Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are a communication tool by which a manufacturer reports on the quantified environmental profile of its products based on the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). EPDs have the following characteristics:

• They are Type III labels whose development is under the ISO 14025 standard.
   
• The LCA is performed according to specifications in the form of harmonized standards and documents known as Product Category Rules.
   
• Product environmental information is declared in the form of environmental impact categories and other indicators, all of which are calculated and structured under a standard, allowing comparison between products that fulfill the same function.
   
• The information contained in the EPD has been verified by an independent third party, both in the primary data provided by the manufacturer and in the methodology applied in obtaining the results.
   
• This verification is carried out within the framework of a EPD Program that establishes the procedures and requirements for verification.
   
• Unlike Type I labels, EPD labels do not communicate optimized environmental performance or establish minimum environmental compliance requirements for the product.

Among the benefits to be gained from a EPD are:

• Responding to third party demand for environmental information based on the life cycle of the company's products.
   
• EPDs for building products are recognized in environmental building certification schemes such as LEED, BREEAM, VERDE or DGNB.
   
• Although EPDs are a voluntary environmental communication format, they are increasingly cited in regulations and purchasing specifications. EPDs are explicitly cited in the European Construction Products Regulation 305/2011, which sets out the conditions for CE marking of products used in construction.
   
• EPD can also be registered in the General Register of the Technical Building Code - CTE - of the Ministerio de Fomento as environmental certifications of the LCA of the products used in the construction project.
   
• Obtaining an EPD improves the image of a company by voluntarily declaring the impacts of its products in a transparent and third-party verified manner.
   
• This improves competitiveness and access to green markets.

OUR CAPABILITIES AND EXPERTISE

The Ecometro team integrates among its members experts in LCA in construction and in the development of EPD as well as in the evaluation of EPD certification bodies. Among the EPD developed are:

• BASWA acoustic AG   
  • EPD for acoustic system in buildings. 

• NORSK HYDRO IBERIA
  • EPD of alluminium billets for extrusion manufactured in Portugal
  • EPD of an innovative alluminium billet for extrusion manufactured in Spain

• Spanish Aluminium Association
  • Sector EPD of aluminium profiles for building sector

• CORTIZO
  • EPD of windows
  • EPD of external doors
  • EPD of curtain walls