Variability in EPD results across programme operators

💭 Recently, an interesting article on variation and comparability of environmental product declarations EPD was published in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment by Konradsen et al., 2023.

In the article, the authors analysed how methodological choices based on guidelines such as the General Programme Instructions and Product Category Rules (which are independently issued by the programme operators) can result in variable results for environmental impact categories considered.

Taking a fictional example of a window 🪟, they performed an LCA based on PCRs of four different EPD programme operators – and the results they got differed, pointing to a lack of harmonisation in the EPD system. Since ultimately, the aim of the EPD system is to create a database of comparable products to inform decision making, for example when choosing suppliers for a construction project, doubts in the credibility and comparability of the EPD ecolabel can undermine the industry’s efforts to communicate sustainability efforts and compliance.

What does that mean for us as LCA practitioners and EPD specialists?

We have received similar questions from our clients before and something we feel very passionate about is helping them understand and interpret what hides behind complex methodologies used to create an EPD.

Focusing on one number is not fully indicative of a product’s sustainability performance as the methodology is not perfect – use of different methodological guidelines, databases, and data choices leads to slightly different outcomes and the LCA results are always approximations of environmental impacts. However, we strongly believe that LCA is a greatly useful methodology and that sustainability compliance through mechanisms such as the EPD system can facilitate meaningful change and provide justifiable grounds for comparison of products.

So, what can we do to strengthen people’s understanding and trust in the EPDs?

As sustainability consultants, we do not want to just push out an LCA or an EPD saying ‘Hello, here are your results and here is the bill 💸,’ instead we want to explain how LCA modelling can help your company design better products and what you need to be mindful of when interpreting the findings. 🙋🏻‍♀️

Critical insights from the academia are needed to guide the industry in the right direction and we welcome their calls for increased harmonisation, collaboration, and transparency between the stakeholders of the EPD system.

We will keep educating ourselves (and you) and contribute to developments in the EPD system, striving to be your guides so you can thrive in the new green economy. 🍀

• Same product, different score: how methodological differences affect EPD results
• Our previous post on comparability of LCA results