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Skaar, Christofer, and Annik Magerholm Fet. "Accountability in the Value Chain: From Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to CSR Product Declaration." Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 19, no. 4 (2011): 228–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/csr.275.
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De Brito, Maria Alice Leite, and Elaine Aparecida Da Silva. "Environmental Product Declaration Approaches on the Brazilian Experiences: A Review." Environmental Management and Sustainable Development 12, no. 2 (2023): 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.5296/emsd.v12i2.20787.
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The Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a type of label that has been considered reliable and complete, and it is commonly used in purchasing decisions, product design definition, environmental communication, data sources, and other applications. This article examines the approaches for the development of EPD in the Brazilian context, taking into account the initiatives of interested parties as well as the circumstances for its adoption by national firms. This work adds value by assessing which works in Brazilian literature and experiences focus on EPD, contextualizing the issue, and offering this type of label as a strategic resource. Between 2015 and 2022, the bibliographical survey uncovered 20 works. The Prisma 2020 checklist was utilized to conduct the systematic review, and the analysis in this study was both quantitative and qualitative. Since NBR ISO 14025 (2015), the publications have been consistent. Only 35% of the review content was obtained from journals, with 6 of the 7 publications resulting from academic works from their authors' postgraduate training processes, indicating a concentration of studies by a few scholars, all linked to universities in Brazil's south and southeast. Studies have shown that EPD is a valuable tool for environmental management due to its consistency, reliability, and completeness of data. However, due to a lack of Brazilian experience, this resource is not commonly known, disseminated, or employed. EPD has potential to be used as a strategic resource for businesses due to Brazil's normative, legal, and structural conditions for adoption.
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Kim, Gwang Hyun, Yong Woo Hwang, and Yoon Sang Jeon. "A Study on the improvement of Environmental Product Declaration of Ready-mixed concrete." Korean Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 23, no. 1 (2022): 17–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.62765/kjlca.2022.23.1.17.
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Since the revision of the Green Standard for Energy and Environmental Design (G-SEED), Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) of building materials has increased rapidly as additional points have been given to use building materials that have obtained EPD based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). In particular, the cumulative number of (Environmental Product Declaration–EPD) of ready-mixed concrete (RMC) is increasing every year from 18 in 2018, 109 in 2019, 501 in 2020, and 809 in 2021. In order to increase the reliability of the current EPD results, this study aims to present an improvement plan for the certification of EPD of RMC by analyzing the RMC Product Category Rules (PCR) as stipulated by the EPD. As a result of PCR analysis, there was a need to subdivide the method of allocating the number of processes, and there was a need to indicate the calculation of emissions of individual factories. Through this RMC PCR analysis, it is expected to be used as a review data for revising EPD's general product preparation guidelines, building material preparation guidelines, and remicon preparation guidelines in the future.
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Moazzem, Shadia, Delwyn Jones, Mathilde Vlieg, and Direshni Naiker. "Inaccurate polyester textile environmental product declarations." Clean Technologies and Recycling 2, no. 1 (2022): 47–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.3934/ctr.2022003.
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<abstract> <p>Development of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD)s used for green marketing, specification, procurement, certification and green building rating systems are important for documenting and understanding product environmental performance. Considering such applications any misleading of stakeholders has serious legal ramifications. Various studies have highlighted EPD veracity depends mainly on the data quality of underpinning life cycle assessment (LCA). This paper compares data quality across polyester product case studies, literature surveys and EPDs. Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) and Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) results are presented and interpreted. Surveys show recycled polyester fibre results are most sensitive to melt spinning energy data which varies over a wide range. The case studies compare results from median, lower and upper energy use in melt spinning. The work highlights that, accurate, clear definitions and vocabulary is as vital for specific foreground process data as it is for generic background supply chain data. This is to avoid misconceptions and mismatched assumptions in respect of EPD data quality and incorrect acceptance of inadequate charting of all essential processes. If product-specific accurate data is inaccessible, EPD options include presenting impact assessment results from LCI of best and worst-case scenarios. This is preferable to legal risks of using junk data that misleads stakeholders in marketing. General recommendations are presented for LCA practitioners to improve EPD data quality and accuracy. These include using multiple data sources to avoid reliance on any single database. Data also needs to be verified by a third-party with industry expertise independent of the specific manufacturer. It recommends using suitable, comprehensive and specific product-related scenarios for data development in any EPD.</p> </abstract>
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Soust-Verdaguer, B., E. Palumbo, C. Llatas, A. V. Acevedo, E. Hoxha, and A. Passer. "Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) of construction products in Spain: Current status and future challenges." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1078, no. 1 (2022): 012128. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1078/1/012128.
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Abstract The current decarbonisation scenario demands a decrease in embodied and operational environmental impacts of buildings, wherein the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) play a crucial role. The main objective of EPDs is to provide validated and geographically representative data to conduct LCA, since they play a major practical role in the application of LCA. However, development of EPDs in the European context remains irregular. Several countries, such as Germany and France, have a great number of EPDs of construction products, while other countries, such as Spain, present a much lower number. This study aims to analyse the existing EPDs of construction products developed in Spain, and to identify the EPD programs, the type of products (building system or element-associated), which LCA information modules are included, and the accuracy of the declared impact values. The results obtained show that ceramic cladding, gypsum plasterboard, cement, and clay products are those with the greatest number of EPDs. On the other hand, building service products have relatively few EPDs. Finally, several recommendations are proposed towards improving EPD development and challenges are detected.
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Jaleel, Yousif, Mohd Saidin Misnan, and Mohamad Zahierruden Ismail. "Environment Product Declaration (EPD) in Construction Industries: Significance and Barriers." International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science VIII, no. VI (2024): 1355–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.47772/ijriss.2024.806101.
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Adopting a sustainable approach in production processes and activities in the construction industry is considered one of the best strategies that support the direction of sustainability and promote the development of the green approach in this industry and contribute effectively to providing environmentally friendly construction products that have high reliability and credibility that gives the product the ability to compete efficiently in the market and facilitate the consumers’ purchase options. This paper discusses to highlights the importance of adopting an environmental product declaration for the products in the construction industries while determining the benefits of using it for manufacturers and the other stakeholders in the construction sector, in addition to identifying the obstacles that hinder its implementation in the construction industries.
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Soust-Verdaguer, Bernardette, Elisabetta Palumbo, Carmen Llatas, et al. "The Use of Environmental Product Declarations of Construction Products as a Data Source to Conduct a Building Life-Cycle Assessment in Spain." Sustainability 15, no. 2 (2023): 1284. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su15021284.
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The Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) method and the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) each play a crucial role in reducing buildings’ embodied environmental impacts. EPDs provide the validated and geographically representative data necessary to conduct an LCA. However, the development of EPDs in the European context is still irregular. Countries such as Germany and France have many EPDs for construction products, while other countries, such as Spain, have a limited number of EPDs and more than one operator programme, which is pointed out in the literature as a possible limiting factor for comparing results. This study aimed to examine the use of construction product EPDs manufactured in Spain, to then use as a data source to conduct a building LCA. We analysed the comparability of the results among the different EPD programmes and investigated to what extent the use of Spainߣs geographically representative construction product EPDs can contribute to conducting a building LCA, including all the materials and products that compose a building, and covering all the building life-cycle stages (product, construction, use, and end-of-life). The results showed that plasterboard and thermal insulation products have the highest numbers of EPDs in different EPD programmes. The case study analysis showed that 20% of the construction products that compose a building can potentially use these EPDs as a data source to conduct a building LCA, and 89% of those product categories include at least the product, use, or end-of-life stage modules. Finally, recommendations and challenges to improve LCA development in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation industries were included.
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Mukherjee, Amlan, and Heather Dylla. "Challenges to Using Environmental Product Declarations in Communicating Life-Cycle Assessment Results: Case of the Asphalt Industry." Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 2639, no. 1 (2017): 84–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.3141/2639-11.
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The objective of this paper is to discuss the challenges encountered in creating an environmental product declaration (EPD) program for asphalt mixtures that ensures the consistent, transparent, and reliable communication of life-cycle assessment (LCA) results between stakeholders in the paving industry. The formal process outlined in ISO 14025 for developing an EPD program has partially ameliorated the challenges that have deterred the adoption of LCA by requiring stakeholder participation and industrywide agreement on assumptions that define an LCA. This requirement has led to a new set of challenges, both technical and organizational, in addressing issues of data quality, validation, consistency, and transparency during the product category rules (PCR) development process. The paper provides an overview of the EPD program development process and establishes the role played by stakeholders in the decision-making process given their affiliations and relationship to the asphalt materials industry. Some of the LCA results that supported the decision-making process in developing the PCR are discussed. In addition, the paper highlights how the analysis supporting an EPD can also be used to improve plant operational efficiencies, while providing insights into the asphalt mixture design process, accounting for performance and environmental impacts.
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Brisson Stapel, Emilie, Maria Balouktsi, Christian Grau Sørensen, and Harpa Birgisdottir. "Type III Environmental Product Declarations – The perils and pitfalls of digitalization." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1402, no. 1 (2024): 012024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1402/1/012024.
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Abstract Recent research highlights buildings as significant contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, entailing the implementation of legally binding CO2 limits for several countries and a widespread adoption of environmental product declarations (EPDs). While PDF remains the common EPD format, the emergence of the digital ILCD+EPD format introduces start to play a more significant role. The format introduces complexities, posing uncertainties and challenges in effectively managing product data and integrating them into LCA software applications. Despite this, persistent challenges in transparency and comparability underscore the need for robust methodologies to ensure reliable material assessments. Limited literature exists on the applicability and comprehension of the ILCD+EPD format, prompting this study’s exploration, using the Web API from the European umbrella organization, the ECO Platform Portal. By compiling digital EPD files into a standard schema, the study aims to scrutinize the format for enhanced reliability and usability. The study assesses a total of 12,962 datasets from the ECO Platform Portal, revealing discrepancies in compliance and documentation, with adjustments made to ensure accuracy. Notably, 17 datasets were removed due to unknown compliance with EN15804, 2097 datasets were expired, 330 datasets were lacking important information of expiration and functional unit, and 66 datasets were removed due to invalid units unsuitable for building-LCAs This resulted in a total of 10,452 datasets, with 29% allocated to EN15804+A1 and 71% to EN15804+A2. Embracing the ILCD+EPD format enhances EPD effectiveness and improves sustainability practices but requires efforts to address data extraction challenges and inconsistencies.
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Moshood, Taofeeq Durojaye, James Olabode Bamidele Rotimi, and Funmilayo Ebun Rotimi. "Combating Greenwashing of Construction Products in New Zealand and Australia: A Critical Analysis of Environmental Product Declarations." Sustainability 16, no. 22 (2024): 9671. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16229671.
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The construction industry’s increasing environmental impact has led to the widespread adoption of sustainability claims, yet the prevalence of greenwashing—where organizations make misleading environmental claims—threatens genuine sustainable development efforts. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) have emerged as a potential solution, particularly in the New Zealand and Australia construction sectors, where recent government climate regulations have accelerated their adoption. However, the effectiveness of EPDs in combating greenwashing and their practical implementation remain understudied. This research addresses this gap through a comprehensive analysis of EPDs in construction, employing a systematic literature review of 82 articles from 2010 to 2024 across major databases. Using ATLAS.ti 9 software, this study makes three key contributions: (1) develops a novel framework for evaluating EPD programs and their effectiveness in preventing greenwashing, (2) establishes a standardized methodology for assessing the completeness and accuracy of life cycle assessment information in EPDs, and (3) provides evidence-based recommendations for improving EPD implementation in the construction industry. The findings reveal critical shortcomings in current EPD practices, including inconsistent assessment methodologies and incomplete life cycle data. This study proposes specific reforms to enhance EPD reliability and transparency, offering practical guidelines for industry stakeholders to verify environmental claims. These contributions advance both the theoretical understanding of environmental certification systems and practical implementation of sustainable construction practices by developing regulatory frameworks.
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Michalak, Jacek, and Bartosz Michałowski. "Understanding of Construction Product Assessment Issues and Sustainability among Investors, Architects, Contractors, and Sellers of Construction Products in Poland." Energies 14, no. 7 (2021): 1941. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en14071941.
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The building sector is one of the most critical branches of the economy influencing global warming today. Following the European Union’s Construction Products Regulation (CPR), the sustainable use of natural resources in construction is one of the seven basic buildings’ requirements. However, due to the lack of provisions in this regard, construction products are not yet subject to mandatory assessment and verification of the constancy of performance in this area. The paper presents the research results with the participation of 842 respondents who are investors, architects, contractors, and sellers of building materials. The analysis of their perceptions of issues related to the term sustainable development and knowledge of selected documents functioning in construction is presented. The share of people who correctly assigned the term sustainable development to equal treatment of environmental protection, economic development, and social development ranged between 52.5% and 65.7%. Knowledge of people associated with construction about the role of the declaration of performance (DoP) of construction products is high (from 73.9% to 99.4% correct answers). For Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), lower knowledge of this document’s role was noted, from 24.1% to 56.5% of correct answers. The obtained results indicate the need for further education.
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Kalberlah, Fritz, Eva Schmincke, Peter Saling, and Quentin de Hults. "Performance indicator for potential health impact analysis within LCA framework and for environmental product declaration (EPD)." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 24, no. 2 (2018): 181–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-018-1513-1.
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Drpić, Aleksandar, Tea Spasojević-Šantić, and Zagorka Radojević. "Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) For Clay Roof Tiles-Case Study: Production Plant of Clay Roof Tiles in Republic of Serbia." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1196, no. 1 (2021): 012031. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/1196/1/012031.
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Abstract Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized way of quantifying the impact of a product or system on the environment. This study evaluates the environmental impact of 1 tone of clay roof tiles, produced in production plant in Serbia, defined and grouped by use of Product Category Rules (PCR). The purpose of this study is to determine: (1) life cycle stages of the product which have the major impact on the environment expressed as environmental impact categories; (2) the processes of clay roof tile production which have the most important effects on the environment also expressed as environmental impact categories. The LCA analysis has been conducted with the One Click LCA software, developed by Bionova Ltd, Finland. All processes have been modelled based on the inventory data given in the Ecoinvent database (v3.6). According to the results in this study and observed from the aspect of the product life cycle, the production process has the major impact on the environment, and from the aspect of the resources used, the major impact on the environment has the consumption of energy and the use of raw materials.
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DE MORAES, PAULO J. U., JIM ALLISON, JOSEPH A. ROBINSON, GIAN LUCA BALDO, FABRIZIO BOERI, and PAOLA BORLA. "LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION (EPD) OF AN IMMUNOLOGICAL PRODUCT FOR BOAR TAINT CONTROL IN MALE PIGS." Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management 15, no. 01 (2013): 1350001. http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/s1464333213500014.
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Recently, a leading manufacturer of veterinary medicines applied the LCA approach to the production and use of an immunological product for male pigs for the reduction of boar taint. The LCA study involved the facilities where the immunological product is manufactured, a sample at global level of farms where it is used and where the standard method of physical castration for boar taint reduction is adopted to define a benchmark and, finally, a sample of abbattoirs where the final product (pork) is produced for human consumption. The analysis was carried out for two doses of immunological product that is necessary to reduce boar taint in the male pig and, additionally, for the unit mass of pig (so called "live-weight), pig carcass and boneless/fatless pork meat (so called "lean meat"). The saving of carbon footprint respect to the physically castrated pig system is 3.7% in terms of kg live-weight. All the other life-cycle impact indicators show a reduction relative to the benchmark system (physical castration) as well. Scope of this paper is to present the results of this LCA study; complete results are also reported in the publicly available Environmental Product Declaration ( http://www.environdec.com )
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Bergman, Richard, and Adam Taylor. "EPD - Environmental Product Declarations for Wood Products—An Application of Life Cycle Information about Forest Products." Forest Products Journal 61, no. 3 (2011): 192–201. http://dx.doi.org/10.13073/0015-7473-61.3.192.
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Stapel, E., B. Tozan, C. Sørensen, and H. Birgisdóttir. "Environmental Product Declarations – an extensive collection of availability, EN15804 revision and the ILCD+EPD format." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1078, no. 1 (2022): 012108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1078/1/012108.
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Abstract The increasing awareness on climate issues in the built environment places a greater responsibility on the different actors to map the building emissions, reduce and optimise the use of materials, and thereby lower the environmental footprint. With several countries enforcing legally binding CO2 limits to assess and benchmark the negative environmental side effects from buildings using the LCA method, it is presumable that practitioners from the industry will look for higher availability of data found from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). As the availability of data more than likely will increase drastically over the years, the study provides an extensive look into the world of digitalised EPDs, and how to use the format to extract a comprehensive number of EPD data. The extraction of data from the ECO Platform leads to a total of 1478 entities, and when adding EPDs from EPD Denmark this study scrutinises 1644 EPDs in total, from 4 EPD Program Operators (EPD-POs). The extraction process highlights the need for transparency and more mutual agreements in the documentation methods. Further, the study scratches the surface of the revised European EPD Standard EN15804, and what the changes and the transition will mean for the applicability and transparency in the building sector and for LCA models when the majority of emissions from GWP will increase.
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Strazza, Carlo, Adriana Del Borghi, Gian Andrea Blengini, and Michela Gallo. "Definition of the methodology for a Sector EPD (Environmental Product Declaration): case study of the average Italian cement." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 15, no. 6 (2010): 540–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-010-0198-x.
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Lorenz, Emily. "How to read an EPD: basics for the structural engineer." Structural Engineer 99, no. 11 (2021): 15–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.56330/witv9649.
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Morsali, Saeed, Kambiz Rakhshanbabanari, Mohamed Osmani, et al. "Life Cycle Assessment of Plasterboard Production: A UK Case Study." Sustainability 16, no. 9 (2024): 3564. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16093564.
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Plasterboard, which serves as a nonstructural building material, is widely employed for lightweight wall construction and surface finishing in walls and ceilings. Amid mounting concerns regarding product sustainability and the adoption of Net Zero strategies, evaluating the environmental performance of materials has become crucial. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive life cycle assessment (LCA) for wall gypsum plasterboard, aiming to pinpoint areas for potential environmental improvement. The LCA methodology, adhering to established guidelines and considering midpoint impact categories, was employed to quantify environmental impacts across various stages of the plasterboard life cycle—encompassing raw material extraction, plasterboard manufacturing, transportation during all stages, and end-of-life treatment of plasterboard waste. Primary data were sourced directly from a plasterboard manufacturer and recycler and supplemented with secondary data obtained from the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and the Ecoinvent 3.9 database. Among the identified impact categories, the human carcinogenic toxicity category emerged as the most affected category, primarily due to the raw material supply stage, followed by freshwater ecotoxicity, which was impacted due to the material supply stage.
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Schroeder, Horst, and Manfred Lemke. "Sustainability of earth building materials - Environmental product declarations as an instrument of competition in building material industry." VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability, no. 1 (December 29, 2015): 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/vitruvio-ijats.2015.4474.
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<p>The evaluation of the building process in terms of their environmental impact in all life cycle phases of a building leads to the key principle of sustainable building: the analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building. The goal of this analysis is to reduce waste and keep the environmental impact as low as possible by “closing” the cycle. During an inventory, the entire life cycle is assessed. This includes the sourcing and extracting of the raw material, the use of the raw material to produce building products, elements and structures, the use in finished buildings including emission of pollutants, decay and maintenance, and, finally, the demolition of the building and the recycling of the demolition materials. Transportation between the individual phases as well as production-related material and energy flows are also included in this evaluation.</p><p>Several European and national norms and regulations define core rules and a special instrument for the evaluation of the sustainable quality of a building product based on a quantitative analysis of the life cycle of the materials used in a building: the Environmental Product Declaration EPD. These documents are voluntary standards, commitments or guarantees for building products. They are provided by producers, organizations and quality assurance associations in order to establish the “environmental performance” of buildings in the form of a certificate. Such declarations must fully include all phases of the life cycle of a product by describing the environmental impact during production and use as well as possible health hazards for the users.</p><p>Until now, EPDs for earth building products do not exist. This paper will give current information about a project for developing EPDs for earth mortars and earth blocks started by the German Dachverband Lehm e.V. (DVL).</p>
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Nadirah, A. I. Yanuar, E. S. Hasrito, et al. "Comparison study of environmental product declarations to develop passenger train in Indonesia." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1108, no. 1 (2022): 012028. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1108/1/012028.
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Abstract Passenger train products labelled as environmentally friendly now tend to be a requirement in world trade. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a method for quantifying environmental performance using the Product Category Rules (PCR) document as a guideline referring to the ISO 14027 standard. This study aimed to determine the methodological requirements for the PCR draft for the Indonesian Rail-Vehicle Industry by comparing and analysing the Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) of three different rail vehicles. They were train A (from Europe) and train B and C (from non-Europe), which already had the type III ecolabel predicates, and published an EPD report referring to the PCR 2009:05 - Rolling Stock document. The result showed that each type of train had different energy consumption and environmental performance characteristics. It depends on the energy source, the weight of the material, passenger loading, and the train design speed. Train A has a carbon emission value of 0.763 grams, while trains B and C are 8.19 grams and 12.8 grams per passenger-km, respectively. The analysis of the carbon emissions in those three trains will be used as input to develop the Indonesian version of the Rail Vehicle PCR document.
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Pichette, Gabrielle, Pierre Blanchet, Gatien Geraud Essoua Essoua, and Charles Breton. "Environmental product declaration (EPD) usage in early building design stages: Review of effects on the environmental life cycle of a multi-residential building." BioResources 18, no. 4 (2023): 8134–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.15376/biores.18.4.8134-8150.
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The building sector has seen recent growth in the number of published environmental product declarations (EPDs). EPDs share environmental data of construction materials, which can help building practitioners prioritize products with lower environmental impacts. However, EPDs rely on varying assumptions within their life cycle assessment (LCA). This study aimed to evaluate the use of EPDs as a data source instead of a generic data source and its effect on the life cycle impacts of a multi-residential building. This study focused on 19 North American EPDs of structural wood products. The impact assessment results found in the EPDs were compared to the Ecoinvent V3.8 database. The findings of the present study suggest that EPDs can generally be used without distinction compared to the data in the Ecoinvent V3.8 database. However, a few data were found to be outliers. In addition, EPDs of structural wood products only disclosed its manufacturing stage. Other life cycle stages, such as transport of the construction product, can have a significant impact on the building’s LCA. Therefore, using EPDs to assess building impacts is recommended over their direct comparison for practitioners to make more comprehensive decisions towards embodied impacts of buildings.
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Brockmann, T. "Mission accomplished? – 6 Years of InData - International open Database Network Structure for Sustainable Construction." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1078, no. 1 (2022): 012106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/1078/1/012106.
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Abstract InData (International open data network for sustainable construction) started in 2015 as a voluntary initiative with the goal to establish an International open Database Network Structure for construction products based on EPD (environmental product declaration) information. In 2022 InData can proof its results by its release of the InData network with international participating databases. A key precondition was offering and giving support for producing machine readable EPD/LCA (life cycle assessment) data in a harmonized data format. All participants of the InData Network have comitted to the format, including compliance rules. Beyond that, the works of InData have international significant relevance, as InData could implement its works in Standardization. And also, further key stakeholders have adopted the concept of an open database network structure. In this paper, the goals, results, and their relevance, as possible future key issues are presented.
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Surono, Surono. "Development Of Competency Standard For Creating Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) To Enhance Brand Reputation." Journal Transnational Universal Studies 2, no. 7 (2024): 335–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.58631/jtus.v2i7.102.
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The development of competency standards for creating Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) is crucial for enhancing brand reputation by ensuring accurate, reliable, and internationally compliant environmental reporting. This study aims to systematically develop and validate these standards to support sustainable business practices, employing a qualitative approach using the Gall and Borg model and the Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS) framework. The research clarifies development requirements, confirms systems and regulations, identifies potential issues, explores relevant data, and formulates and validates competency units. The results highlight a comprehensive process that emphasizes the application of sustainability principles, appropriate use of technology, and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure transparency and accuracy in environmental impact reporting. Additionally, the study developed a model illustrating the alignment of competency standards with industry SOPs, curriculum, and modules, effectively structuring competency development. The study concludes that companies implementing these standards can produce better and more transparent EPDs, critical for building consumer trust and loyalty. By aligning industry needs with educational outcomes, the standards bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability and significantly enhancing brand reputation.
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Dolci, Giovanni, Lucia Rigamonti, and Mario Grosso. "Life cycle assessment of the food waste management with a focus on the collection bag." Waste Management & Research: The Journal for a Sustainable Circular Economy 39, no. 10 (2021): 1317–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734242x211050181.
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The organic fraction (mainly food waste) is typically the most abundant of the separately collected waste streams. The research aims at investigating the influence of different types of collection bag on the environmental performances of the food waste management chain in Italy. A comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) between two alternative systems based on paper or bioplastic collection bags was carried out. It included the collection bags manufacturing and distribution, their use at the household, the transportation of collected food waste and its subsequent anaerobic digestion, including the valorisation of useful outputs and the management of residues. The two systems were modelled mainly with primary data related to the current management system and to tests performed on bags. The LCA was performed with two different modelling approaches applied in the environmental product declaration (EPD) system and in the product environmental footprint (PEF) studies, respectively. In the scenario representing the average conditions, higher environmental impacts are shown by the use of bioplastic bags compared to paper ones with the EPD approach (+257%/+576%). With the PEF approach, the differences between the two systems are lower (−55%/+133%). Moreover, paper bags could allow for further impact reductions assuming a decrease of the food waste collection frequency, allowed by higher weight losses and a lower generation of leachate and odour during the household storage.
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Kokulu, Nil, Seden Acun Özgünler, Fethiye Ecem Edis, and Saniye Karaman Öztaş. "An LCIA-based model proposal for the selection of building interior finishing materials." Heritage and Sustainable Development 6, no. 1 (2024): 379–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.37868/hsd.v6i1.425.
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The increasing environmental impacts of buildings highlight conscious material selection as a pivotal aspect of sustainable building design. Most current life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) models on material selection focus on the main construction or insulation materials while often neglecting the environmental effects of finishing materials. Hence, this study seeks to present an LCIA-based model for selecting finishing materials based on their environmental impacts. Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) as a data source for the mandatory steps of LCIA is recommended for the model since it provides fast, reliable, and equivalent data on the environmental impacts of the materials. The model is validated by assessing three wall finishing materials in hotel bedrooms- gypsum board, paint, and wood panel. Findings revealed that the model has the potential to mitigate the environmental effects by guiding decisions made during the finishing material selection phase.
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Kaddoura, Mohamad, Johan Tivander, and Sverker Molander. "Life Cycle Assessment of Electricity Generation from an Array of Subsea Tidal Kite Prototypes." Energies 13, no. 2 (2020): 456. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en13020456.
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Tidal current technologies have the potential to provide highly predictable energy, since tides are driven by lunar cycles. However, before implementing such technologies on a large scale, their environmental performance should be assessed. In this study, a prospective life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed on a 12 MW tidal energy converter array of Minesto Deep Green 500 (DG500) prototypes, closely following the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) standards, but including scenarios to cover various design possibilities. The global warming potential (GWP) of the prototype array was in the range of 18.4–26.3 gCO2-eq/kWhe. This is comparable with other renewable energy systems, such as wind power. Material production processes have the largest impact, but are largely offset by recycling at the end of life. Operation and maintenance processes, including the production of replacement parts, also provide major contributions to environmental impacts. Comparisons with other technologies are limited by the lack of a standardized way of performing LCA on offshore power generation technologies.
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Librelotto, Lisiane Ilha, Marija Kekez, and Helena Maria Galha Bártolo. "THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF AN ETICS LAYER: A CASE OF STUDY WITH LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA) FROM ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION (EPD) IN PORTUGAL." MIX Sustentável 6, no. 2 (2020): 139–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.29183/2447-3073.mix2020.v6.n2.139-148.
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Rasmussen, Freja Nygaard, Camilla Ernst Andersen, Alexandra Wittchen, Rasmus Nøddegaard Hansen, and Harpa Birgisdóttir. "Environmental Product Declarations of Structural Wood: A Review of Impacts and Potential Pitfalls for Practice." Buildings 11, no. 8 (2021): 362. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings11080362.
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The use of wood and timber products in the construction of buildings is repeatedly pointed towards as a mean for lowering the environmental footprint. With several countries preparing regulation for life cycle assessment of buildings, practitioners from industry will presumably look to the pool of data on wood products found in environmental product declarations (EPDs). However, the EPDs may vary broadly in terms of reporting and results. This study provides a comprehensive review of 81 third-party verified EN 15804 EPDs of cross laminated timber (CLT), glulam, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and timber. The 81 EPDs represent 86 different products and 152 different product scenarios. The EPDs mainly represent European production, but also North America and Australia/New Zealand productions are represented. Reported global warming potential (GWP) from the EPDs vary within each of the investigated product categories, due to density of the products and the end-of-life scenarios applied. Median results per kg of product, excluding the biogenic CO2, are found at 0.26, 0.24, and 0.17 kg CO2e for CLT, glulam, and timber, respectively. Results further showed that the correlation between GWP and other impact categories is limited. Analysis of the inherent data uncertainty showed to add up to ±41% to reported impacts when assessed with an uncertainty method from the literature. However, in some of the average EPDs, even larger uncertainties of up to 90% for GWP are reported. Life cycle assessment practitioners can use the median values from this study as generic data in their assessments of buildings. To make the EPDs easier to use for practitioners, a more detailed coordination between EPD programs and their product category rules is recommended, as well as digitalization of EPD data.
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Asdrubali, Francesco, Gianluca Grazieschi, and Dante Maria Gandola. "The Role of Environmental Product Declarations in the Decarbonization of Building Materials and Components." Energies 18, no. 5 (2025): 1308. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18051308.
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As energy efficiency measures have reduced the operational carbon footprint of buildings, the significance of embodied carbon has increased. Efforts by all construction players, including material and component manufacturers, are needed to avoid burdens shifting towards embodied impacts. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) can represent useful instruments to push the decarbonization of construction materials. This study examines EPDs to assess the embodied GWP of insulation materials, bricks, concrete, cement, steel, and natural stones. The variance structure of the GWP was studied for each material, the main variation parameters were detected, and statistically significant categories were identified. For each category reference values were calculated (i.e., mean or median values, lower and upper interquartile ranges, and box plot whiskers) which can be useful for manufacturers to reduce the impact of their products, for EPD verifiers to detect outliers, and for designers to determine safety coefficients for using EPD data in the early design stage. Consolidated results were achieved for materials produced through standardized processes whose GWP variability was mainly structured around universal physical properties or production techniques. More localized or artisanal products demonstrate higher decarbonization potential but require further segmentation and additional GWP data to establish more robust reduction benchmarks.
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Iqbal, Muhammad Noer, Safitri Puji Lestari, Michael Yosafaat, Keke Afrila Mardianta, Iva Yenis Septiariva, and I. Wayan Koko Suryawan. "Life Cycle Assessment Approach to Evaluation of Environmental Impact Batik Industry." Jurnal Teknik Kimia dan Lingkungan 5, no. 2 (2021): 194. http://dx.doi.org/10.33795/jtkl.v5i2.226.
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Industri batik merupakan salah satu bisnis tekstil yang paling berkembang di Indonesia. Hasil samping dari proses membatik adalah berbagai bentuk limbah, seperti limbah padat dan limbah cair. Pencemaran terutama bersumber dari limbah cair yang berupa zat warna yang dihasilkan sisa bahan pewarna, proses pencucian dan pembilasan kain batik. Pada umumnya limbah industri batik terdiri dari dari sisa mori, ceceran lilin, sisa air pewarnaan, sisa lilin dan air pelorodan. Salah satu cara untuk mengurangi dampak lingkungan dari proses pembuatan batik adalah dengan menggunakan analisis life cycle assessment (LCA). Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis dampak lingkungan dari proses pembuatan batik dan input bahan baku yang memiliki dampak lingkungan paling signifikan. Analisis dampak lingkungan dilakukan dengan menginventarisasi input dan output berdasarkan database ecoinvent 3 menggunakan software Simapro 9.1.1. Metode analisis dampak lingkungan dilakukan dengan environmental product declaration (EPD) 2018. Hasil analisis gate-to-gate menunjukkan bahwa dampak lingkungan tertinggi adalah pemanasan global. Sedangkan dari sisi penggunaan bahan baku dan energi, parafin perlu diminimalisir. Penggunaan parafin menyumbang 68,705% dari total dampak lingkungan dari proses pembuatan batik.The batik industry is one of the most developed textile businesses in Indonesia. The by-products of the batik-making process are various forms of waste, such as solid waste and wastewater. Pollution mainly comes from liquid waste in the form of dyes produced by residual dyes, washing and rinsing processes for batik cloth. In general, batik industry waste consists of residual mori, spilled wax, residual staining water, wax residue and pelorodan water. This liquid waste is generated due to the use of synthetic dyes in the batik industry. One way to reduce the environmental impact of the batik-making process is by using a life cycle assessment (LCA) analysis. This study aims to analyze the environmental effects of the batik-making process and the raw material input, which has the most significant environmental impact. Environmental impact assessment is carried out by inventorying inputs and outputs based on the ecoinvent 3 databases with Simapro 9.1.1 software. The environmental impact analysis method is carried out with the 2018 environmental product declaration (EPD). The results of the gate-to-gate analysis show that the highest environmental impact is global warming. Meanwhile, from the use of raw materials and energy, paraffin needs to be minimized. The use of paraffin accounts for 68.705% of the total environmental impact of the batik-making process.
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Piras, Giuseppe, and Adriana Scarlet Sferra. "Environmental Product Declarations as a Data Source for the Assessment of Environmental Impacts during the Use Phase of Photovoltaic Modules: Critical Issues and Potential." Energies 17, no. 2 (2024): 482. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/en17020482.
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In the context of policies promoting renewable energies for decarbonization, energy transition and the development of energy communities, photovoltaic systems require special attention. Even for these systems, it is legitimate to inquire about the correlation, currently carried out through life cycle analysis, between benefits and environmental impacts. To maintain long-term productivity levels and ensure the proper functioning of the system, maintenance interventions are necessary. While these interventions guarantee performance, they also have repercussions for the environment. This study aims to assess the environmental impacts caused by ordinary and extraordinary maintenance interventions, taking into account specific factors, during the 30-year operational phase. To evaluate these impacts, this study verifies the feasibility of using data from Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) and the Product Category Rules (PCR) as reference. The initial results highlight, on the one hand, among the main issues, the importance that all EPDs attribute to the impacts caused by water consumption during the use phase of the PV modules, and on the other hand, some critical issues mainly due to the lack of data relating to the installation site necessary for the correct planning of maintenance activities. Finally, the study presents some reflections for a potential recalibration of the PCR and their associated EPDs.
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Palumbo, Elisabetta, Bernardette Soust-Verdaguer, Carmen Llatas, and Marzia Traverso. "How to Obtain Accurate Environmental Impacts at Early Design Stages in BIM When Using Environmental Product Declaration. A Method to Support Decision-Making." Sustainability 12, no. 17 (2020): 6927. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12176927.
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The construction sector plays an important role in moving towards a low-carbon economy. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered one of the most effective methods of analytically evaluating environmental profiles and an efficient tool for calculating the environmental impacts in building design-oriented methodologies, such as building information modelling (BIM). At early design stages, generic LCA databases are used to conduct the life cycle inventory (LCI), while detailed stages require more detailed data, such as environmental product declarations (EPDs), namely documents that provide accurate results and precise analyses based on LCA. Limitations are recognized when using EPDs in BIM elements at different levels of development (LOD) in the design stages, especially related to the data consistency and system boundaries of the LCA. This paper presents a method of achieving accurate LCA results, that helps with decision-making and provides support in the selection of building products and materials. The method is validated by its application in the structural concrete of an office building located in Germany. The method defines a safety factor adopted for embodied impacts (“cradle-to-gate”), based on EPD results to predict the environmental impact of BIM elements at different LODs. The results obtained show that by integrating the method to conduct the LCA, the range of errors and possible inconsistencies in the LCA results can be reduced.
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Walther, Hartmut B. "Calculation of EPD for individual AAC product classes." ce/papers 6, no. 2 (2023): 218–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cepa.2087.
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AbstractIn fact, climate change is increasing the relevance of Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Currently, product‐specific EPDs are coming into vogue instead of average‐based EPDs. Individual EPDs for distinct products can be beneficial, but the data preparation upfront is crucial to avoid greenwashing through the use of false data. Adjustments to the standards for calculating EPDs are currently under development.The starting point for the calculation of EPD according to EN 15804+A2 is always the annual production and associated consumption of raw materials and energy. The raw material input per product is calculated from recipe data and the respective production quantities as a first step. This shall be done for all products of a plant. Now, the summarized consumptions have to be related with the purchased raw material quantities, correction factors have to be calculated and applied to specify the actual input per product. The use of correction factors is mandatory to avoid inaccuracy and underestimation of actual consumption. Hence, the calculation of one product‐specific EPD requires product‐specific source data preparation for all products.In AAC production, the correction of the consumed raw materials is particularly important concerning internal recycling. For example, the actual consumption of aluminum is of specific interest. While ground sand within the recycled sludge is unchanged and binders still react in the autoclave, the aluminum is no longer reactive. This can lead to additional aluminum consumption that deviates by one‐third and more from the recipe values.In the presentation, a comprehensive approach to the calculation of correction factors for different AAC product classes will be introduced. The final calculations for the EPD are not based on recipe data alone but are corrected using procurement data. Thus, the total consumption of a plant can be adequately allocated to all products in the production program.
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Terjek, Anita, and Annamária Dudás. "Sustainability and Environmental Awareness in the Ceramic Industry." European Journal of Engineering Research and Science 5, no. 8 (2020): 970–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.24018/ejers.2020.5.8.2027.
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The choice of building materials is primarily based on technical, economic and aesthetic aspects, but environment impact cannot be ignored. The objective of this research was to assess the factors in the product development aiming to improve slipperiness of ceramic tile. Firing time and temperature representing 8 manufacturing scenarios were examined taking into account the change in glazing. Laboratory slip resistance and surface roughness tests were conducted. While optimizing surface properties, environmental performance of ceramic tile was investigated with the analysis of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) focusing on manufacturing and maintenance of its life cycle. This methodology supports manufacturers to follow sustainability and to optimize design decisions. Referring to the Life Cycle Assessment of a building, the effect of a complex correlation system reveals a combination of technical, economic and environmental assessment.
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Terjek, Anita, and Annamária Dudás. "Sustainability and Environmental Awareness in the Ceramic Industry." European Journal of Engineering and Technology Research 5, no. 8 (2020): 970–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.24018/ejeng.2020.5.8.2027.
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The choice of building materials is primarily based on technical, economic and aesthetic aspects, but environment impact cannot be ignored. The objective of this research was to assess the factors in the product development aiming to improve slipperiness of ceramic tile. Firing time and temperature representing 8 manufacturing scenarios were examined taking into account the change in glazing. Laboratory slip resistance and surface roughness tests were conducted. While optimizing surface properties, environmental performance of ceramic tile was investigated with the analysis of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) focusing on manufacturing and maintenance of its life cycle. This methodology supports manufacturers to follow sustainability and to optimize design decisions. Referring to the Life Cycle Assessment of a building, the effect of a complex correlation system reveals a combination of technical, economic and environmental assessment.
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Denac, Matjaž, and Tinkara Ošlovnik. "Method Review for Assessing Damage to Human Health in LCA: Implementation in the Production of Selected Food Products." Sustainability 17, no. 11 (2025): 4825. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17114825.
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Agriculture and food production can cause a variety of adverse environmental impacts. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the only standardised method so far that provides a comprehensive assessment of the environmental burden of products. LCA results can be expressed as environmental impacts (midpoint level) or environmental damage (endpoint level). Communication on environmental impact is mostly carried out as a part of the Carbon Footprint (CF) or Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), while reporting on environmental damage is rarely used. Due to the growing interest of consumers in ‘healthy’ food, it is important that food producers address the environmental damage. Therefore, an overview of existing Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) methods that provide insight into endpoint indicators describing damage to human health has been performed and presented in this paper. The application of the selected LCIA methods is demonstrated for the case of food products, highlighting the fact that the results obtained by different LCIA methods are not directly comparable due to a variety of methodological limitations, such as the existence of different environmental indicators and their structure. Finally, the usage of the LCA method for designing food products is presented, with the aim of enabling consumers to choose diets with lower environment and human health impacts.
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Carangi, Maria Cecilia, Cristina Corti, Laura Rampazzi, and Cristina Tedeschi. "Characterization of ready-mixed plasters for the conservation of architectural heritage." MATEC Web of Conferences 403 (2024): 07006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202440307006.
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Nowadays, the use of ready-mixed mortars is widespread in the choice of materials for the conservation of architectural heritage. These are dry mixtures, which contain binders, aggregates and additives and which require only the addition and mixing with water. Their use makes it possible to avoid errors in the ratios of the components, limits waste and guarantee a constant product quality. On the other hand, there are no standards that require the declaration of all the components in the mixture, which makes difficult to select the most appropriate materials to use on historical substrates. Indeed, the presence of certain additives could alter other properties of the mortars or increase the probability of developing forms of degradation. In addition, the mixtures on the market are frequently labelled as environmentally, human and animal health friendly; but the actual sustainability of these mixtures is difficult to ascertain, because there are still few companies that study the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and publish the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) of their products. In order to deepen the knowledge of this class of materials, this study proposes the characterization of five ready-mixed plasters, all labelled green by the companies. Analyses (X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis) have been carried out firstly to assess the compatibility of the mixtures with historical materials, to compare the results obtained with what is stated by the companies in the product data sheets, and to assess whether, through routine laboratory analyses, it is possible to certify the sustainability of these materials.
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Del Rosario, Pamela, Elisabetta Palumbo, and Marzia Traverso. "Environmental Product Declarations as Data Source for the Environmental Assessment of Buildings in the Context of Level(s) and DGNB: How Feasible Is Their Adoption?" Sustainability 13, no. 11 (2021): 6143. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13116143.
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This study aims to examine the feasibility of using environmental product declarations (EPDs) as a data source for life-cycle assessment (LCA) in two sustainable building assessment schemes–the pilot version of the European framework Level(s) and the German system DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen). An EPD is a standardized and third-party certified label to communicate product-specific environmental data based on LCA. Some green building rating systems consider it a robust LCA data source and encourage its use over generic data. This work evaluates the environmental profile of the envelope of an office building in the context of level(s) and DGNB adopting EPD as a data source. The results indicate that the EPDs did not cover the mandatory scope of the schemes. Furthermore, there was a lack of EPDs appropriate to the geographical context of the case study, leading to the adoption of EPDs of products from places other than the building site and an overestimation of the environmental impacts of transportation. Moreover, the need for EPDs considering suitable and comprehensive scenarios as well as life-cycle stages beyond the product stage is highlighted. This gap, in fact, hinders the performance of a complete LCA within the analyzed building assessment schemes when relying solely on EPDs as a data source. With this paper, we wish to encourage the further development of EPDs related to the integration of more life-cycle modules and more comprehensive scenarios, considering the direction of the latest amendment of the ISO 15804 for EPDs of construction products.
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Arguedas Garro, C., B. Serrano Lanzarote, and M. Navarro Escudero. "CO<sub>2</sub> EMISSIONS IN OWN MATERIALS FROM VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE." ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLIV-M-1-2020 (July 24, 2020): 195–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xliv-m-1-2020-195-2020.
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Abstract. The development of materials in the construction industry has a direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions - GHG, throughout the entire construction process from production, use and reuse. Being able to evaluate the energy embedded in the entire process is essential to establish criteria that allow the corresponding emissions to be calculated. The environmental impact of the building can be reversed through the appropriate use of materials referenced in the vernacular architecture if aspects of the life cycle characterized by standardized and regulated data on CO2 (Carbon dioxide) emissions are considered. This research has analyzed existing information on CO2 emissions of natural or traditional materials based on standardized data contained in 266 EPD (Environmental Product Declaration). It is important to generate this type of information so that it can be implemented in official construction databases. Specifically, 815 materials have been analyzed, based on their environmental impact, and a comparison of data – emission values, according to vernacular and non-vernacular materials – has also been developed, identifying on the importance of the use of traditional materials in vernacular architecture.
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Ugural, Mehmet Nurettin, Merve Ruya Ozyilmaz, and Halil Ibrahim Burgan. "Life Cycle Assessment Analysis Based on Material Selection in Sustainable Airport Buildings." Buildings 14, no. 9 (2024): 2728. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings14092728.
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Sustainable airport buildings aim to minimize environmental impacts through energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste management. This is achieved by employing green building materials and utilizing renewable energy sources to reduce their carbon footprint. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to assess the environmental impacts of three main construction materials—concrete, steel, and wood—used in sustainable airport buildings. These materials were selected for their widespread use in eight different airport terminal buildings with sustainability certifications. The environmental impacts of these materials were calculated and compared using OpenLCA 1.9.0 software and the ECOinvent database, adhering to the standards set forth by the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) initiative. The findings indicate that wood, as a construction material, has a significantly lower impact on global warming compared to steel and concrete, with a global warming potential (GWP) ratio of less than 60%. Steel, with a GWP of approximately 90% of that of concrete, also showed a lower impact than concrete. Additionally, other environmental impacts, such as stratospheric ozone depletion potential (ODP) and acidification potential (AP), were also examined, highlighting the trade-offs associated with each material.
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Chiola, Davide, Vincenzo Cirimele, and Cristina Tozzo. "An Index for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Pavement Maintenance Operations on the Motorway Network: The Environmental Asphalt Rating." Construction Materials 3, no. 1 (2023): 62–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/constrmater3010005.
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In recent years, attention on pavement management is increasing and the research is focused on the development of innovative protocols and comparative evaluation of maintenance alternatives. Among these, the concept of sustainability related to the management of pavements is gaining ground and, more generally, infrastructure and the quantification of environmental impact as a combination of emissions and energy consumption. To properly estimate the environmental impact of different pavement interventions, a calculation methodology is presented in this paper that can summarize all the different aspects of environmental impact for both the production and paving phases of asphalt mixtures. The innovative approach takes into account also the need to evaluate new methodologies and new production processes in order to compare these new technologies with already used materials and processes. The result of this paper is a dimensionless index based on Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification which has been named Environmental Asphalt Rating (EAR) with weighting factors and performance coefficients fine-tuned on the European scenario. The EAR computation wants to be a certified procedure ensuring the repeatability and the quality of the environmental evaluation but also able to include in the evaluation noise and mechanical characteristics of the pavement. Several applications are expected such as the design stage of maintenance operations, and awarding criteria in tenders of monitoring phases of the pavement maintenance interventions.
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Lüdemann, Lynn, Jens Sumpf, Markus Golder, and Marcus Bona. "Research in Sustainability of Chain Conveyor Systems." innoTRAC Journal 1 (December 3, 2020): 83–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.14464/innotrac.v1i0.451.
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Climate Change is a crucial challenge of today. The main reason is increased man-made emissions of climate gases, like CO2, into the atmosphere. In every part of our life, these emissions have to be reduced. Transport of goods, called intra- or extralogistics, is necessary for economic welfare. Intralogistics means the transport of goods in distribution centres or manufacturing spaces, e. g. between machines. For continuous transport processes chain conveyor systems (CCS) are state of the art. The research group “Plastic Components and Tribology” at professorship of Conveying Engineering and Materials Handling focus on impacts of their whole life cycle, from design over use until end-of-life, on the environment. Another focus is the development of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for chain conveyor systems. They are useful to promote environmentally-friendly products and to push eco-design activities. But also, activities of circular economy such as recycling of the plastic parts from conveyor chains are examined. The article gives an overview of the goals achieved and the challenges ahead. Some of the achieved results will be presented.
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Srdić, Aleksander, and Jana Šelih. "INTEGRATED QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT IN CONSTRUCTION: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL." Technological and Economic Development of Economy 17, no. 4 (2012): 611–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2011.603177.
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In today’s world, the definition of quality has been extended to more comprehensive level, which also comprises sustainable performance. The paper systematically builds an integrated model that includes quality as well as sustainable performance of the built environment and accompanying construction processes. This model for the “Integrated Quality and Sustainability Performance Assessment in Construction” presents a three-level arrangement, namely: the structure, process/ project, and construction product. We propose a holistic sustainability assessment methodology based on the authors’ previous research work for structures. The strict implementation of quality and environmental management systems in the participating organisations and in the whole construction project guarantees quality and environmental performance at project/process level. On the construction product level, we complement the existing requirement of providing a statement of conformity for each product of the structure with the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for all construction products. We use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to obtain the EPDs for specific construction products; in this way, we can evaluate their environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a product or structure. On the structure level, a model for the integrated sustainability and quality assessment, which was previously proposed by the authors, is employed. Integration of all three levels ensures that the desired plateau of quality and sustainability performance is achieved for structures, processes and products. In the present version, the model is tailored to the specific features of buildings, and the sustainability aspect is limited to the environmental performance. An investigation of measures required to implement the proposed model into practice shows that clients have a major influence upon the procurement rules. Consequently, the targeted audience of potential users is that of clients procuring buildings.
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Orondo, Jorge, and César Bedoya. "Sustainability Assessment Tool for Façade Cladding." Advanced Materials Research 356-360 (October 2011): 717–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.356-360.717.
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This paper introduces a sustainability assessment tool for façade cladding. This tool bases its evaluation on the economic and environmental properties of the materials. Normally, in the project process and later construction it will be difficult to assume the price and time of doing a life-cycle assessment (LCA) for each material and building system. Because of this, and until the environmental product declarations (EPD) are more used, this tool will give quick and easily enough arguments to select, according to its sustainability, the ideal façade cladding.
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Anderson, Jane, and Alice Moncaster. "Using an analysis of concrete and cement EPD: verification, selection, assessment, benchmarking and target setting." Acta Polytechnica CTU Proceedings 33 (March 3, 2022): 20–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.14311/app.2022.33.0020.
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The carbon embodied in buildings is an important proportion of our emissions and needs to be radically reduced in order to support climate change mitigation. The highest proportion of embodied carbon is usually emitted during the product stage, and within the structural elements. Therefore, reducing the carbon embodied in the structural materials is likely to have a major impact. In most buildings, the majority of embodied carbon comes from steel and concrete. But although there are now hundreds of registered Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) for cements and concretes, there has been very limited independent published information comparing the embodied carbon of different concrete mixes and raw materials. This lack of comparative data limits the potential to make appropriate decisions at early design stages leading to low carbon buildings. The authors have recently conducted a review of verified EPD for concrete mixes and for concrete’s key constituents, including cement, identifying the range of carbon coefficients. This paper provides guidance on making use of the coefficient ranges provided in that research: to support the verification of EPD for concrete and its raw materials; in material selection; in assessing building level embodied carbon; in benchmarking; and in the setting of reduction targets.
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Bibbiani, Carlo, Fabio Fantozzi, Caterina Gargari, Carlo Alberto Campiotti, and Patrizia De Rossi. "Life Cycle Assessment for "green" buildings." RIVISTA DI STUDI SULLA SOSTENIBILITA', no. 2 (January 2020): 195–211. http://dx.doi.org/10.3280/riss2019-002-s1013.
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In recent years, the interest in "green" solutions and in particular towards the use of green roofs and walls in an urban environment, not only for the reduction of the heat flow through the roofing due to the absorption of solar radiation and to its thermal inertia, but also for the mitigation of the heat island effect linked to the evapo-transpiration processes of plants. The benefits concerning comfort, and consequently the reduction of energy and economic costs, linked to the lower energy consumption for air conditioning under these green coverings, and the improvement of the quality of living in urban areas with a wider availability of green areas, which are often usable, are undeniable aspects of a "green" design and are widely investigated and documented. Only recently, however, research has started to address the issue of green design in terms of impacts in the life cycle, calculated according to the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. In this research two equivalent coverings are compared in terms of summer thermal performance in the Mediterranean area: an extensive green roof and a ‘high-permeation' tiles roof covering, compiling the environmental performance of the life cycle with the phases of production, use and end of life, based on Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) compliant to the EN15804 standard.
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Kutnar, Andreja, and Callum AS Hill. "Life Cycle Assessment – Opportunities for Forest Products Sector." Bioproducts Business 2, no. 6 (2017): 52–64. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1157119.
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The utilization of wood in long life products, such as construction materials in the built environment, is an e ective way to optimize the use of natural resources while also reducing negative environmental impacts. However, the environmental bene ts of timber, especially in the construction sector, are not always clearly understood. As a renewable material, timber is available in perpetuity if it is obtained from sustainably managed forests. Using timber in the built environment stores sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide in long-life products and timber can be incinerated at the end of its life (or its multiple lives) with energy recovery, thereby minimizing demolition waste. The built environment e ectively acts as an extension of the forest. The question is: how should the environmental bene ts of timber use be measured and presented? To answer that question, this paper o ers an overview of the life cycle assessment (LCA) methods the forest products sector could broadly apply to evaluate and report the sustainability performance of wood. In addition to environmental LCA, the paper also incorporates an overview of organizational LCA (O-LCA), and social LCA (S-LCA). Furthermore, this paper discusses environmental product declarations (EPDs) and construction standards aiming to enable better comparability of the environmental performance of products. This review paper concludes with a discussion of where the opportunities for the forest products sector lie and the need for joint actions within the sector. The importance of including the storage of sequestered atmospheric carbon dioxide into the standards assessing the environmental impact is emphasized.
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Welling, Sebastian, and Sven-Olof Ryding. "Distribution of environmental performance in life cycle assessments—implications for environmental benchmarking." International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment 26, no. 2 (2021): 275–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01852-3.
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Abstract Purpose Life cycle assessment (LCA) is considered a robust method to analyse the environmental impacts of products and is used in public and private market applications such as Green Public Procurement (GPP) and Environmental Management Systems (EMS). Despite the usefulness of the methodology, difficulties exist with the interpretation of LCA results. The use of benchmarks can facilitate this process, but there is yet little research on the definition of environmental benchmarks. The aim of this paper is to analyse the distribution of environmental performance used for the definition of the benchmark and how it effects the use in selected product categories. Method LCA results from 54 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for insulation materials and 49 EPDs for bakery products are tested for their distribution. The outcome from the statistical analysis is used to compare and evaluate three calculation methods for a benchmark. Results and discussion The results of the study show that distributions and mid- and end-points of environmental performances of the studied indicators differ significantly for the two product categories. While some indicators for bakery products were closer to a normal distribution, most of the indicators are not normally distributed. This is reflected in the comparison of the chosen calculation methods for a benchmark, which showed that the distribution of the data affects the classification of the benchmark as well as the position of values on the benchmark. Conclusion The results emphasise that analysis of further product groups and the associated distribution of the environmental performance is needed to understand the implications of calculation methods on a benchmark. The availability of comparatively large datasets in a common structure is crucial for these analyses and can be facilitated through the digitalisation of LCA- and EPD-information. Furthermore, more research is needed on the communication formats for different benchmarking options, which must be applied for the different intended audiences to be effective.
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Di Ruocco, Giacomo. "Renovation Wave in Europe: Low-Carbon Design for the Refurbishment of Social Housing in Southern Italy." Buildings 14, no. 6 (2024): 1535. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/buildings14061535.
Full textAbstract:
The public housing stock, called social housing, in Italy was developed between the 1950s and the 1980s. As of today, the first residential developments are almost nearing their end-of-life age and are in need of urgent and intensive renovation. The European Commission, with the Renovation Wave, has set a goal of doubling the rate of building renovation over the next 10 years, reducing emissions, improving energy performance, and promoting decarburization. Renovation interventions, including structural, functional, energy, and plant upgrading interventions, etc., are to be preferred over integral demolition and reconstruction interventions, which have significant repercussions in terms of managerial and social discomfort. The case studies examined concern renovation interventions aimed at energy efficiency, functional adaptation of housing, as well as façade restyling. The design variants analyzed were evaluated in terms of CO2e emissions, according to life cycle inventory (LCI) and Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) approaches. This approach has a twofold purpose: to propose design guidelines, with low CO2e emissions, through hypotheses of variants in the case studies, and to propose, to the economic operators, economically advantageous bidding scenarios in the procurement process.