A Short Introduction to Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
EPDs signal a manufacturer's commitment to measuring and reducing the environmental impact of its products and services and report these impacts in a hyper-transparent way. With an EPD, manufacturers report comparable, objective and third-party verified data that show the good, the bad and the evil about the environmental performance of their products and services. (source: environdec)
The EPD process:
- Every EPD is created according to a specific set of Product Category Rules (PCRs) or ultimately Product Specific Rules (PSRs). PCRs and PSRs offer calculation rules and guidelines to ensure comparability between EPDs.
- When developing an EPD, the environmental performance of the product shall be described from a life cycle perspective by carrying out a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the product.
- Managed LCA content databases with declared product data provide the necessary information to carry out the respective product LCAs.
- The results of the LCA study and other information mandated by the reference PCR and General Program Instructions shall be compiled in the EPD reporting format.
- The EPD shall then be verified by an approved independent verifier before being registered and published.
EPDs for the Electrotechnical Industry
Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) emerged in the 1990s to address the growing demand for transparent and standardized information regarding the environmental impacts of products throughout their life cycles and to promote sustainability. Originally, EPDs were developed for the construction industry within green-building programs. Key milestones in standardization include ISO standards, which form the backbone of EPD frameworks.
The ISO 14000 series of standards provide guidelines that:
- Outline the principles and procedures for developing different types of environmental declarations, ensuring consistency and reliability in their preparation and verification.
- Provide guidance for conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), which are fundamental to creating accurate EPDs.
For the construction industry, the European standard EN 15804 defines the core rules for construction products and categorizes them in Product Category Rules (PCRs).
Figure: Example of the Environmental Aspects Presented in an EPD
Currently, for the electrotechnical industry, IEC TC 111 is developing the horizontal IEC 63366 standard to define PCRs for Electronic and Electrical Products (EEPs), including requirements for LCAs in the context of EPDs for EEPs. However, for specific EEP products, Technical Committees (TCs), such as TC 20 for electric cables, are working on developing Product-Specific Rules (PSRs) tailored to specific cable categories, ensuring that their unique LCAs, functional units and environmental impacts are properly addressed.
An early adopter of LCA and environmental considerations is IEC TC 17, which is set to release the current Draft Technical Specification (DTS) IEC TS 62271-320, defining environmental aspects and LCA rules for
high-voltage switchgear and control gear.
The BEC is organizing a training session in May on EPDs, which will include an overview of the relevant standards and their interrelationships, as well as an update on the ongoing electrotechnical standardization work for EERs in the TCs.