According to Roy Antink (Senior Vice President, International Policy Coordination at Stora Enso), “Level(s) has the potential to help mainstream circular and low-carbon building. It can be the common language that aligns the value chain and drives life cycle thinking from early idea inception. What is more, it can provide for a tool that can be used by (sub)national governments to measure progress on key issues such as embodied carbon and resource use (circularity)”.

In 2018, Stora Enso tested Level(s) in the design stage of a modular wooden eco-school and multi-purpose facility of 5780 square metres. The testing examined how material choices are reflected in the environmental impact of a building’s life cycle. This analysis compared two alternatives: cross-laminated timber (CLT) and concrete-framed.

In addition, Stora Enso successfully piloted the commercial software and dataset One Click LCA to support its calculations.

The test contributed to a survey that was arranged by the Ministry of the Environment and Green Building Council Finland with the aim to investigate how robust and easily approachable the beta version of Level(s) was.

Because Level(s) represents the future of building construction, Roy Antink advices companies in the construction sector to “consider the Level(s) framework as part of their product and innovation and management, regardless its current status as voluntary tool. Doing so will help business future proof products and assets”.