symbolizing how transparent, eco-aware design is shaping construction.
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are essentially the “nutrition labels” of building materials. These Type III, third-party–verified documents quantify a product’s cradle-to-grave environmental impacts (from raw materials through end-of-life) using a standardized lifecycle assessment (LCA). Originally developed in Europe in the 1990s, EPDs are now globally adopted as sustainability benchmarks. They let architects, developers and buyers see a product’s embodied carbon, resource use and pollution metrics up front. This is crucial because building materials and processes account for a large share (often 30–40%) of global CO₂ emissions. By revealing a product’s “carbon footprint” and other impacts, EPDs enable informed, low-carbon material choices rather than relying on incomplete or proprietary data.
Lifecycle Scope and Content:
Every EPD clearly states its functional unit (e.g. “per 1 m² of product” or “per 1000 kg”) and its LCA scope. Common scopes include cradle-to-gate (raw material extraction through factory gate), cradle-to-site (through installation), and cradle-to-grave (full life-cycle including use and disposal). Some EPDs even include modules for recycling and reuse at end-of-life. For example, a typical industry-average EPD might report cradle-to-grave impacts per square meter of clay brick . The EPD then breaks down impacts (global warming potential, ozone depletion, acidification, water pollution, etc.) per declared unit. High-quality EPDs follow international standards (ISO 14025 for Type III, ISO 14044 for LCA) and use rigorously reviewed Product Category Rules (PCRs). This standardization ensures that data from different products can be compared on a like-for-like basis (with caution about methodology differences).
EPD Standards & Programs by Region
Globally, EPDs must adhere to strict regulatory frameworks. In the EU and other markets, EN 15804 is the core standard that sets out uniform rules for construction-product EPDs. ISO 21930 is the international counterpart (governing “Sustainability in Buildings, Core rules for EPDs”). The two are largely harmonized so that an EN 15804–compliant EPD can align with ISO 21930 guidelines and vice versa.
In practice, a PCR (product category rule) is written on EN 15804 (or ISO 21930) to define the LCA boundary for each product type (cement, insulation, timber, etc.). For example, Xella’s German EPD for Ytong concrete explicitly cites EN 15804+A2 as its framework.
In the United States, EPD programs are typically administered by organizations like NSF/ASTM and UL Environment. UL Solutions offers an EPD certification service (and the UL SPOT database) where manufacturers can register EPDs. Many U.S. EPDs reference ISO 14025 and ISO 21930. Notably, several U.S. states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado) now require EPDs for certain building products under public procurement rules. ASTM International also provides EPD standards and PCRs used in North America. The cement and concrete industries use specialized PCRs (e.g. via the Global Cement & Concrete Association’s tools), typically with a North American scope (ISO 21930) that differs slightly from the European EN 15804 PCR. In all cases, adherence to ISO standards ensures credibility: UL and BRE Group note that compliant EPDs must follow ISO 14025 and ISO 14044 methodologies.
Examples of EPDs for Construction Materials
Many common construction products now have publicly available EPDs. For bricks, the U.S. Brick Industry Association published an industry-average EPD for clay masonry (bricks, pavers, structural tile) covering cradle-to-grave impacts, following ISO 14025/21930.
In concrete and cement, industry bodies produce PCRs and EPDs (see the American Cement Assoc.). For instance, the U.S. Cement Association explains that “EPDs quantify key environmental impacts of a material’s production” and Canadian/U.S. concrete groups maintain updated EPDs via NSF.
In Europe, major material manufacturers publish EN 15804 EPDs. Xella’s Ytong aerated concrete (Germany) has an IBU-verified EPD per EN 15804+A2. Wienerberger and others publish clay brick EPDs under EN 15804. Timber products often lead in transparency: Stora Enso’s cross-laminated timber (CLT) is listed in the International EPD registry with PCR 2019:14 (EN 15804), providing impact data for its CLT panels. (Wood EPDs must include biogenic carbon accounting per EN 15804 updates.)
There are also EPDs for innovative or niche materials. For example, manufacturers of carbon-negative concrete or high-recycled-content blocks are beginning to certify their environmental data with EPDs. Across all these examples, an EPD will cite its standards (ISO 14025, EN 15804 etc.) and detail its scope and methodology. Those wanting to view these EPDs can often find them via registries like the International EPD System (environdec.com), the NF U.S. PCR Library, or manufacturer sites.
EPDs in Green Building Certification
EPDs play a growing role in building rating systems. LEED v4 (US) includes a Materials credit (Building Product Disclosure and Optimization) that awards points for using products with published EPDs. Similarly, BREEAM (UK) grants up to ~1.5 credits if a project specifies at least 20 products each with a product-specific (Type III) EPD. DGNB (Germany) explicitly uses EPD data in its lifecycle assessment credits; in practice an EPD can be directly imported into DGNB’s online LCA tool, and projects earn points for higher percentages of certified products.
In Spain, Green Building Council España’s VERDE rating takes EPDs further: it requires that the vast majority of concrete, ceramic, gravel and sand mass in a project have EPDs (70–100% of mass) – and 20–40% coverage for other materials. (VERDE also stipulates that 50% of those EPDs be cradle-to-grave in scope.) In all these systems, LEED, BREEAM, DGNB, VERDE and others, EPDs are valued as verified life-cycle data. Using EPD-backed products helps projects demonstrate reduced embodied impact and earns certification credits, while also driving demand for low-carbon materials in the market.
EPD Databases and Tools:
To leverage EPD data, professionals use several online resources. The nonprofit BuildingTransparency offers the free EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction) tool, a searchable database of thousands of digitized EPDs for steel, concrete, gypsum, etc. (with normalized embodied carbon values). UL Solutions’ SPOT database catalogs over 180,000 products with EPDs, ecolabels and sustainability attributes.
Industry software like One Click LCA, SimaPro or GaBi also help manufacturers and specifiers generate and analyze EPDs. Many national EPD portals exist too (e.g. EPD Norge, EPD Danmark, NSF/ASTM in the U.S., GlobalEPD in Spain), as well as tools to compare whole-building LCA impacts. For example, teams can import EC3’s carbon data into BIM or procurement workflows to evaluate bids on a carbon basis. By using these tools, architects and purchasers can quickly find environmental metrics for products and benchmark embodied carbon, greatly simplifying LCA work.
Practical Takeaways:
In sum, EPDs provide transparent, standardized life-cycle metrics that are becoming indispensable in sustainable construction. They do not label a product as “green” outright, but they reveal its environmental profile so that designers and developers can lower a project’s embodied carbon. Best practice is to seek out EPD-verified products (via manufacturer datasheets or databases like EC3/EPD International), and to document EPD usage when chasing LEED, BREEAM, DGNB or VERDE credits. Manufacturers benefit too: an EPD can unlock green market opportunities and improve products over time.
In Part 2 of this series we will build on the data foundation of EPDs to specifically examine CO₂ emissions of construction materials, how embodied carbon is calculated, benchmarked and reduced in practice. We’ll survey tools like carbon calculators and carbon-footprint standards, and show how the EPD data feeds directly into quantifying and managing CO₂ in buildings.
Stay tuned for our deep dive into materials’ carbon footprints!
Sources: Authoritative industry guides and standards were used throughout, including the International EPD System and ecolabel programs, EC3/BuildingTransparency resources, and publications from UL Solutions, BRE Group and industry associations, as cited above.
Each statement reflects current global practice (US, UK, Germany, Spain) as of 2025.
Building Transparency; EC3 & Tools:
https://www.buildingtransparency.org/
EC3 Tool (Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator):
https://www.buildingtransparency.org/tools/ec3/
Importing EPDs into EC3; Building Transparency Documentation: https://docs.buildingtransparency.org/ec3/managing-data/add-epds-to-ec3
EPD International (The International EPD System):
https://www.environdec.com/
What is an EPD (International EPD System):
https://www.environdec.com/all-about-epds/the-epd
UL / openEPD partnership:
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ul-selected-to-pilot-digital-epd-framework-with-building-transparency-301244277.html
One Click LCA & Building Transparency partnership:
https://oneclicklca.com/en/resources/press-release/one-click-lca-building-transparency-partnership-announcement
EPD Registry™: https://www.theepdregistry.com/
EC3’s “How It Supports Buy Clean” document:
https://www.buildingtransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ec3_and_buy_clean_one_pager_v3.pdf
EC3 Product Brief:
https://www.buildingtransparency.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ec3_product_brief_pdf.pdf
LIFE Level(s) report on EPD databases:
https://lifelevels.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/LIFE-Levels-CAR-Report_revB_10May-2021.pdf