Environmental Product Declarations
What is Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a transparent way of communicating a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the environmental impacts of a product in a common format based on common rules. Construction products are assessed using a single set of Product Category Rules (PCR) ensuring consistent reporting for similar products. EPD for construction products in Europe use the European Standard, EN 15804, as their PCR, to ensure that the information is provided using the same LCA rules, with the same environmental indicators, and in a way that means the information for lots of different products can be brought together to provide the environmental impacts for a building. EPD should always be independently verified by an expert familiar with the product category.
Government and private sector expectations about the quality and availability of EPD’s are growing and becoming more important.
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), EPD’s and other social and environmental data are used by construction material certifications to provide confidence to construction clients and public procurement processes that sustainability impacts are understood and systems and processes are being managed to improve performance and reduce negative impacts.
CARES EPD Programme
As an independent profit for purpose company CARES can guarantee an independent and impartial review and the unrivalled knowledge provided by our specialist team. The CARES Sustainability Scheme comprises independent validation of carbon footprint data and issuing Company Specific and Sector Average verified EPD’s to EN 15804 by using an advanced and verified EN 15804 LCA calculator.
Further to CARES validation of the data, independent verifiers provide an additional, 3rd party and independent, layer of verification with all EPD reports published on CARES website.
What makes CARES EPD’s more accurate?
- EN 15804 allows 5 years validity from EPD issue date, but CARES verified EPD’s are valid for only 3 years to enable manufacturing performance to be measured more frequently
- CARES verified EPD’s are valid only for one or very similar products
- CARES verified EPD’s are valid only for a specific production route
- CARES verified EPD’s are valid only for a specific manufacturing site
- GWP data from the EPD's is available through the CARES Digital Record
CARES Company Specific verified EPD
A Company Specific EPD is based on a valid PCR and describing the life cycle environmental impact of one or very similar products - from one single manufacturer.
The types of products that can be covered by CARES EPD tool include:
Carbon Steel Reinforcing Steel, Structural Steel, Stainless Steel Reinforcing Steel, Prestressing Wire and Strand
The type of EPD developed by CARES for Carbon Reinforcing Steel, Stainless Reinforcing Steel, PC Wire and PC Strand cover all life cycle stages namely “Product Stage”, “Construction Process Stage”, “Use Stage”, “End of Life Stage” and “Benefits and Loads beyond the System Boundary”. This EPD is said to be achieving the max available credits through “cradle-to-gate-with-options” mechanism (Modules A1 to D).
Hot Rolled Flat Steel and Feedstock Coil for Further Processing
The type of EPD developed by CARES for Hot Rolled Flat Steel (e.g. Strip, Plates) and Feedstock Coil for Further Processing cover life cycle stages namely “Product Stage”, "End of Life Stage" and “Benefits and Loads beyond the System Boundary”. This EPD is said to be achieving the max available credits through “cradle-to-gate-with-options” mechanism (Modules A1-3 plus C and D).
CARES Sector Average verified EPD
A Sector Average EPD is developed by an industry association and declares the average product of multiple companies in a clearly defined sector and/or geographical area.
CARES Sector Average verified EPD is an average of participant companies producing Carbon Reinforcing Steel via Scrap / Electric Arc Furnace route.
If the availability of the CARES Company Specific verified EPD is limited, then CARES Sector Average verified EPD can be used by construction clients.
The sector average EPD can most usefully be used at the design stage to estimate the likely upfront embodied carbon of a project. When the actual project is built and the suppliers are known, this can be swapped for the company specific EPD values to get the most accurate values for each project.
Understanding UK consumption average embodied carbon emissions
for steel rebar – Article
CARES have worked with ARUP and IStructE to understand the UK average
embodied carbon for steel rebar.
Orlando Gibbons, embodied carbon specialist at ARUP, stated that “As a
co-author of the IStructE How to Calculate Embodied Carbon guide, I thank CARES
for deriving a consumption average A1-A3 embodied carbon factor for rebar
consumed in the UK, and for their continued dedicated work with steel
manufacturers to accurately quantify and reduce emissions. I have reviewed the
calculations for this UK consumption average A1-A3 factor and this A1-A3 carbon
factor will be included in the 3rd Edition of the IStructE’s How to Calculate
Embodied Carbon guide as the default recommended A1-A3 carbon factor for rebar
for projects in the UK.”
The article can be downloaded from this link.
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000584
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000585
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000373
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000599
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000126
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000597
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000601
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000127
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000198
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000078
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000129
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000130
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000131
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000132
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000079
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000133
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000266
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000134
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000135
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000600
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000598
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000230
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EPD No. 000276
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000136
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000137
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000602
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000139
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000277
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000582
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000140
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000141
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000231
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000603
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000208
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000549
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000142
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000581
Environmental Product Declaration to EN 15804
Further details are given in CARES Environmental Product Declaration: BREG EN EPD No. 000080