FAQ

There are various licenses that provide access to BCI Gebouw. These licenses have a duration of 12 months. See www.bcigebouw.nl/licenties/kosten-en-bundels/ for more information.

BCI Gebouw shows all relevant indicators related to responsible material use:

• Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG)
• Environmental Cost Indicator (MKI)
• MPG-2/Paris Proof Indicator
• GWP per phase A-D (Embodied Carbon)
• Construction Stored Carbon (CSC)
• Material Circularity Index (MCI)
• Responsible sourcing of raw materials
• Future scenario
• Disassembly (LI)
• Building Circularity Index (BCI)

All indicators are calculated in the manner described by leading organizations in the Netherlands, such as the National Environmental Database (NMD), Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) and Cirkelstad/Het Nieuwe Normaal(HNN).

The data from BCI Gebouw is stored within the European Union, in Germany.

BCI Gebouw is the first measurement tool that shows all leading performances, including environmental performance, CO2 performance, and circular performance of material choices:

• Insight at both building level and product level
• Insight into the degree of influence per product on the indicator of choice
• Offers alternatives within the same NL/SfB code
• Databases are linked and updated daily
• Can start with various archetypes, both in dimensions and type of execution
• Works with a software partner certified to ISO27001 and ASAE2403
• Provides access to an unlimited number of users without additional cost
• Works with different authorization levels within one license
• Can transfer calculations between different accounts in BCI Gebouw (from client to property owner)
• Offers the possibility to adjust the default values for future scenarios and disassembly to more circular variants

BCI Gebouw shows the environmental, CO2, and circular performance for each material. Once you have entered your building, you can click on the indicator of your choice (e.g., MKI, PPI, or LI) to also rank the materials based on the performance of the chosen indicator. This way, you can see which materials have a significant impact on the score and which materials have little impact.

Additionally, BCI Gebouw offers the possibility to filter all materials within the same NL/SfB coding by the indicator of your choice. This allows you to easily see which alternatives are available on the market and how they score per indicator.

Yes, BCI Gebouw is a recognized and validated tool by the National Environmental Database (NMD) for making Environmental Performance of Buildings (MPG) calculations. Data from BCI Gebouw can thus be used as official evidence in tenders or subsidy applications.

Yes, BCI Gebouw offers a materials passport as one of the reporting options. The materials passport from BCI Gebouw is recognized by platform CB’23 as a materials passport.

An additional advantage is that the materials passport from BCI Gebouw can be transferred as a calculation between different accounts. This allows construction companies not only to transfer the physical materials passport but also to transfer the entire calculation to the BCI Gebouw account of the client (property owner). For the latter, this is an ideal starting point to link it to their multi-year maintenance plan (MJOP), keep track of transformations and renovations, and later link insights into these material flows to financial incentives such as CO₂ pricing and residual value.

The number of users you can grant access to your account is unlimited. You can also grant access to users outside your organization. With different authorization levels, the main user (the administrator) determines the rights of the co-users. These can vary per person.

The BCI (index) measurement method is not a one-to-one translation of the measurement method of Platform CB’23 but applies the same principles. Circularity is made measurable based on the principles of ‘protecting material stocks’ (expressed in the MCI), protecting the environment (expressed in MKI), and ‘protecting existing value’ (expressed in LI). The BCI measurement method uses calculation rules developed by BCI Gebouw to express these principles in a single score. How the BCI measurement method further aligns with the measurement method of Platform CB’23 is extensively covered in the BCI Gebouw training.

Yes, BCI Gebouw offers the possibility to add someone as a ‘viewer’ to a project. This person can then only view the project to which they are assigned and has only viewing rights, but cannot modify a calculation. This person can be removed from the account at a later stage if desired.

This has not yet been implemented in BCI Gebouw . You can compile a product and material list in BCI Gebouw and use this to determine the (additional) investment costs yourself.

Currently, this is not yet possible. This functionality is under development, but it is not yet known when this feature will be available.

No, currently it is not possible to delete a building from BCI Gebouw. However, buildings that are no longer needed can be marked as inactive after the 12-month credit period expires. While the building remains visible, further modifications are not possible unless reactivated using a new credit. For questions about data management, contact BCI Gebouw support.

Great to hear you’re interested in BCI Gebouw! You can request a two-week demo via info@bcigebouw.nl, mentioning “demo request”. After two weeks, access will be removed.

Note: If you’re new to BCI Gebouw, check out the user guide or our YouTube channel to get started.

Important: The demo environment is updated less frequently than the live version. Calculations may not reflect the most recent data. The demo is meant to give you a feel for how the software works.

BCI Gebouw is integrated with Planon’s long-term maintenance planning (MJOP) software. This link between the platforms makes it possible to assess the environmental, CO₂, and circularity impact of planned maintenance. It supports reporting requirements like CSRD, helps evaluate alternatives during renovations, and lays the groundwork for financial incentives such as CO₂ pricing and material residual value. For more information about Planon Building Circularity Insights, contact your BCI Gebouw or Planon representative.

In BCI Gebouw, you can efficiently generate both an MPG/CO₂ and Circularity assessment at the same time. These are two separate calculations using two linked databases. The workflow is as follows:

1. Start with the MPG calculation, making sure all quantities, materials, scaling, and scope are correctly entered.
2. Use this as the basis for the BCI calculation: open the BCI tab and check the BCI mapping, scaling factor, and disassembly index. This step takes about one hour.
3. Calculate MKI% and Mass% (triggered via the action panel) and verify the results in the list view:
   Sort by MKI% and check for unusually high or low scores.
   b. Sort by Mass% and check for unusually high or low scores.
   Ensure that at least 80% of the total mass and 80% of the total MKI has been double-checked (the 80/20 rule).

This method ensures you review your input multiple times, resulting in a reliable calculation.

In BCI Gebouw, you can run calculations using both the A1 and A2 datasets (EN15804+A2). When switching a project to a different calculation method, any products not valid under the new method will automatically be marked as “excluded.”

We are currently in a transition phase within the Dutch National Environmental Database (NMD). Older calculations are more difficult to convert, but new ones will be easier to create using A2 data.
The NMD has published a list of LCAs that contain known errors. These are still active but may result in unrealistically high MKI scores:
https://milieudatabase.nl/nl/actueel/nieuws/correctie-van-hoge-mki-in-a2-set-milieuverklaringen-met-set-a2/

All indicators are calculated according to methods defined by leading Dutch organizations such as the National Environmental Database (NMD), Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC), and Cirkelstad/Het Nieuwe Normaal (HNN).

BCI Gebouw allows you to export PDF reports for various purposes. You can also generate an Excel export to further analyze your calculation outside the platform. Watch how to export data in this video:
https://youtu.be/DpdCfBPW2uY?feature=shared&t=851 (video only available in Dutch, we are working on the English translation)

The biobased share is weighted based on the mass (kg) of materials. So, even if a building contains many biobased materials, a concrete foundation will have a strong influence on the biobased percentage. That’s because 1 m³ of concrete is, on average, five times heavier than 1 m³ of biobased material.

There are four user roles in BCI Gebouw:

1. Administrator
2. Moderator
3. Calculator
4. Viewer

Within the Calculator role, you can distinguish between internal and external calculators.
External users must always be assigned to a team, while internal calculators can view all projects within the account without being added to a team.

For instructions on how to add users, see the user manual and demo video:

• User manual
• Demo video

Important: Technically, it’s possible to assign multiple roles to a single user. However, this may cause permission conflicts. Assign only one role per user.

If a product is ‘exclusive’, it is not included in the calculation. This function can be useful when comparing variants in a calculation.

The products from the NMD are valid for a specific period. If you change the reference date, and products are no longer valid, these products are automatically set to ‘exclusive’. This means that these products are no longer included in the calculation.

Note: Products are not automatically set back to inclusive when you revert the reference date; you need to do this manually.

BCI Gebouw uses three databases:

• The National Environmental Database (NMD) for environmental/CO₂ impact;
• The NIBE database for origin and future scenarios and CO₂ storage;
• The Alba Concepts disassembly database for the default disassembly performance.

For the Alba Concepts disassembly database, we have a unique collaboration with both Alba Concepts and NIBE, allowing us to technically merge these into one database, so we only need to link the NMD to this combined database. We create the best possible standard link between these databases ourselves. Because the databases do not match exactly 1:1, a perfect link is unfortunately not always possible.

If you want to link a different BCI/NIBE product with an NMD product yourself (if this is more suitable for your application), this is possible. See the following video for a demonstration: https://youtu.be/DpdCfBPW2uY?t=492.

We use the SGS Search method to calculate CO₂ storage. This is prescribed in The New Normal Building V1.0. For further explanation, read: https://circulairebouweconomie.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Onderzoeksrapport-Koolstofvastlegging-biobased-materialen.pdf. Unfortunately, not all products contain the necessary data to calculate CO₂ storage. In that case, no CO₂ storage has been calculated.

The percentage of landfill and/or incineration is based on products from the NIBE database and brand-independent LCAs and processing scenarios as prescribed by the NMD: https://milieudatabase.nl/nl/downloads-plugin/download/15/. Deviations are only possible if alternative processing scenarios are demonstrated by the supplier in a specific LCA. Examples include Derix CLT products, where 60% reuse is validated by an independent LCA assessor from the NMD.

If there are specific LCAs from suppliers that demonstrate better recycling or reuse scenarios, we gladly receive these for addition to the product database. Adjusting your own processing scenarios is not allowed to ensure the reliability of calculations.

There is an option to adjust origin and future scenarios to 100% reused or reusable, but this requires demonstrability. Demonstrating reuse in the future is practically complex. In most situations, a combination of high disassembly and a return guarantee by the product supplier forms the basis for determining reusability. Platform CB’23 offers a guideline for future reuse: https://platformcb23.nl/.