Product Category Rules

Recently, we had the pleasure of meeting many companies looking to develop their sustainability profile. 🌱

The interest for Environmental Product Declarations continues to grow, however, it can happen that companies offer products for which EPD does not yet exist.

In this case, new Product Category Rules (PCR) need to be developed. 📗

PCR refer to a set of rules according to which EPDs are made. Each program operator is responsible for overseeing the development of PCRs and ensuring that they meet the requirements of the relevant standards and their own General Program Instructions.

PCRs define the scope of the products included and the parameters of the life cycle assessment, which is the basis of the declaration (e.g., functional unit, scope, relevant environmental indicators). Furthermore, they specify the information that needs to be included in the EPD and any rules for handling pertinent issues of that product category.

When developing a new PCR, these are the five stages of the process that you should know about:

1. Process initiation

If a need for a new PCR arises, existing PCRs from the primary program operator and other POs are checked – sometimes there is an overlap of target products, or a certain PCR can be easily adapted to account for a broader product group. This shortens the overall process and is most common between program operators which have a mutual recognition agreement.

If a truly new PCR needs developing, the product category and its scope are defined, and the appointment of the PCR moderator and committee takes place. It is important to include a range of stakeholders in the committee, including industry and LCA/EPD experts.

2. Draft preparation

The new PCR is drafted, usually with the help of a PCR template.

3. Open consultation

The draft PCR is submitted to open consultation which usually takes two months. The stakeholder consultation group and the wider public can provide feedback.

4. Review, approval, publishing

Once open consultation is concluded, the final version of the PCR is prepared, which needs approval from the PCR review panel and the program operator’s secretariat. After this, the new PCR is published and can be used for EPDs.

5. Updates and harmonisation

PCR has a limited validity period to ensure regular updates. Sometimes, more environmental indicators need to be included in the updated PCR, new product groupings are made which can make older PCRs obsolete, or harmonisation with external standards is pursued (for example, EU standards that serve as core PCRs across all program operators).