters (e.g. wall thickness, materials, insulation, plinth level) where possible, while keeping the overall hierarchy compatible with MAVT’s structural requirements. Additional indicators such as Ecological Scarcity (UBP), Energy Payback Time, Net Present Value (NPV), and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) are made available in the tool for diagnostic and investor-oriented analyses but are purposely excluded from the core composite index to prevent double counting. SUSTAINOVATE, implemented as a modular R-based web application, embodies the final framework in a practitioner-oriented environment. It guides users through three main modules—baseline building characterization, alternative definition, and MCDA analysis—while embedding the complete hierarchical indicator structure and the expert-derived weighting profile. The weighting interface offers two regimes: (i) a default “expert weights” profile, which reproduces the consensus reached in the second stakeholder workshop and provides a scientifically grounded reference configuration, and (ii) a “custom” profile starting from equal weights that allows users to explore case-specific preferences and conduct sensitivity analyses. The MCDA workflow performs min–max normalization and additive weighted aggregation as specified in the framework and returns not only rankings and scores for the status quo and all renovation alternatives, but also contribution analyses at pillar and sub-criterion level, together with exportable plots for reporting. Overall, this Deliverable demonstrates that the integrated sustainability-and-resilience framework developed in SP1.4 can be implemented in a coherent, transparent, and computationally tractable way, suitable for real-world decision-support in building renovation. At the same time, it identifies remaining challenges and future work, including (i) extending the library of renovation measures, indicators and hazards; (ii) testing and refining default data and weight profiles through empirical case studies; and analyzing the robustness of decision recommendations with respect to methodological choices (e.g. normalization, weighting) and stakeholder preference heterogeneity. Addressing these aspects will be critical to fully exploit the potential of LCSA-F and SUSTAINOVATE for supporting large-scale, evidence-based decarbonization and climate-resilient retrofitting of the Swiss multi-family building stock.