HEWI MAG / Knowledge
What is an EPD? Environmental product declarations for construction products, explained simply
Anyone planning construction projects or looking to build sustainable buildings will, sooner or later, come across the term ‘EPD’. Reliable environmental data is now an important basis for well-informed material decisions, particularly for architects, specialist planners, building owners and sustainability managers. However, the term ‘construction product’ is broader in scope than everyday usage might suggest. According to the EU Construction Products Regulation, this includes products manufactured and placed on the market for permanent incorporation into construction projects or their components. This includes not only traditional building materials such as concrete or insulation, but also building elements and technical components – such as windows and doors, including hardware, sanitary fittings, handrails and floor coverings. It is only when the environmental impacts of construction products are documented transparently that they can be incorporated into building life-cycle assessments and project sustainability assessments on the basis of a uniform set of data.
But what exactly is an EPD? What is it used for, and how meaningful is it really?
In this article, we explain the significance of an EPD, outline the information contained in an Environmental Product Declaration, and explain why it plays a key role in sustainable building today.
What does EPD stand for?
The abbreviation EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration.
An EPD describes the environmental impact of a product on the basis of a life cycle assessment (LCA). Depending on the scope, it includes defined life-cycle modules – for example, raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, use, and disposal or recycling at the end of the product’s useful life. The life cycle modules taken into account are clearly specified in the relevant environmental product declaration.
It is important to categorise things correctly: An EPD does not assess whether a product is sustainable or particularly environmentally friendly. It provides standardised and independently verified environmental information. The standardised data set makes it possible to assess the environmental impacts of construction products as part of a building life cycle assessment. According to EN 15804, a meaningful comparison is, in principle, only possible within the context of a building and takes into account the respective contribution a product makes to the environmental quality of the building. Individual EPD parameters should therefore not be compared with one another in isolation.
Even in the construction industry, this transparency is becoming increasingly important. An increasing number of public sector clients and building certification schemes are using EPDs or comparable environmental information as the basis for the environmental assessment of construction products.
What is an environmental product declaration?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardised document that describes the environmental impact of a product in accordance with recognised international standards.
This is based on a life cycle assessment (LCA). This involves determining the environmental impacts of a product, as defined by the applicable standards, across the life-cycle stages under consideration.
The environmental data is determined on the basis of a life cycle assessment carried out in accordance with established standards, either by the manufacturer or on the manufacturer’s behalf. The environmental product declaration is then independently verified and published by a program operator – such as the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e. V. (IBU) or Kiwa-Ecobility Experts. This results in standardised and independently verified environmental information that can be used by architects, specialist planners and sustainability consultants for building life-cycle assessments and environmental evaluations.
Environmental product declarations are becoming increasingly important for a wide range of construction products. They are frequently used as a data source for building life cycle assessments and are the preferred choice in public tenders and by building certification schemes such as DGNB, LEED or BREEAM. It is not the individual construction products that are assessed and certified, but rather the buildings or construction projects themselves. EPDs provide standardised information on the environmental impacts of the products used.
What does an EPD contain?
The scope of an environmental product declaration depends on the product group in question. An EPD typically contains the following information:
Content
Description
Product description
Material, area of application and technical properties
Manufacturer
Information on the manufacturer and production site
Life cycle
Product life cycle modules under consideration for the product
Environmental indicators
Global Warming Potential, primary energy demand, water consumption and other environmental indicators such as acidification, eutrophication and ozone-depleting potential
Use of resources
Consumption of raw materials and energy
End of Life
Information on reuse, recycling and disposal
Standards
Calculation methods and standards used
Depending on the product, an EPD may also contain information on the Reference Service Life (RSL). This figure serves as an assumption for the life-cycle assessment and is incorporated into the calculation of environmental impacts. However, it should not be equated with a guarantee or the actual service life of a product.
Which standards are important?
To ensure that environmental product declarations can be drawn up in a way that allows for national and international comparison, they are based on recognised standards.
The most important of these include:
ISO 14025 Environmental labelling and Type III environmental declarations
EN 15804+A2 – European basic rules for environmental product declarations for construction products
DIN EN 17610:2022 – Locks and hardware – Environmental product declarations – Product category rules supplementary to EN 15804
ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 – Methodical principles for carrying out life cycle assessments (LCA)
In addition, so-called ProductCategory Rules (PCR) are used. They specify, on a product-by-product basis, how environmental impacts within a product group are calculated, documented and presented. This creates a uniform framework for the preparation of environmental product declarations and – subject to the relevant conditions – ensures their comparability.
Why are EPDs important for construction products?
EPDs provide standardised and independently verified environmental information and form an important data basis for building life-cycle assessments and sustainability assessments in the context of buildings.
Furthermore, an increasing number of public sector clients are requiring EPDs or comparable environmental information as the data basis for environmental assessments in the context of building projects. Building certification schemes also tend to rely on product-specific EPD data. Environmental product declarations are therefore increasingly becoming an integral part of planning and tender specification processes.
What role do EPDs play in sustainable building?
Sustainable building requires well-informed decisions. Reliable environmental data is essential for this. This is exactly where EPDs come into play: They provide transparency regarding the environmental impact of construction products throughout their life cycle and offer a standardised data basis for environmental assessments.
However, an EPD on its own does not make a product or a building sustainable. Whether a construction project is sustainable depends on a number of other factors. These include, amongst other things, resource-efficient planning, the selection of suitable materials, a long service life for the products used, and opportunities for maintenance, reuse and recycling.
EPDs help to ensure that these decisions are made on the basis of standardised and transparent environmental data. They ensure transparency and form an essential basis for building life-cycle assessments and sustainability certifications.
Is an EPD a form of certification?
The term ‘EPD certification’ is frequently used, but is not technically correct.
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is not a certification and does not designate a product as being particularly sustainable or particularly environmentally friendly. It is a standardised and independently verified environmental product declaration that provides information on a product’s environmental impact.
Building certification schemes such as DGNB, LEED and BREEAM prefer to use product-specific EPD data as the basis for building life-cycle assessments and environmental evaluations. If no product-specific EPDs are available, generic data sets may also be used, depending on the assessment system in question.
However, the EPD itself does not replace certification and does not provide any indication of a product’s overall environmental quality.
What can EPDs achieve – and what can’t they?
EPDs provide transparency and help ensure that materials are selected on a well-informed basis. At the same time, its scope is clear.
An EPD can:
- document the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle, as defined by the applicable standards, provide standardised and independently verified environmental data, support the assessment and comparison of construction products in a building context.
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provide standardised and independently verified environmental data
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According to EN 15804, a meaningful comparison of individual construction products is, in principle, only possible on the basis of their contribution to the environmental quality of the building or within the frame of a building life cycle assessment – not by directly comparing individual EPD indicators
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support the building ecological balance,
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provide data for sustainability assessments and building certifications
An EPD cannot:
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rate one product as more sustainable or more environmentally friendly than another, make statements regarding technical performance, design or usability, assess social or economic sustainability aspects, replace a sustainability certificate.
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make statements regarding technical performance, design or fitness for purpose
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assess social or economic sustainability aspects
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or replace a sustainability certificate
How do architects and specialist planners use EPDs?
EPDs are now an important planning tool for architects and specialist planners. They provide the environmental data required for building life cycle assessments, life cycle analyses and sustainability assessments.
Even in the early stages of planning, EPDs provide standardised environmental data which can be incorporated into building life-cycle assessments and help inform informed decisions on materials. When assessing different construction products, their respective contribution to the environmental quality of the building is a key factor. A direct comparison of individual EPD indicators is therefore not sufficient.
Furthermore, EPDs support the documentation required for building certification and often meet the requirements of public tenders or other sustainability credentials.
EPDs are also becoming increasingly important in the digital planning process. Within the framework of Building Information Modelling (BIM), environmental data can increasingly be integrated directly into digital building models and used for building life cycle assessments and life cycle analyses.
Which HEWI products have EPDs?
HEWI provides environmental product declarations for selected door and window hardware.
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Door and window hardware S 111 and S 162 made from polyamide have a product-specific EPD (program operator: Kiwa-EcobilityExperts, registration no. EPD-Kiwa-EE-000388-DE, valid until 18 April 2029). It is structured as ‘From cradle to grave and Module D’, relates to one piece of hardware and is based on a reference service life of 30 years.
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Hardware with a stainless steel finish (S 111, S 162, Range 270) are covered by a sector-specific EPD for door and window handles, for which ARGE is the declaration holder and which is published by the IBU (Reg. No. EPD-ARG-20230542-IBG1-EN, valid until 1 April 2029). Sector EPDs represent a typical product within a product group and are therefore less product-specific than a manufacturer-specific EPD; nevertheless, they can be used for building life cycle assessments, depending on the assessment system.
What does EPD mean for sustainable and accessible building design?
Sustainability and accessibility are not mutually exclusive – on the contrary: Both topics are becoming increasingly important together in the field of building design.
EPDs provide the environmental data needed for a well-founded environmental assessment of construction products. At the same time, factors such as durability, robust materials, ease of maintenance and a high quality of use play a crucial role in a building’s sustainability. In building life cycle assessments, the service life, maintainability and replacement frequency of construction products have a calculated impact on the results: If a product needs to be replaced less frequently, modules B4 and B5 will be correspondingly lower. The extent of this effect in a specific project depends on the assumptions made in the relevant life cycle assessment.
As well as transparent environmental data, HEWI focuses on the technical durability of its products, timeless design and accessibility in usage concepts. The S 111/162 door and window fittings are classified in category of use 4 and durability class 7 in accordance with DIN EN 1906; the underlying EPD is based on a reference service life of 30 years. The actual service life depends on operating conditions, mounting and maintenance.
An EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) is a standardised environmental product declaration. It documents the environmental impacts of a product, determined in accordance with recognised standards, across defined life-cycle modules, and presents them in a standardised format.
EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration.
No. An EPD is not a certification. It provides standardised and independently verified environmental information and serves as a data source for building life-cycle assessments and environmental evaluations. However, it does not indicate whether one product is more sustainable or more environmentally friendly than another.
EPDs provide reliable, standardised environmental data that supports building life-cycle assessments and sustainability assessments. They make it easier to compare construction products, provided that these are based on the same ProductCategory Rules (PCR), functional or declared units, and comparable life-cycle modules and assumptions.
The environmental data is determined by the manufacturer on the basis of a life cycle assessment (LCA) in accordance with the applicable standards. The EPD is then verified by an independent verification body and published by a Program Operator – for example, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e. V. (IBU).
Not necessarily. Depending on the product and its scope, an EPD may include a Reference Service Life (RSL). This serves as an assumption for the life-cycle analysis and should not be equated with a guarantee or the actual service life of a product.
Conclusion
Environmental product declarations provide transparency regarding the environmental impact of construction products and offer a reliable data basis for building life-cycle assessments and sustainability evaluations. They enable well-informed decisions on materials and help planners to systematically incorporate environmental aspects into the planning process.
However, it is important to put this into the right context: An EPD does not assess the sustainability of a product, but documents its environmental impacts in accordance with standardised, rules-based criteria. It is only when these factors are considered in conjunction with other criteria – such as technical performance, durability, cost-effectiveness and the requirements of the specific construction project – that a sound basis for sustainable material choices is established.
