Looking to learn about Environmental Product Declarations and Life Cycle Assessment for your next green building project? Poplar Network, the leading green building network and provider of LEED education, is back with another insightful presentation. Gain a deeper understanding of the holistic analysis of a product's environmental impact here!

3. What are EPDs?
• Life-cycle based eco-labels that disclose
environmental performance and impact.
• Related to several ISO standards.
• Third party verified by product manufacturers.

4. Most importantly, EPDs allow for easy
and fair comparison of products
through an environmental impact lens.

5. Also referred to as “cradle to cradle
assessment”…
…but not to be confused with
C2C Products Innovation Institute
Certification

6. Steps to Building an EPD
Photo source: Elixir Environmental

7. How does EPD relate to LCA?
• LCA is used to determine an EPD.
• It effectively measures a product from it’s
inception to disposal, tracking the
environmental impact of each activity and
throughput.

8. The term “life cycle” refers to the notion
that a fair, holistic assessment of raw-
material production, manufacture,
distribution, use and disposal including all
intervening transportation steps necessary
or caused by the product’s existence.
-LCA Wikipedia page

9. What Does LCA Measure?
• Broadly:
– Climate change
– Ecosystem quality
– Resources
– Human health
• BREs (type of LCA) examine more deeply:
– Acid deposition, human toxicity to air, fossil fuel
depletion & much more

10. Photo source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Measuring LCA

11. Product Category Rules (PCR)
• NSF Definition: a set of specific rules,
requirements & guidelines for developing
Type III environmental product declarations
(EPDs).

12. Product Category Rules (PCR)
• PCRs typically require data bout the consumption of
resources, including
– energy
– water
– renewable resources
• PCRs also require data on emissions to
– air
– water
– soil

13. Example PCRs
• Flooring
• Flat glass
• Residential countertops
If a PCR does not already exist, you can create
one by performing and reporting the LCA and
subsequent EPD to a third party reviewer.

14. Resources for PCR Development
• Environdec.com
• ULEnvironment.com
• GEDnet.com
• IBU.com
• NSF.com

16. LEED v4 brings changes to EPD & LCA
as they relate to
green building projects.

17. Changes from LEED 2009
• Revised credits
– Storage & Collection of
Recyclables
– Construction & Demolition
Waste Management

18. Changes from LEED 2009
• New credits
– Construction Demolition &
Waste Planning
– Building Product Disclosure &
Optimization
• Environmental Product
Declarations
• Raw Materials Extraction
• Material Ingredient Reporting