EPD’s are a uniform way to evidence the environmental impacts of manufacturing and using a product through a Life Cycle Analysis or LCA. This enables us to assess the embodied carbon associated with any particular construction, make comparisons between materials and therefore reduce the environmental impact of construction.

Product EPDs

The EPD’s are created by independent third parties to ensure that they are accurate and verifiable.

What does an EPD tell me?

With a bit of studying, these documents show what impact all the stages of the life of a product have, from ‘extraction’ (obtaining the necessary raw materials for manufacture) all the way to energy recovery from burning (in the case of wood fibre) at the end of it’s life. It also gives indicators on primary and secondary energy and fresh water use.

In more detail, you can see:-

• Global Warming Potential (GWP), which includes emissions from manufacture but also biogenic carbon stored in a product.
• Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), damage to the ozone layer.
• Acidification Potential (AP), acidification of sails or water and the impact.
• Eutrophication Potential (EP), how over-fertilisation impacts the growth of biomass.
• Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP), how ozone production near ground level impacts the environment.
• Abiotic Depletion Potential – Elements (ADPE), the impact of the elements, energy and minerals used.
• Abiotic Depletion Potential – Fossil (ADPF), the impacts of using fossil resources such as coal, oil, etc.

Do all products have an EPD?

Whilst we don’t have an EPD for all of our materials, our two main suppliers, Steico and Beltermo, do. More and more suppliers are seeing the benefits of these documents and as more become available we will add them to this page and also provide links on our product pages.

If you have any questions, please contact us.