As the global urgency to address climate change intensifies, the path toward a carbon-neutral future is becoming more clearly defined. Among the many strategies being adopted to meet this challenge, environmental product declarations (EPDs) are gaining prominence. These documents provide transparent data on the environmental impact of products, and they play a pivotal role in shaping sustainable decisions across various sectors. For organizations and governments striving to meet net-zero commitments, tools like environmental product declarations are indispensable.
What are Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)?
Transparency in Environmental Data
An Environmental Product Declaration is a standardized document that communicates the environmental performance of a product throughout its life cycle. From raw material extraction to manufacturing, distribution, usage, and end-of-life disposal, EPDs cover all relevant phases. These declarations follow guidelines established by international standards such as ISO 14025 and EN 15804.
The key attribute of EPDs is transparency. Unlike marketing labels or sustainability claims, which may lack substantiation, EPDs are rooted in verified data and third-party assessments. This makes them a reliable source of information for architects, engineers, builders, product manufacturers, and policymakers.
Life Cycle Assessment as the Backbone
At the heart of every EPD is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which evaluates a product’s environmental impacts across its entire life cycle. These include energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, waste generation, and other environmental indicators. By standardizing these measurements, EPDs make it easier to compare the ecological footprint of similar products.
How EPDs Contribute to Net-Zero Carbon Goals
Supporting Data-Driven Decisions
Achieving net-zero carbon emissions requires reducing greenhouse gas output and balancing any remaining emissions with carbon removals or offsets. To do this effectively, organizations must first understand where emissions are coming from. EPDs provide the necessary data to evaluate and reduce embodied carbon — the emissions associated with materials and construction processes.
This is particularly important in sectors like construction, manufacturing, and infrastructure development, where embodied carbon can account for a significant portion of total emissions. When stakeholders have access to EPDs, they can make informed choices about materials and products that align with their carbon reduction targets.
Driving Innovation and Efficiency
Another way EPDs support net-zero goals is by encouraging product innovation. When companies publish EPDs, they are compelled to scrutinize their supply chains and production processes. This often leads to discovering inefficiencies, opportunities for material substitution, or waste reduction — all of which can lower the overall carbon footprint.
In this sense, EPDs are not just compliance documents; they are catalysts for improvement. Businesses seeking a competitive edge in a decarbonizing world are leveraging EPDs to demonstrate leadership in sustainability and environmental responsibility.
Influencing Policy and Procurement
Governments and institutions increasingly incorporate carbon considerations into their procurement policies. By requiring or favoring products with EPDs, public and private buyers can shift market demand toward low-impact options. This creates a powerful incentive for manufacturers to develop and declare environmentally superior products.
Moreover, regulatory bodies are beginning to use EPDs as the foundation for environmental performance benchmarks. This sets the stage for more ambitious climate policies that can help entire sectors align with national and international net-zero targets.
EPDs and the Built Environment
A High-Impact Sector
The building and construction industry is responsible for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, with a large share stemming from embodied carbon in building materials. EPDs offer a practical way to assess and reduce these emissions at the design and construction stages.
By selecting products with favorable EPDs, architects and developers can significantly reduce a project’s environmental footprint. Design tools and building information modeling (BIM) systems now integrate EPD data to help simulate the carbon impact of design choices in real-time.
The Role of Green Building Certifications
EPDs also play a critical role in green building certification systems such as LEED, BREEAM, and WELL. These certifications reward projects for using products with verified environmental performance, making EPDs a valuable asset for developers pursuing sustainability credentials.
In this context, EPDs serve as a bridge between product manufacturers and sustainability professionals, helping both parties contribute to broader environmental goals. As the demand for sustainable buildings increases, EPDs will become even more integral to design and construction practices.
Integrating EPDs into Net-Zero Strategies
Collaboration with Net Zero Advisory Experts
While EPDs provide valuable data, integrating them effectively into a comprehensive decarbonization strategy requires expertise. This is where net zero advisory services come in. These experts help organizations develop roadmaps for achieving carbon neutrality by analyzing emissions, setting reduction targets, and choosing the right tools and technologies.
By incorporating EPD data into their models, net zero advisory teams can create more precise and actionable strategies. Whether it’s a corporate sustainability plan or a municipal climate action framework, having access to detailed product-level data enriches the overall approach.
Sector-Specific Applications
In manufacturing, EPDs enable companies to benchmark their products against industry standards and identify opportunities for improvement. In transportation, they can guide choices in vehicle components or infrastructure materials. In retail, EPDs can help consumers make more sustainable purchasing decisions.
Each sector has unique emissions profiles and challenges. However, the consistent use of EPDs across industries ensures that environmental data remains reliable and comparable, which is critical for systemic change.
Challenges and Opportunities
Standardization and Comparability
One of the ongoing challenges with EPDs is ensuring consistency across different declarations. While international standards exist, variations in scope, methodology, or assumptions can complicate comparisons. Efforts are underway to harmonize these differences, but achieving full interoperability will take time.
Nonetheless, even with these challenges, the benefits of EPDs far outweigh the limitations. They provide a structured, science-based approach to measuring and reducing emissions, which is essential for progress toward net-zero goals.
Increasing Accessibility and Awareness
Another opportunity lies in increasing the accessibility and visibility of EPDs. Today, many EPDs are published in databases or on company websites, but finding and interpreting them can still be difficult for non-experts. Improved digital tools, user interfaces, and integration with procurement platforms could make EPDs more accessible to a wider audience.
Greater public awareness of EPDs and their role in climate action could also drive demand for transparency and accountability. As more consumers and stakeholders ask for verified environmental data, businesses will be more motivated to publish EPDs and use them effectively.
Final Thoughts
Environmental Product Declarations are not just technical documents — they are powerful instruments for change. By providing a transparent view into the environmental impact of products, EPDs enable smarter choices that align with climate goals. They help organizations reduce embodied carbon, drive innovation, support policy, and ultimately, contribute to a more sustainable future.
When combined with expert guidance from net zero advisory professionals, EPDs can form the backbone of effective decarbonization strategies. As the world moves steadily toward net-zero targets, the role of environmental product declarations will only become more crucial.
The path to net-zero is complex and multifaceted, but the tools are already at our disposal. Embracing EPDs and making them a core part of sustainability strategies is not just good practice — it is a necessity. The time to act is now, and with the right data, the right strategies, and the right commitment, a net-zero future is within reach.