What is an Environmental Product Declaration?
The intention behind the environmental product statement is to encourage the use of materials and products that provide life cycle information and have a more beneficial impact on our planet socially and economically. Project teams may be rewarded for purchasing materials from manufacturers with certified and improved environmental standards.
EPD is a form of life cycle assessment, it is a standard method for quantifying the environmental impact of a product or system.
Declarations may include:
manufacturer/Company Information
product identification information
life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach
product Category Rules (PCR)
raw material procurement data
material content
chemical substance
emissions (air, soil and water)
waste generation
LCA result analysis
Printed Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
when an EPD is created, it complies with the international standards ISO 14025 and EN 15804 guidelines. They were developed in accordance with the life cycle assessments of ISO 14040 (Environmental management-Life cycle assessment-Principles and framework) and ISO 14044 (Environmental management-Life cycle assessment-Requirements and guidelines), which describe the process for conducting a life cycle assessment.
ISO 14025 (Environmental labeling and declarations-Type III environmental declarations-Principles and procedures) establishes the principles and processes required to specify the development of a Type III environmental product declaration. These Class III claims are the most stringent because they have detailed rules and must be verified by a third party.
The European construction industry follows EN 15804 (Sustainability in construction work-Environmental product declaration-Core rules for the product category of construction products). Like ISO 14025, this is a third-party Class III environmental declaration procedure.
Generally, environmental product declarations are valid for a maximum of 5 years.
Important: While EPDs educate consumers about the products, they are for disclosure purposes only. This means that the product itself does not necessarily meet any environmental performance criteria.
Benefits of Environmental Product Claims
customers, developers, and designers use EPD and LCA to select products that have the least impact on the environment. Architects who understand the entire life cycle of building materials can help create a more sustainable construction industry.
EPD and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
every product goes through different life stages. Careful observation and evaluation of the life cycle can tell you a lot about its impact on the environment. The LCA looks at all stages of the product life cycle, including:
raw material extraction processing
manufacturing
distribution/Transportation
use
repair and maintenance
disposal/Recovery
A key component of EPD and LCA is another three-letter acronym: Product Category Rules (PCRs), which define how data is collected for specific types of products. The PCR may include boundary conditions, data used, and system inputs. When these parameters are followed, the reviewer can obtain consistent results and then can compare different products.
The PCR is developed and managed by the program operator. These are usually standards organizations. For example, three common North American project operators are ASTM, NSF, and UL.
PCR is required for complete Class III EPD as defined by ISO 14025.
if an item has a product claim using "at least 20 different sources of permanently installed products from at least five different manufacturers.
LEED recognizes different types of claims. Depending on whether you are using LEED V4 or V4.1, the product contributes differently to the overall 20 product requirements. For more information, be sure to check LEED v4 and LEED v4.1 building product disclosure and optimization of LEED documentation.
an industry-wide EPD is a generic statement that covers the average product of many manufacturers. You may find industry-wide EPDs for products such as tile, MDF or gypsum board.
While these follow the Category III guidelines for third-party verification, they do not cover individual products as they only account for the average product in the group. Manufacturers claiming to have an industry-wide EPD must be accredited by the program operator developing the EPD.
Industry-wide EPDs contribute to BPDO's MR credit as follows:
LEED v4:0.5 Product Contribution
LEED v4.1:1 complete product contribution
Product specific LCA ( non-EPD)
LEED recognizes product-specific life cycle assessments as long as they are publicly available, rigorously reviewed, and compliant with ISO 14044. The scope of the assessment must be from the cradle to the gate.
The contribution of product-specific LCAs to BPDO's MR credits is as follows:
LEED v4:0.25 Product Contribution
LEED v4.1:1 complete product contribution
Product Specific Type III EPD-Internal review
A product-specific EPD covers a single product from a single manufacturer. You can think of it as an EPD dealing with one specific SKU. LEED requires that all product-specific EPDs have a scope that covers from cradle to gate.
Internal reviewed EPDs do not have third-party certification, so they must comply with ISO 14071, which is an additional requirement and guidance on top of ISO 14044. Of course, these EPDs must still comply with ISO 14025 as well as EN 15804 or ISO 21930 (Sustainability in building construction-environmental claims for building products).
The internally reviewed product-specific Class III EPD contributes to BPDO's MR credit as follows:
LEED v4: Not Applicable
LEED v4.1:1 complete product contribution
the following figure shows a check box that indicates whether the EPD has undergone internal or third-party review. In this case, it is an EPD for external review.
Example EPD, External Review
Product Specific Type III EPD (Third Party Audit)
this is the most thorough type of EPD, which covers a single product from the manufacturer and is reviewed by a third-party entity. It also complies with ISO 14025 and EN 15804 or ISO 21930. As with all product-specific EPDs, the scope must cover the entire life cycle of the product from cradle to gate. Third-party review is the most rigorous EPD process, so it makes an additional contribution to LEED BPDO credits:
LEED v4:1 complete product contribution
LEED v4.1:1.5 Product Contribution
EPD and other sustainability programs
as more and more organizations and businesses recognize the potential and benefits of creating a sustainable and environmentally friendly built environment, green building certification and rating systems are emerging.
As a result, sustainability programs such as LEED, BREEAM, WELL, Living Building Challenge, BIFMA, and Green Globes have offered credits or points for products that use EPDs that meet their requirements. Other green certifying bodies require product manufacturers to be listed in a common EPD to increase their credit scores. This has encouraged the use of EPDs and the increase in the number of EPDs on the market.
In addition to the EPD, some green certification programs offer points for health product claims (HPD).
How manufacturers apply EPD
to obtain an EPD for their product, a manufacturer needs to select a program operator who will oversee the EPD development process in accordance with ISO 14025 guidelines. For example, some prominent North American project operators include major standards bodies such as ASTM, NSF, and UL. European EPD program operators include BRE (UK), IBU (Germany) and AFNOR (France).
The first step in applying for an EPD is to find or create a PCR for a specific product category. After completing the PCR, the manufacturer completes a life cycle assessment based on the final PCR. Upon completion of the LCA, the final EPD may be created by a third party or by the manufacturer or its representative.
The designated programme operator confirms that EPD complies with the applicable international standards as well as the PCR. For the verification process, it can be done by an internal auditor or a third-party verifier designated by the program operator. A transparent verification process will be established after consultation between the plan operator and the verifier.
Developing an EPD may be difficult or impossible due to the complexity of some products, such as furniture or electrical equipment. Many companies find that their supply chains are so complex that developing an EPD is unrealistic, and the information provided may not be of much help to end users and owners. Architects and owners should be aware that EPD is not applicable to every product.
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