Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Consulting

EPD's are official documents that make the environmental impact of your products transparent, without disclosing sensitive business information. They can be used for communication and are suitable for tenders and procurement.

An LCA determines the exact environmental impact of a product and is reported according to ISO 14040 / 14044. This report includes detailed information about the product and the materials used.

Based on the LCA, an EPD is then created. The EPD documents the environmental impact without revealing business-sensitive or product-specific details. EPD's are created according to ISO 14025.

An EPD is based on an LCA. An LCA gives you precise insights into the environmental impact at each life cycle stage. The impact is expressed in specific units for each category. In the EPD report, these impacts are presented in a table.

Additionally, the EPD provides basic information about the product, such as a product description.

With the insights from an EPD, you can communicate the precise environmental impact of your product to stakeholders such as investors, supply chain partners, and customers.

An EPD is also useful for tenders and for calculating the Environmental Cost Indicator. It highlights where the greatest environmental impact occurs (environmental hotspots) and provides guidance on reducing that impact, giving you valuable insight into your product’s sustainability.

An LCA requires data, and depending on the product and supply chain, data collection may take 1–3 months. Modelling the LCA and preparing the EPD takes 4–8 weeks, and third-party verification typically takes 2–4 weeks, depending on which database the EPD will be included in.

You will need data to calculate the total environmental impact. This includes data on raw materials and materials used, such as type, quantity, and origin, as well as data on the production process, including energy consumption, energy source, efficiency, production losses, and transportation. Transport methods, fuel types, and distances are also required.

Some LCA's also include the use and disposal phases, which require data on energy use, product lifespan, maintenance, disposal and recycling options, and waste streams.

This varies depending on the product. Sometimes all the necessary data can be found within your organisation, but in most cases, you’ll need to request this data from suppliers of raw materials or semi-finished products.

We provide you with a tailored data sheet so you can efficiently gather all the required data.

It is helpful to have a dedicated contact person responsible for overseeing data collection. Various people within the organisation can contribute data, such as process managers, project managers, purchasing, logistics, or R&D teams. We guide you through the entire process.