Firstly, EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration. EPD reports are standardized, verified documents that transparently present credible information about a product’s environmental impact. Following the ISO14025 standard (i.e., Type III Environmental Declaration), EPDs are useful for communication, comparison, and decision-making. EPDs are based on the information from a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study. The EPD report includes a summary of LCA results, environmental impact data, and other relevant information.

LCA is a systematic and comprehensive methodology used to evaluate and quantify the environmental impacts of a product over its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction and production to use, end-of-life disposal, and potentially recycling or reuse. An LCA is usually made for a specific characteristic unit (quantity) of a product and a specific set of life cycle stages.

EPDs are certainly gaining momentum in the world of environmental impact reporting! At the beginning of 2023, approximately 17,000 EPDs had been published globally - showing massive exponential growth in recent years [1]. To keep up with increasing EPD needs, Ecochain offers Helix, an LCA tool that allows you to generate hundreds of LCAs at once while creating only a couple of EPDs that synthesize the LCA information (i.e., representative EPDs). This minimizes the number of EPDs created and published (publishing EPDs costs are counted per EPD) while providing the necessary LCA background information to improve your product portfolio’s environmental impact.

EPDs adhere to strict regulations and standards and are often valid for five years. The standards that govern them vary in detail (Figure 1). In practice, the more specific the guidelines, the more comparable the results are. For instance, every EPD is created according to a specific set of Product Category Rules (PCRs). PCRs offer calculation rules and guidelines to ensure comparability between EPDs within the same product category.

Additionally, EPDs are administered and supervised by independent agencies called EPD Program Operators (EPD POs). EPD POs are responsible for identifying and creating Product Category Rules (PCRs) for EPDs. PCRs ensure that EPDs within the same product category report comparable information by following the same calculation methods and reporting guidelines (e.g., what environmental indicators to report on). Many countries have their own EPD POs and rules - which can make the selection process complicated (we have outlined this process in more detail below). Further, EPDs must undergo verification by independent experts before they are published. These independent expert verifiers must also be approved by the EPD PO. Most EPD POs in Europe are linked to ECO Platform, an EPD umbrella organization, helping make EPDs more comparable since 2013. EcoChain is a founding member of Eco Platform.

EPDs are especially relevant in the construction industry - with many region and country-specific regulations, standards, and norms that aim for compatibility and transparency across the sector. There is a particular focus on the construction sector because almost half of the world’s raw materials extracted go into the built environment, construction generates around one-third of the global waste, and it accounts for 40% of Earth’s carbon emissions [2].

Two major regulations driving EPD generation are the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) in Europe and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US. Both regulations aim to reduce the environmental impact of construction works.

Future regulations like the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) acquis highlight the (eventual) mandatory integration of environmental declarations, including EPDs, into the Declaration of Performance (DoP) for construction products in Europe. This integration will begin in mid-2026 and will start with the Global Warming Potential indicator from the EN15804+A2 PCR. Concurrently, all construction product families must review their Harmonized Standards through a Standardization request. Once finalized, this information must be made into DoPs. By 2028, this information on construction products will be added to the Digitial Product Passport. In general, this regulation aims to deliver more sustainable (construction) products to European markets.

ISO 21930, a standard that establishes requirements that inform PCRs for construction EPDs, also governs EPDs in the industry. ISO 21030 informs more regional PCRs, such as EN15804+A2 in Europe and TRACI 2.1 (as well as EN15804+A2) in the US. Countries often have further elaborations of these regulations. For example, EN15804+A2 is the foundation for the NMD Bepalingsmethode in the Netherlands. Even more specific EPD standards like c-PCRs or product category-specific PCRs exist. The Irish asphalt sector, for example, has a specific c-PCR set by EPD Ireland. Figure 1 provides a visual representation of the specificity of standards and norms in the construction sector. Additional EPD regulation examples are mentioned in the EPD for Business subsection.

EPDs are, of course, applicable in other, non-construction-related industries. EPD International presents many examples of EPDs in different sectors.

So what are the differences between EPD reports and LCA reports? Simply put, LCAs are comprehensive environmental evaluations conducted according to ISO 14040/44 standards. Whereas, EPDs are shorter, simpler, and verified - all of which make them easier to understand and communicate to stakeholders. Because EPDs are used by organizations for communication purposes, they do not contain sensitive company details or product information like the bill-of-materials (i.e., the product’s exact recipe).

It is key to understand that there is no EPD without an LCA first (Figure 2). EPDs are based on a full LCA report but simply include:

Meeting regulatory and market demands: EPDs help businesses comply with regulatory requirements and align with market demands for sustainable and transparent products. For example, EN15804+A2 emphasizes a detailed analysis of Climate Change (i.e., fossil, biogenic, land change, and land use) as an important environmental indicator. This has led to new country-specific regulations (NL, NW, SW, DK, FN, US) that target CO2 emission reductions based on EPDs. In turn, the demand for bio-based construction materials is expected to increase. Thus, showcasing how EPDs adhere to the increasing emphasis on environmental consciousness across industries. Another example is how Eco Platform is considering incorporating circularity indicators into EPDs, to keep up with market regulations and demands.

Market positioning and competitive edge: Embracing EPDs enhances a company's reputation, positioning it as environmentally responsible. Further, because of the increase in published EPDs [1], it now matters more about what is on them, whereas it was previously enough to simply have an EPD. Companies use them as a way to gain a competitive edge. Consumers use EPDs to distinguish products on the market. This is further supported by the EU Green Claims Directive (proposed in March 2023; in action by 2026), which posits that companies must substantiate environmental claims using accurate, holistic, externally verified LCAs like EPDs [3].

Product-specific and representative EPDs: Building off the competitive advantage of EPDs, companies can also create a product-specific EPD or a representative EPD. Product-specific EPDs present the environmental impact results of one specific product. Representative EPD results are, as the name suggests, representative of an entire product category or of similar products produced in various production locations [4]. This is an interesting option, as it reduces EPD publishing costs drastically. WAVIN, an Ecochain client, opted for the representative EPD approach and included a table with conversion factors that enable the end-user to calculate the product's specific environmental impact. For more on WAVIN’s EPD experience, check out this case study.

Facilitating Green Procurement and Certifications: EPDs play a pivotal role in green public procurement processes and are often a prerequisite for certifications like LEED and BREEAM. By aiding organizations to obtain certifications, EPDs are proof of a product's sustainability, improving credibility.

Informing Strategic Decision-Making: Access to EPDs and their underlying LCAs aids in making informed decisions regarding product development (i.e., ecodesign), material sourcing, and marketing strategies, aligning them with sustainability goals. Ecochain’s Helix is adept at highlighting environmental hotspots, that facilitate these strategic decisions.

Choosing the appropriate EPD Program Operator (EPD PO) is often challenging for businesses. When selecting an EPD Program Operator (EPD PO) it is important to consider the following questions before getting started:

Once these questions are answered, it is time to evaluate EPD PO specifics. Considering the following points will further help the EPD PO selection process:

Selecting the right EPD Program Operator (PO) is the first step to creating an EPD. Below, we highlight eight steps to follow when producing an EPD. These are also summarized in Figure 3.

This systematic approach to creating EPDs ensures adherence to established standards, verification protocols, and the publication of accurate and reliable environmental impact information.

EPDs provide essential insights into a product's environmental impact, aligning with regulations, and meeting market demands. Creating EPDs can seem like a daunting task, however, Ecochain’s Helix offers a semi-automatic EPD template that eases this process while conducting LCAs in bulk. The verification process is not automated but performed in bulk, which grants similar financial and time benefits compared to an automated verification process. (Keep in mind that automated verification processes should always be manually verified at least once too). Once the verification process is complete, the following outputs can be shared with stakeholders: (1) verified product-specific LCAs (environmental profiles), and (2) verified (product-specific / representative) EPDs. A unique feature of using Helix to facilitate your EPDs is that it makes it possible to extract the underlying individual product LCAs of a representative EPD. This is key if you want to improve your product's environmental performance when you update your EPDs, and in the future when product-specific EPDs are mandatory for your entire portfolio (e.g., the CPR). WAVIN's case study showcases how representative EPDs can be created using Helix

Embark on your EPD journey with Ecochain's Helix! Streamline EPD creation, underscore your product's sustainability, and navigate market expectations. Drive sustainable initiatives, elevate your brand's environmental stance, and stay ahead in today's eco-conscious market.