The Environmental Product Declaratios (EPD) are voluntary declarations whose purpose is to provide a quantitative information about the environmental impacts of a product throughout its entire Life Cycle. EPD provides reliable, relevant, transparent and verified environmental information about a specific product, so it is possible to analyze if that product is respectful with the environment.

The information is structured in several impact categories (global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, etc.) together with other additional information. This information supposes a reliable communication for the companies, avoiding biases in the environmental information, giving confidence to the final consumers.

EPD is based on the product Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) with the criteria established in European and international standards. LCA is an objective process of collecting and evaluating the use of resources (“inputs” such as energy, raw materials and water) and environmental emissions (“outputs” to air, water and soil) associated with the life cycle of a product, in order to evaluate the potential environment impact.

The development of these LCA studies must be carried out following certain Product Category Rules (RCP), which in turn must be based on the European standards developed for this purpose, such EN 15804 and EN ISO 14025.

Currently EPD are voluntary certifications, not mandatory, but they will be in the medium term. Construction Products Regulation (CPR) Save already states that “for the evaluation of the sustainable use of resources and the environmental impact of construction works, environmental statements of products should be used when they are available”.

NOTIO has extensive experience, both nationally and internationally, in LCA of construction products, basis of the EPD.