Doctor Gillian Menzies of Heriot Watt University has contributed greatly in the fields of Life Cycle Costing, Value Engineering, Life Cycle Assessment and Sustainability. Dr. Menzies has worked closely with NorDan over the years and has provided a Life Cycle Assessment of their products (see below).

Life cycle assessment (pdf document 147KB)
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Life cycle assessment takes a holistic view of a product life cycle and aims to identify those stages which impact most on the environment.’

‘All products, processes and activities impact in some way upon our environment. Life cycle assessment provides a system to identify, quantify and lessen these impacts.’

Affecting the environment
Impacts on the environment are varied. Damage to the atmosphere, depletion of the world's natural resources, human health factors, animal habitat changes, noise pollution and the availability of both raw materials and primary fuel for future generations, are just a few ways in which the environment is affected by daily activities.

Building for the future
‘To build sustainably, we are not required to sacrifice comfort and well being in our daily lives, but to act responsibly in the way we select materials and design components for construction. This helps ensure that materials and resources are preserved for future generations to supply their own needs, while the needs of the current population remain uncompromised.’

Dr Gillian Menzies

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