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Building material ecology

Product declarations EPD

Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) are Type III environmental declarations according to ISO 14025.

Objectives and content of environmental product declarations

The overarching aim of an environmental product declaration is to provide stakeholders and decision-makers in politics, construction and the real estate industry with verified and standardised environmental information and data on the entire life cycle of a construction product. This also provides an incentive for continuous improvement of a product's environmental properties. To this end, the EPD contains the following information, among other things:

  • Product description with construction information and details of composition
  • Description of the production process
  • Notes on processing, utilisation and post-utilisation phase  
  • Results of the life cycle assessment in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044.

Environmental product declarations thus serve as information about the performance of a construction product. EPDs can also be used to assess the sustainable use of resources and the environmental impact of construction works in accordance with the European Construction Products Regulation (Regulation EU 305/2011, paragraph 56).

Procedure

In general, the procedure for creating an EPD and its required contents are regulated in ISO 14025 and in EN 15804. In addition, specific product category rules (PCR) are intended to create a uniform basis for the creation of life cycle assessments in the construction sector and to lead to consistent and thus comparable building material data, which can also be used in building assessment systems. They are created by programme operators such as the Austrian Bau EPD GmbH. EPD background reports are created on behalf of the manufacturer by life cycle assessment experts such as IBO GmbH, then checked by independent verifiers for plausibility and conformity, and the EPD is published as such after approval by the EPD programme operator.
Many EPD programme operators are organised in the umbrella organisation ECO Platform. With the aim of harmonising the various requirements, the organisation is establishing, among other things, a common quality management system for EPD programmes through strict verification criteria. EPDs from members of the association that comply with these rules are marked accordingly.

Our services

The materials ecology team models the life cycle assessment, interprets and describes the underlying data in a background report and creates the EPD for verification and submission to an EPD programme operator. We focus on our partnerships with the Austrian company Bau EPD GmbH and the Institut für Bauen und Umwelt e. V. (IBU) in Germany. However, we offer our services throughout Europe. We are happy to advise and support you in all matters related to EPD creation.

References

EN 15804+A1:
ECO Platform verified EPD published by Bau EPD GmbH on www.bau-epd.at:

ECO Platform verified EPD published by Bau EPD GmbH on https://ibu-epd.com/en/published-epds/:

  • Cellulose insulation Thermofloc (boratfrei), Peter Seppele Gesellschaft m.b.H., EPD-PSG-20210030-IBA1-DE, GaBi, valid until 31.3.2026
  • Wood fibre insulation boards, Holzwerk Gebr. Schneider GmbH, EPD-HWS-20160105-IAC2-DE, GaBi, valid until 2.6.2022
  • Wood fibre insulation boards, best wood FLEX 50, Holzwerk Gebr. Schneider GmbH, EPD-HWS-20160032-IAC2-DE, GaBi, valid until 5.9.2022
  • KLH Solid wood panel (cross-laminated timber), KLH Massivholz GmbH, EPD-KLH-20190027-ICA1-DE, GaBi, valid until 5.5.2024
  • Loose cellulose insulation, European Cellulose Insulation Association, EPD-ECI-20200217-ICG1-DE, GaBi, valid until 1.7.2026

Literature

  • EN 15804 Sustainability of construction works – Environmental product declarations – Core rules for the category of construction products
  • ISO 14025 Environmental labels and declarations – Type III environmental declarations – Principles and procedures
  • ISO 14040 Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework  
  • ISO 14044 Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and instructions
  • Regulation (EU) No 305/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 laying down harmonised conditions for the marketing of construction products and repealing Council Directive 89/106/EEC