EPD Development Process

UL Environment develops ISO 14025-conformant Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) in five steps.

1. Find an appropriate Product Category Rule (PCR)

• The first step in creating an EPD is to find or create a PCR that’s applicable to a particular product category. PCRs provide the calculation and reporting requirements for creating Life Cycle Assessments and EPDs.
• Please see https://industries.ul.com/environment/transparency/product-category-rules-pcrs for more information on UL’s PCR library.

2. Conduct and verify the product Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

• An LCA is a comprehensive report that documents the cradle to grave impacts of a product. Once an LCA is conducted on a particular product, it must be verified by an independent party to ensure it meets the requirements defined in the PCR, ISO 14040 and ISO 14044..

3. Compile the EPD

• The EPD presents the results of the LCA along with additional information about the product’s performance and other sustainability attributes.

4. Verify the EPD

• An independent, third party conducts a thorough review and verification of the findings presented in the EPD.

5. Register the EPD

• UL registers and publishes the EPD to its repository, located at www.ul.com/spot. EPDs are typically valid for a period of five years.