Challenge
Sør-Odal needed to produce detailed, reliable climate documentation for a residential care project - with calculations accurate enough to identify emission hotspots and inform material decisions, not just satisfy a compliance requirement.
Solution
Real-Time LCA leveraged to deliver a detailed greenhouse gas calculation for the Femkløveret project, with project-specific EPDs for the majority of materials and a direct comparison against a conventional programme to quantify the difference in data quality.
Result
Real-Time LCA delivered granular, element-level climate data that the conventional programme could not match - giving Sør-Odal both the documentation they needed, a better understanding and a stronger foundation for how they approach climate calculations on future municipal projects.
When Sør-Odal Municipality brought Real-Time LCA into the Femkløveret project with a clear objective: produce climate documentation accurate enough to genuinely inform decisions, and understand exactly where a building’s emissions are concentrated.
Running their calculation alongside a conventional programme made that difference in accuracy specific - and raised the bar for how the municipality approaches climate documentation going forward.
A project built around community - and climate ambition
Femkløveret is a co-housing project at the heart of Skarnes. Sør-Odal Municipality is building residential units with shared communal areas, a staff base, outdoor space, and parking. The location was chosen deliberately: close to public transport, shops, and everyday activities, so that the residents with disabilities who will live there have the same access to community life as anyone else. The building is under construction now and due for completion in autumn 2026.
The project is designed specifically for residents with disabilities. As part of the arrangement, the families of the future residents are establishing a housing cooperative to take ownership of the building, while the municipality will rent the staff base from the cooperative and provide ongoing care services. It is a project as much about community and inclusion as it is about construction - and that context shaped what the municipality wanted from the climate documentation process.
Alongside that social purpose, the municipality brought the same climate ambition to Femkløveret that it applies across its construction programme. Building materials, energy consumption and energy sources, and a general focus on low greenhouse gas emissions are key priorities in how Sør-Odal plans its projects. Femkløveret was no exception.
Getting more from climate calculations: precision that drives decisions
Sør-Odal Municipality had been building its approach to climate-conscious construction over several years - setting carbon budgets, prioritising local materials, and looking for ways to reduce emissions across its project portfolio. For Femkløveret, the municipality wanted a calculation accurate enough to be genuinely useful: one that could show exactly where emissions are concentrated, and inform the decisions that follow from that knowledge.
Working with NTI, the municipality ran the Femkløveret project through both Real-Time LCA and their existing calculation programme with an external advisor, comparing the outputs side by side. The comparison was focused on what mattered most: whether the accuracy and quality of the data was sufficient to make a practical difference to the results - and therefore to the decisions those results were meant to inform.
"It is interesting to see the level of detail and quality in the calculations from NTI compared to the results from the traditional programme." - Sør-Odal Municipality
Real-Time LCA produced calculations with noticeably higher granularity - tracing emissions at the level of individual materials and construction elements rather than working from aggregated references. For a project like Femkløveret, where every design decision affects a relatively modest total footprint, that level of detail is what makes it possible to identify where emissions can realistically be reduced, and to document that those reductions have actually been achieved.
The quality gap between the two approaches was meaningful, and it pointed toward a different standard for what climate documentation should look like across their construction programme going forward.
Image Credit: Sør-Odal kommune
Principles that shape how Sør-Odal builds
The Femkløveret comparison did not happen in isolation. It reflects a broader philosophy the municipality has been developing around sustainable construction - one that prioritises outcome over prescription.
"Set an emissions target, a carbon budget, for greenhouse gas emissions, without imposing too many constraints on materials or reference buildings. Allow consultants and contractors to identify the materials and construction methods that result in the lowest possible emissions for each individual project." - Sør-Odal Municipality
Rather than specifying particular materials or requiring compliance with reference building models, the municipality sets an emissions budget at project outset and gives design and construction teams the freedom to find the most effective path to reach it. This approach assumes that the professionals closest to a project understand its constraints better than a standardised checklist can, and trusts them accordingly.
Alongside carbon, energy performance is a consistent focus. The municipality looks for buildings with low energy demand and, wherever possible, on-site or locally generated energy.
The municipality also draws on certification frameworks - BREEAM and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel - as reference points and sources of structured guidance, without treating them as mandatory frameworks. And where procurement allows, the preference is always for local contractors and suppliers, keeping transport emissions down and economic value within the region.
"We hope that modern LCA tools continue to evolve and that the level of detail in calculations keeps improving." - Sør-Odal Municipality
A calculation grounded in real product data, structured by building element, and updated as the project moves from detailed design to completion is a tool for learning - not just reporting.
A calculation grounded in real product data, structured by building element, and updated as the project moves from detailed design to completion is a tool for learning - not just reporting.
Key project outcomes
- Project-specific EPDs used for the majority of materials - concrete, reinforcement, external walls and more - delivering higher data quality than generic averages allow.
- Emission hotspots identified by building element: floors-on-ground and intermediate decks (~45%), external walls (~19%), and roof (~16%) are the primary drivers, all dominated by the production phase A1–A3.
- Predominantly Norwegian-produced materials specified throughout, keeping transport distances short and supporting local supply chains.
- Report to be updated at project completion with final quantities, EPDs, and site waste data in line with TEK17 §17 requirements.