Giovanna Schäfer Bartels is a PhD student in Civil Engineering at the Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environment (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), University of Lisbon, Portugal, since February 2025. Her PhD research focuses on the environmental impacts of proactive maintenance of building envelopes through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and digitalization. She is part of CERIS (Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability) and PERCOAT Research Group (Performance of Coatings and Building Solutions). Since 2023, Giovanna has actively contributed to several research projects at IST, gaining extensive experience in applying LCA to new construction solutions (Smart Roofs System), sustainable construction materials (SHELLTER and Blocoyster), and retrofit solutions, as well as HVAC systems (ATE Project). In the Smart Roofs System project, she developed a proactive maintenance plan, where the intersection of LCA and maintenance became the central theme of her Bachelor's thesis. This experience laid the groundwork for the development of the path she aims to explore during her PhD studies. Her research extends to the blue circular economy (SHELLTER and Blocoyster), developing the LCA of new sustainable construction materials. Her work focuses on thermal insulation, thermal comfort, retrofit solutions, and HVAC systems (EFFICACY, Smart Roofs System, ATE Project). Additionally, Giovanna has designed and managed databases both in Excel, for cross-referencing thermal comfort data from Portugal, Norway, and Italy (EFFICACY), and currently in Python, to integrate embodied emissions data from retrofit solutions and HVAC systems (ATE Project). Giovanna holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF), which she completed in October 2024. During her undergraduate studies, she was involved in social projects, research, and short-term training programs. She also interned in quality standards and environmental management at MRV Construções, and in budgeting and real estate development at Parametrize Serviços de Engenharia. In the 2022/2023 academic year, Giovanna participated as an international mobility student at Instituto Superior Técnico in the Bologna Master's program in Civil Engineering, which opened doors to knowledge exchange and collaborative research opportunities. Her strong bond with IST has led her to continue her academic journey there, also taking the Advanced Formation Diploma in Research Methodologies and Techniques (non-degree program) in 2024.