Why Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) Matter When Specifying Products

As sustainability becomes a greater priority in building design, architects and designers are being asked to evaluate more than just a product’s performance, appearance and cost.  Today’s projects often require thoughtful consideration of a material’s environmental impact as well.

That’s where EPDs come in.

Whether you’re designing a healthcare facility, university, office building or civic space, understanding what and EPD is – and what it isn’t – can help you make informed material selections and support your project’s sustainability goals.  The good news is that you don’t have to be an environmental expert to use an EPD.  Once you understand the basics, these documents become valuable tools for comparing products and making transparent data-driven decisions.

What is an EPD?   An EPD is a standardized document that reports the environmental impacts of a building product throughout a defined portion of its life cycle.  Rather than making marketing claims like “green” or “eco-friendly,” an EPD presents objective, measurable data using internationally recognized standards.  This allows architects, engineers and specifiers to evaluate products using consistent information. EPDs are third party verified, providing an additional level of confidence in the accuracy of the information presented.

Key takeaway: An EPD doesn’t tell you which product is “best.”  It provides standardized environmental data so designers can make informed comparisons between products serving a similar function.

What Information Does and EPD Include?  Although every EPD is different, most include information such as:

• Global Warming Potential
• Energy Consumption
• Water Use
• Air Emissions
• Waste Generation
• Resource Consumption

This information is developed through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which evaluates environmental impacts associated with manufacturing a product.

Rather than relying on assumptions and marketing language, architects can review verified data when comparing building materials.

Why are architects asking for EPDs?  Architects are increasingly designing buildings with sustainability goals in mind.  Owners, institutions and public agencies often request documentation that supports responsible material selection.

An EPD helps designers:

• Better understand a product’s environmental impacts
• Compare similar products using consistent data
• Support project sustainability objectives
• Meet documentation requirements for green building programs
• Make informed specification decisions

As building codes and sustainability standards continue to evolve, EPDs are becoming an increasingly common part of the specification process.

Does an EPD Mean a Product is Sustainable?  Not necessarily.  This is one of the most common misconceptions about EPDs.  An EPD does not certify that one product is environmentally superior to another.  Instead, it simply reports environmental data in a standardized format.   Think of it like a nutrition label on food.  A nutrition label doesn’t tell you what to eat – it provides consistent information so you can make your own choices.  An EPD serves a similar purpose for building products by presenting environmental information in a transparent, easy to understand format.

How are EPDs Used During Design?

Many design teams review EPDs during material selection and specification development.  Rather than waiting until construction begins, architects often evaluate environmental documentation alongside factors such as:

• Fire performance
• Structural requirements
• Durability
• Aesthetics
• Maintenance
• Constructability
• Material Transparency

Considering these factors early in design can help reduce substitutions later and improve coordination between the design team, manufacturers and contractors.

Why Material Transparency Matters:  Today’s architects are expected to balance performance, aesthetics, cost and now sustainability ~ all while meeting project schedules and code requirements.  Material transparency supports that process by giving designers access to credible environmental information before products are specified.

Manufacturers that invest in EPDs demonstrate a commitment to providing standardized environmental data rather than relying on their own marketing claims.  For architects, that means greater confidence when evaluating and comparing products.

Product Specific vs. Industry-Wide EPDs: What’s the Difference?

Not all EPDs are the same. When reviewing EPDs, architects & designers will encounter two types:   Category EPDs and Product Specific EPDs.

• Category EPDs sometimes referred to as Industry Wide EPDs: This represents the average environmental impacts of a group of manufacturers producing similar products. These documents provide useful baseline information, but they do not reflect the environmental performance of any one manufacturer’s product. Example: Think of it as looking at the average fuel economy for all SUVs.  You get a general idea but it doesn’t tell you how one specific vehicle performs.
• Product Specific EPDs:  This reports actual environmental data for a single manufacturer’s product, using information gathered from that manufacturer's own materials, manufacturing processes, energy use, and transportation. Example: Think of it as looking at the fuel economy for a specific SUV ~ it tells you how one specific vehicle performs.

Why does the difference matter between the two EPDs?  You can make more informed decisions when it comes to the type of the materials you may want to use down to the manufacturer you would like to work with and sustainability goals.

Designer Tip: Before comparing two EPDs, make sure you compare the same type of declaration.  Both EPDs may be valid but they may represent different types of data and should not be assumed to be equal.

Fire Trol in Practice ~ Fire Trol’s third-party verified, product specific EPD provides environmental information based on the company’s own manufacturing processes rather than the industry average.  This gives architects & engineers greater confidence that the data reflects the product that they are specifying.

Document	What It Tells You	Why Designers Use It
LCA	Measures environmental impacts across a product’s life cycle.	Provides the scientific analysis behind the EPD
EPD	Reports quantified environmental impact data	Compare similar building products using standardized information
HPD	Discloses product ingredients & material health information	Evaluates material transparency & support healthier material selections