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.