Environmental Value Engineering - A Cost Reduction Technique

Accodring to Roundebush, environmental value engineering evaluates the environmental contribution and impact of built environment alternatives in units of solar EMERGY during the alternative's life cycle.

EMERGY is defined by Roundebush as all the available energy that was used in the work of making a product, including environmental impacts relating to inputs of: environment, fuel energy, goods, and services (labor). EMERGY is expressed in standard units of energy called solar emjoules (SEJ).

The methodology incorporates 10 life cycle phases of man-made products.

A. natural resource formation,
B. natural resource exploration and extraction,
C. material production,
D. design,
E. component production,
F. fabrication/construction,
G. use,
H. demolition,
I. natural resource recycling, and
J. disposal.


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