Why does EPD matter in sustainable construction?

EPD stands for Environmental Product Declaration. It is a standardised document that summarises a product’s environmental performance across all stages of its life cycle. We believe that easy access to product data helps engineers, contractors, and decision-makers select the most sustainable solutions with confidence.

That’s why we provide independently verified Environmental Product Declarations. These documents provide clear and transparent insights into the environmental performance of our insulation and pre-insulated pipe systems, making it easier to compare our products and understand their environmental impact. EPDs are widely used in marine, building, and district energy projects, and they support international certification schemes such as LEED and BREEAM.

Every EPD is based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), calculated according to international standards ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. Thus, there’s no EPD without LCA. Think of an EPD as the “executive summary” of the full LCA. It provides clear scientific insight into a product’s footprint without revealing sensitive details such as its recipe. This balance makes EPDs both reliable and easy to understand.

EPDs are not mandatory, but they must be verified by independent experts. This combination of scientific methodology, European standardisation, and third-party validation makes them a highly reliable and internationally recognised tool.
With an EPD, you can compare products and gain insight into their strengths. This transparency helps to minimise or even eliminate greenwashing and ensures that sustainability claims are backed by facts.

The construction sector is under special pressure when it comes to meeting the sustainable requirements. It uses nearly half of the raw materials worldwide, generates approximately one-third of the world’s waste and is responsible for around 40% of carbon emissions. Because of this enormous impact, EPDs for building products follow strict rules defined in ISO 14025 and EN 15804.

EN 15804 sets out Product Category Rules (PCRs), which ensure similar products are assessed and compared in a consistent way. Some countries even add further requirements, such as the health-related indicator in France – FDES, a standardised document which presents the results of the Life Cycle Analysis of a product as well as health information with a view to calculating the environmental and health performance of the building as part of its eco-design.

Although the Environmental Product Declaration is not a certification itself, it’s a declaration that is required to obtain building certifications, such as BREEAM or LEED. Using products with EPDs can help projects score valuable points towards certification, as it helps prove the products’ sustainability performance. For this reason, EPDs are increasingly requested in public tenders and private projects alike.

For architects, engineers, and specifiers, EPDs are a practical design tool. They provide reliable data that can be used to select products aligned with a building’s sustainability goals.
For manufacturers like Thermaflex, publishing EPDs is also a way to demonstrate accountability. It shows our commitment to sustainable innovation backed by measurable data.

We believe that transparency builds trust, and trust is a key to long-lasting partnerships. We provide EPDs on our insulation and pre-insulated pipes to ensure reliability and sustainability-driven decision-making. We hope that by combining our innovation with accountability, we can help create buildings and infrastructure that are efficient, safe, and future-proof.

Are you planning an environmentally friendly project? Reach out to us for expert advice on selecting the perfect solutions to suit your needs.

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