Proven environmental credentials are fast becoming a prerequisite for materials evaluation and selection.  Replacing the seemingly endless flow of unfettered Greenwashing claims saturating the marketplace. 

A movement has begun to formalize a process of evaluating the environmental benefits and cost of Green building materials. Many European nations are closing in on requiring Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), a universal system of evaluation based on third-party comparison of data across pre-established categories, and the notion is also gaining traction in the U.S.

A small handful of North American companies have emerged as leaders in the transparency movement, securing EPD as a demonstration of their environmental commitment. In return for their trailblazing, those companies are demonstrating to decision makers and buyers that the process is sound, useful and something the building materials industry can stand on. 

Adoption of such a requirement in Europe would speed the widespread implementation of EPD in the U.S. and have a dramatic impact that could extend globally. Materials suppliers in countries that sell products to European customers would be compelled to adhere to the same transparency expectation, fueling a growing belief that EPD will be the new standard of environmental measurement in the U.S.

Credible and simple

Environmental Product Declaration is based on a holistic approach. The process begins with the declaration by a program operator, which establishes universal product category rules as the basis for life cycle analysis and evaluation. It considers environmental impacts associated with raw material acquisition, energy use and efficiency, materials content, air, soil and water emissions, and waste generation. 

Earning validation requires an EPD to use product category rules established for the relevant product type, be based on a third-party Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and generate a report certified and signed by an outside expert. The resulting study is a standardized, peer-reviewed cradle-to-grave evaluation of environmental performance. 

Over past couple of years, the once little-known Life Cycle Assesment has become more commonly thought of as the emerging standard in environmental performance evaluation. However, thorough in its study of individual materials and identification of environmental hot spots across an industry, LCA produces a complex set of data that is difficult to understand.

A combination of the credibility of Life Cycle Assessment and simplicity of a food nutrition label are pushing Environmental Product Declarations to the forefront as the new transparency measurement of choice. Environmental Product Declarations takes the scientifically reliable LCA data and packages the information across a universal set of criteria into an easy-to-understand comparison for specifiers and user who want to know they are selecting the greenest materials. 

Reliable, accurate comparison

Assumption and clever product marketing claims were the early basis for establishing the green movement. Very few of those assertions were backed by independent verification, and even if they were, the lack of standardization of methodology made a true comparison difficult. As the industry has matured, governments around the world are beginning to focus on cleaning up the “greenwashing” that has permeated the materials selection process. 

Evaluating the overall costs of a product life cycle establishes a reliable resource for both manufacturers and purchasers and introduces the desired transparency to make an accurate comparison. It is the only way to determine the true environmental costs during the materials selection process, understand the likely environmental performance of a building, and promote low-carbon building materials for a project. 

Industry, government driving EPD

Several drivers are influencing the need for comprehensive and comparable environmental disclosure in the U.S. and hastening the acceptance of EPD as the preferred method. Those include industry and government sources, and the 60,000 architects in the U.S. who specify thousands of materials in the projects they design and desire a better way to impact carbon footprint. 

Foremost in recent discussion about a formalized process has been the U.S. Green Building Council’s pilot credit program, which provides a transparency incentive for materials use. As the program moves ever closer to adoption, Environmental Product Declaration will become an important part of the LEED program as the universal transparency standard.

A U.S. Forest Service study released this fall also advocated for green building codes and standards that include adequate provisions to recognize the benefits of life cycle environmental analysis to guide building materials selection. The study specifically called out wood as a sustainable building material.

At the same time, a wood products producer is among the small handful of North American materials manufactures using Environmental Product Declarations and leading the environmental transparency movement. The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association, which has completed peer-reviewed EPDs for decking and siding, holds the only known wood products EPDs in North American and two of a small handful overall.

Green building strategies have also caught the attention of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is developing programs to improve environmental performance, such as its Lifecycle Building Challenge. Sustainable building materials have also become a big part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, which promotes the design and construction of energy-efficient houses.

Green building requirement widening

Additionally, emerging U.S. code requirements at the local, state and national levels will force specifiers to use materials that have undergone third-party environmental scrutiny. Those requirements once limited to a few progressive cities are extending rapidly to markets around the country. 

EPD is comprehensive and establishes a universal basis for independent comparison of data that will help specifiers meet those tightening standards. It presents environmental product attributes, minimizes confusion about technical data, and removes doubt about product sustainability in a user-friendly way that has been compared to nutrition labels on food packaging.

Life Cycle Assessment, the precursor to the EPD, has come from a point a few years ago where nobody had heard of it to almost universal knowledge and acceptance today. As demand intensifies for reliable, verifiable and simple materials comparison information, Environmental Product Declarations stand to be the next evolution of LCA and the new standard in U.S. environmental transparency. 

Katherine Chia is a principal at Desai/Chia Architecture. Her work includes residential, commercial and product design projects. For more information visit www.desaichia.com.