Part 2 – Environmental Product Declarations: What can they do for your organization?

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In the part 1 post, we explained what Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are and the process for developing one. But why create one for your product or service? How is it used? How can it add value? EPDs are used in a variety of ways and by a variety of organizations, most notably, Leadership in Environment, Energy, and Design (LEED) certification. In order to achieve LEED certified, silver, gold or platinum, a building must achieve between 40-49, 50-59, 60-79 and 80+ points, respectively. LEED version 4 now offers one point if at least 20 different products (from five different producers) have EPDs. Also, an additional LEED point can be earned if a whole building life cycle assessment (WBLCA) is conducted on a new construction project. A WBLCA draws upon the information contained in EPDs of products used in the building to calculate the total impacts from construction for a variety

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Part 1 – Environmental Product Declarations: What are they?

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An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a verified and registered document that shows the life cycle environmental impacts of a product. Having an EPD does not imply that the declared product is environmentally superior to alternatives, but it does provide a transparent declaration for customers who need confirmation of a product’s environmental impact from start to finish. The process of getting an EPD may seem complicated, however, it can be easily explained and facilitated by an experienced EPD advisor. Figure 1 helps decode the acronyms. To start the EPD process for your product, you first need to know if there is an existing Product Category Rule (PCR) for your product type. A PCR is like a recipe for making an EPD that sets out the rules, requirements and guidelines for creating an EPD. PCRs are governed by ISO standard 14025 which is an internationally recognized standard outlining requirements for EPDs

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