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Building products manufacturers increasingly use LCA based information for their environmental communication. ISO 14025 consistent Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) provide an ideal format and verification structure, to deliver unbiased information transparently.

The EPDs themselves are on the one hand side used in marketing and communication and demonstrate a company’s responsibility for sustainability impacts. On the other hand side, the information provided in EPDs is directly used in quantified ways in building assessment schemes.

The European DGNB assessment scheme for example is performanceoriented and uses total building LCA calculation and benchmarking in its certification process. This procedure is in line with the upcoming standardization in the field of sustainable construction. EPDs are the basis for the environmental assessment according to the DGNB scheme. But is the intention of companies to generate EPDs only because of the sheer communicational aspects?

Insights into Environmental Product Declaration projects and Eco-design activities

Having experienced over one hundred successful EPD projects it shows that in most of the projects there is much more intention in such projects. The paper provides insights into companies’ EPD projects, summarizing how these companies make use of EPDs today, in their internal and external communication, and in their eco-design activities.

With the »EPD 2.0 concept«, a new way of integrating life cycle management is introduced: Starting point for process and product optimization, product related environmental management and sustainability communication.