Life Cycle Assessment tools — including those employed in analyzing life cycle costs of gypsum products — use environmental, costing and human health criteria to compare building materials and building systems.

Life cycle tools are typically of two types: those that examine the financial life cost of a material or system, and those that appraise the environmental impact of a material or system.

A life cycle cost analysis evaluates the cost to produce a material or construct a system and the future cost of maintaining and replacing the material pr system. Future costs are calculated in today’s currency values to ensure an objective analysis.

Gypsum products fare extremely well in life cycle cost analyses due to their low in-place construction cost and their long life-span. Building systems finished with gypsum based products typically require minimal routine maintenance and are easily repaired without extensive or costly procedures. If installed and maintained in a proper environment, gypsum-based products will perform acceptably for decades.

Several environmental analysis tools are now available and most can incorporate gypsum-based products into their analysis process. The tools evaluate a variety of comparative parameters for materials and systems including embodied energy, global warming potential, resource use, and the pollution caused by or created by the material during its manufacturing process or anticipated life span.

In most contemporary green standards, a plan that identifies the expected life span of materials and systems installed in or incorporated into the structure of a building will earn building life service credits. Under normal conditions, gypsum panels and gypsum plaster products have an expected service life well in excess of 50 years. In addition, gypsum’s inherent fire-resistance characteristics help to protect a building and its many systems from damage in the event of a fire or heat-related incident.