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Sep

22, 2015

List of LCA consultants now available

Performing the life cycle assessment (LCA) that provides the main underlying data for an EPD is a task that can be done by anyone, without any special approval. As many companies and organisations lack the in-house experience in performing this task, a consultant is often used. "Who may assist my company in performing the LCA?" is thus a question that is often submitted to the Secretariat.

To meet this demand, while avoiding to recommend any specific consultancy, we are happy to announce that we have collected a list of companies in different countries that state that they offer LCA and EPD related services. This list is a test that we hope that both companies that are interested in creating EPDs, as well as consultancy companies will find useful to more easily find each other.

If your company offers LCA and EPD consultancy services, and would like to be included in the list, please contact the EPD International Secretariat.

Please note that no fees have been paid by the companies to be included on the list, and being on this list is not required to be able to perform LCAs that would lead to EPDs.

Sep

15, 2015

ISO publishes new version of ISO 14001

A new version of ISO 14001 - Environmental management systems -- Requirements with guidance for use has been published by the International Organization for Standardization. According to the ISO website, the new version ISO 14001:2015:

specifies the requirements for an environmental management system that an organization can use to enhance its environmental performance. ISO 14001:2015 is intended for use by an organization seeking to manage its environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner that contributes to the environmental pillar of sustainability.

The life cycle perspective has received an increased focus, compared to only considering the environmental impact from the activities of an organization. EPDs could thus be used in different ways connected to an Environmental Management System, including identification of significant environmental aspects and monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation.

Sep

14, 2015

New telephone numbers to the Secretariat

The Secretariat will have new telephone numbers from 2015-09-23 to answer your questions about EPDs, PCR and the International EPD® System. The new numbers can be found via the Contact page.

Please update your address books as the old numbers will expire after a transition period.

 

Photo: (c) Sh4rp_i (via Flickr). Licence: CC BY 2.0

Sep

3, 2015

Presentations from the EPD International Stakeholder Conference now available

The 3rd EPD International Stakeholder Conference was sucessfully arranged at August 30 as a back-to-back event with LCM 2015 in Bordeaux, France. The conference welcomed more than 40 representatives from more than 10 countries in Europe, Asia and South America. test

Some key items that were discussed were:
The new version of the General Programme Instructions were officially launched.
The idea of “net of PCRs” was introduced for the food sector to increase coordination of methodological issues across PCRs. 
Interesting EPD case studies were presented by companies such as Coop Italia, Barilla and BYK Chemie.
Important feedback was given on what the International EPD System should focus on going forward. Summarized by Massimo Marino, chairman of the Technical Committee, they were realiability, governance, harmonization between different systems and communication.

At the conference, different topics related to the use of EPDs were discussed, like comparability, ECO Platform, the EU Product Environmental Footprint, green public procurement, environmental management and Social LCA.

Interesting company cases on use and management of EPDs were given from SCA Hygienic Products, Bodega Gil Berza, 3M and Vattenfall.

Presentations and photos from the event are now available here.

Aug

26, 2015

Saint-Gobain company registers first EPDs from Argentina

EPDs

Saint-Gobain Argentina ISOVER has registered twelve EPD for the different insultation products:

  • Acustiver P c/VN 50 mm
  • Acustiver P 50 mm
  • Acustiver R 400 50 mm
  • Climaver plus 25 mm
  • Fieltro liviano HR 50 mm
  • Fieltro tensado Alu HR 50 mm
  • Fieltro tensado Polipropileno BL HR 50 mm
  • Isoair 38 mm
  • Isocustic Velo Blanco 20 mm
  • Isocustic Velo Negro 20 mm
  • Rolac Plata Cubierta 50 mm
  • Andina PVC rústico 20 mm

These are the first environmental declarations registered in the International EPD® System. The EPD library at www.environdec.com now containes declarations from companies in 27 countries almost all continents.

Aug

20, 2015

Regional hub for EPD in Latin America launched at CILCA conference

Logo

During the CILCA 2015 conference in Lima, Peru, the International EPD® System and its partners announced the most recent expansion of its network: the EPD Latin America Hub.

The regional partners will provide local support and promote the use of EPDs in the region, starting in Mexico and Chile. The hub will also be responsible for registration of EPDs into the International EPD® System library at www.environdec.com for companies in these two countries.

The interest for EPDs is growing globally, and we are very happy to find regional partners in Latin America who can ensure that the emerging interest there is aligned with what is occuring internationally, says Joakim Thornéus, programme manager of the International EPD® System.

The Latin America Hub is the latest in a group of regional hubs of the International EPD® System, which is now covering the Czech Republic (CENDEC), Turkey (EPD Turkey), New Zealand and Australia (Australasian EPD Programme). The International Secretariat with offices in Sweden and a helpdesk in China are responsible for all other countries.

Companies, LCA consultants, certification bodies or other stakeholders in Mexico and Chile are welcome to contact the regional hub at claudia@epd-americalatina.com to learn more about the opportunities for them with EPDs.

Aug

19, 2015

f3 report on EPDs for transportation fuels

f3 report

The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels (f3) has issued a report that relates to EPDs: Beyond LCI: Towards EPD-conforming LCA’s for Vehicle Fuels. The report is the result of a extension of on-going f3-projects that are aiming for a setup of a fuel LCI data base.

The general conclusion of the project, and the project workshop with participants from fuel producers and related actors included:

[…] EPD (or similar LCA-based environmental information) was pointed out as an advisable foundation for comparing environmental performance of fuels.

The workshop participants concluded that there is certainly a need for EPD’s and that a structured communication of the environmental information based on common methods and assumptions are required. It presents fuel producers with a possibility to deliver data so that customers can make decisions based on sufficient representativity, minimizing the risk that market decisions are based on inadequate information or subjective judgements. However, the market requirements need to be further highlighted. [...]

 

The International EPD® System participated in the workhshop of the project, and contributed with background information about what are EPDs and what they are used for.

Aug

17, 2015

EPD poster at LCM 2015 conference

The International EPD® System will be present this year at the LCM conference. The event will take place in Bordeaux, France, 30 August - 2 September, 2015. Kristian Jelse at the Secretariat and Sven-Olof have co-authored a poster related to EPDs:

  • Poster: The need for internationally-recognized procedures for mutual recognition between EPD programme operators. Jelse K., Ryding S-O.

As a back-to-back event to the LCM conference, the International EPD® System will also arrange its EPD International Stakeholder Conference in Bordeaux.

Aug

12, 2015

Extended deadline for registration to EPD International Stakeholder Conference 2015

Image: [c] Geoffroy Groult. License: CC BY 2.0

It has been possible for us to extend the deadline for the registration to the EPD International Stakeholder Conference until 2015-08-20.

The event will take place in Bordeaux, France on August 30th, back-to-back with the LCM 2015 conference. The event is expected to gather EPD stakeholders from industry, academia and others sectors for a chance to meet and learn about the latest developments in the field of Environmental Product Declarations.

We hope to see you in Bordeaux!

Jul

6, 2015

Using EPD in Building Assessment Schemes

The interest for environmental declarations in building rating systems and certification schemes has increased in the last few years. This may be due to recognition of EPD benefits such as the life cycle approach, the transparent disclosure of relevant impact categories and the independent verification.

We have updated the text explaining how and why EPDs may be used for this application.

Jul

3, 2015

Five new or updated PCRs published

New PCRs

Four updated and one new PCRs have recently been published:

  • Kiwifruit (updated)
  • Cleaning inox trolleys (update)
  • Basic iron or steel products & special steels, except construction products (new)
  • Beverage cartons (update)
  • Research and development services in natural sciences and engineering (update)

These documents are now availble to develop and register EPDs for each product category.

Jul

2, 2015

Using EPD in B2B and B2C communication

The concept of type III environmental declarations was developed to primarily be used in business-to-business communication, but their use in business-to-consumer communication is not precluded by the standards.

We have updated the texts explaining how and why EPDs may be used for different applications.

Jun

22, 2015

EPD poster at ISIE conference

The International EPD® System will be present this year at the International Society for Industrial Ecology (ISIE) conference. The event will take place in Guidford, United Kingdom on July 7-10, 2015, and is expected to gather some of the leading experts in the field of industrial ecology, a field very much connected to life cycle assessment and life cycle management.

Kristian Jelse at the Secretariat and members of the Technical Committee will present or co-author a poster related to EPDs:

  • Poster: An argument for attributional LCA in environmental declarations based on a comparison with type I environmental labels and country-of-origin labels. Jelse K., Lindfors L-G., Marino M., Peña C.A., Schenck R.

Jun

18, 2015

Using EPDs in environmental management and ecodesign

Using EPDs in environmental management and ecodesign

EPD is a useful tool for environmental management, whether the environmental management system (EMS) is certified according to ISO 14001 or EMAS or based on other guidelines. By using EPDs, the organization can identify, control, monitor and evaluate the environmental performance in a life cycle perspective and also communicate the result to different stakeholders.

Ecodesign is the concept of taking environmental issues into consideration when designing and developing new products, or when updating existing products. It may also be referred to as or Design for Environment (DfE), eco-design or, more generally, Environmental design. EPD, and the underlying life cycle assessment (LCA) study, may be used as a way to measure impacts and avoiding sub-optimization.

We have described how EPDs can be used in the context of environmental management and ecodesign, use the links below to read more.

Jun

12, 2015

Updated PCR for finished bovine leather published

PCR finished bovine leather

The Product Category Rules (PCR) for Finished bovine leather version 2.0 have been published. The new version is now available for verification, registration and publications of EPD according to ISO 14025 in the International EPD® System.

Since its original publication in 2011, the PCR has been used by two companies to develop and register EPDs.

The work to update the PCR was led by Daniele Pernigotti as PCR Moderator. The draft was available for two months open consultation at www.environdec.com, and reviewed by the Technical Committee of the International EPD® System before publication