## 4 Discussion
### Environmental Impact Assessment  
The building sector represents a substantial contributor to global energy consumption and pollution, accounting for 30% of the total global energy use and 26% of global energy-related emissions, distributed as 8% directly from buildings and 18% from heat production and electricity [69]. Thus, building operations present the major opportunity to lower their adverse effects on the environment. Evaluating the environmental impact of building operations is therefore essential for developing sustainable strategies to decrease energy use and carbon footprint. Numerous studies [70; 71; 72; 73; 74; 75; 76] have confirmed that the operational phase of a building is responsible for the most significant environmental impact. Furthermore, a review of the life cycle carbon emissions for a substantial number of residential and non-residential buildings, including educational facilities, conducted by [PERSON] et al. [77] indicated that their operational carbon emissions accounted for approximately 75% of their total life cycle carbon emissions. Given that operational carbon emissions are a consequence of the direct combustion of fossil fuels and the indirect acquisition of electricity and heat during the operational phase of a building [72; 73; 74; 78], the ratio of operational carbon to total lifecycle carbon emissions is strongly correlated with a building's operational energy consumption [72]. Operational carbon emission factors are subject to variation depending on the energy source. While fossil fuel emission factors (e.g., for natural gas) are fixed values determined by the relevant authorities, those for purchased electricity are influenced by the local energy generation mix [72]. The educational facility under study was assessed over the 2023-2024 academic year, with consideration limited to the operational phase. Energy consumption data were disaggregated by resource type, namely electricity and natural gas. In the baseline scenario (S0), the following carbon emission factors were employed in the analysis, sourced from OneClick LCA: \"electricity-Romania 2021\" with a GWP of 0.44 kg CO\({}_{2}\)e/kWh and \"natural gas-world\" with a GWP of 0.25 kg CO\({}_{2}\)e/kWh. As Romania's electricity mix stands out within the European Union for its balanced distribution between different energy sources [79], hydropower, nuclear, coal, natural gas, and wind all played a significant and relatively equal role in electricity production in 2022. By 2023, the share of renewables increases to more than 7% due to the shift towards cleaner energy sources, contributing to a reduction in the carbon intensity of electricity production (from 298 to 241 g CO\({}_{2}\)e/kWh) [80]. However, in accordance with the national legislation, the emission conversion factors for electricity and natural gas are 0.265 kg CO\({}_{2}\)e/kWh and 0.205 kg CO\({}_{2}\)e/kWh, respectively [81]. In the context of educational buildings, it is imperative to prioritize the consideration of students' capacity to acclimatize to colder temperatures during the winter months [82]. Taking this into account, it is possible to establish temperature standards that strike a balance between comfort and energy savings [83; 84]. A reduction in indoor temperatures by a minimal one degree Celsius has been found to result in a substantial annual decrease of 7% in the heating energy consumption [84; 85; 86]. Given the average indoor temperatures of 22.95 \({}^{\circ}\)C from November to February and 25.72 \({}^{\circ}\)C from March to April, implementing energy-efficient measures could effectively lower energy consumption while still ensuring a comfortable indoor environment. Consequently, a reduction in natural gas consumption will affect a corresponding decrease in emissions. To mitigate the environmental impact by diminishing the consumption of natural gas, an alternative scenario (scenario 1) was analyzed in which the indoor temperature was reduced by one degree, leading to a seven percent reduction in the natural gas consumption.