Last week Cobouw Bouwberichten interviewed our colleague Saro.
In the interview the role, purpose and challenges of EPDs in the Dutch construction sector are explained. An EPD is a way of communicating the environmental performance of your product, but it's not automatically a proof of a sustainable product. It rather discloses the environmental profile of a product and shows it has been verified, and follows specific rules and guidelines.The article also discusses the challenges for innovative and bio-based products when obtaining an EPD. The rules not always work in favour of these kinds of products.
Biobased products are better for the environment, but need extra attention in LCAs.
“Having an LCA carried out can be a major expense for starting companies, but the calculation rules can also turn out to be unfavourable. Bio-based building materials such as flax and hemp absorb a lot of CO2. We call this biogenic carbon, but this aspect is not included in the current calculation rules. This is because in the Netherlands we work with the environmental cost indicator, the MKI."
Link to full article here
