International cooperations for PCR harmonization and market expansion

The International EPD® System is actively engaging in strategic partnerships with private and public actors.

With our strategic engagements we work hard to: ​

• Define the level playing field regards legal and market regulation for EPDs
• Enforce full harmonisation with our peer EPD programme operators
• Develop new business opportunities and service offerings in existing and new markets
• Strengthen and position EPD International’s EPD brand in the market

Strategic partnerships with e.g. our valued licensees, peer EPD programme operators, public and private actors and initiatives (national, regional, sectoral, etc.) help us in promoting and anchoring the EPD as a pool of verified data and its use in various applications and scenarios.

We actively promote our programme internationally via:

• International partners (licensees), who are fully aligned and compatible with our International EPD® System. In selected territories our licensees offer tailored EPD services such as a national EPD helpdesk, EPD registration, and promote the International EPD® System to relevant stakeholders
• Bilateral and (soonish) Multilateral Recognition Agreements with selected peers to offer voluntary dual registration of EPDs
• International collaboration and lobbying platforms (ECO Platform, InData)

The PCR Partnership Programme

With the ambition to make the PCR documents as internationally applicable as possible, and thereby avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade, the International EPD System promotes global PCR harmonisation via its market-driven PCR Partnership Programme (PPP) for programme operators and PCR developers.

ISO 14025 on EPDs recommends Programme Operators (POs) to make use of available PCRs as the preferred option to avoid unnecessary double-work and proliferation of PCRs for the same product category which will lead to market confusion and less interest of making use of EPDs.

EPD POs commit and unify under the PPP to multilaterally:

• Develop new, multilaterally shared PCRs
• Cooperate during recurring open consultations when updating shared PCRs
• Align existing PCRs published by both POs in the same product category
• Combine marketing activities to promote shared PCRs
• Establish a cooperative economic agreement leading to a win-win situation during the commercial use of the shared PCR
• Proposition: 1 euro royalty fee per EPD released/published to owner of the PCR

The rationale of the PPP-initiative for EPD Programme Operators is to recommend to start and maintain a close contact once original available PCRs are being used by several POs. This will lead to a lot of advantages in internal daily work by POs. Some of these advantages are described below.

• Joint work on defining a logical hierarchical position of an adapted PCR in the form of referring to the existing registration code of the original PCR amended with annexes to describe the adaptions made,
• Cooperation during recurring open consultations when updating the joint PCR,
• Aligning existing PCRs published by both POs in the same product category, assistance from both POs in case new PCRs are about to be developed,
• Combined outreach activities and marketing of joint PCRs,
• Establishing a cooperative economic agreement leading to a win-win situation for both parties during the commercial use of the joint PCR.

Please click the below download button to read more about the PPP.

Download PPP

AENOR GlobalEPD

Mutual recognition of product category rules (PCRs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) of all product categories.

As a voluntary option, EPDs registered in the EPD programme of AENOR (GlobalEPD) may bear the logotype of the International EPD® System and vice versa if an additional fee is paid. Dually-registered EPDs are published both at www.environdec.com at the corresponding AENOR web page.

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AENOR GlobalEPD

Institut Bauen und Umwelt

Mutual recognition of English or German-language environmental product declarations for construction products compliant with EN 15804.

As a voluntary option, EPDs registered in the IBU programme may bear the logotype of the International EPD® System and vice versa if an additional fee is paid. Dually-registered EPDs are published both at www.environdec.com at the corresponding IBU web page.

The similarities and differences between the two systems have been assessed in detail to ensure that the information produced is compatible as far as possible.

Please note that:

• Incorporation of the dually-registered EPD into national databases, such as the Ökobau.dat in Germany may have additional requirements on the EPD.
• The dual registration does not entitle the declaration owner to use the logo/s of IBU beyond the EPD without the consent of the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU).

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IBU

Norwegian EPD Foundation

Mutual recognition of product category rules (PCRs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs) of all product categories.

As a voluntary option, EPDs registered in the EPD Norge programme may bear the logotype of the International EPD® System and vice versa if an additional fee is paid. Dually-registered EPDs are published both at www.environdec.com at the corresponding website of EPD Norge.

The similarities and differences between the two systems have been assessed in detail to ensure that the information produced is compatible as far as possible.

Please note that the additional requirements of the Norwegian EPD Foundation must be met:

• Declaration of additional scenario information and LCA results for module A4: Transport from production site to central warehouse in Oslo.
• Dangerous substances; Self-declaration by the manufacturer of content of dangerous substances according to REACH or the Norwegian priority list, it more than 0.1% wt-%. No additional external verification is required for the content of the table.
• Declaration of the country-specific electricity mix during manufacturing process (module A3)
• If relevant, indoor air emissions from the product shall be declared. The additional requirements can be presented in the EPD or as a verfified annex to the EPD.

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EPD Norge

SCS Global Services

Mutual recognition agreement for building and construction products based on ISO 14025 and EN 15804.

As a voluntary option, EPDs registered in the SCS Global Services programme may bear the logotype of the International EPD® System and vice versa if an additional fee is paid. Dually-registered EPDs are published both at www.environdec.com at the corresponding website of SCS Global Services.

The similarities and differences between the two systems have been assessed in detail to ensure that the information produced is compatible as far as possible.

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SCS Global Services

ECO Platform

A main objective of the ECO Platform is to promote and to contribute to the sustainable development, including a low-carbon economy and resource efficiency in the construction sector, by coordinating the development and provision of credible and scientifically correct data from products.

ECO Platform aims for mainstreaming life-cycle assessments (LCA) for buildings and infrastructure projects by provision of reliable product data in an affordable and effective way.

Specific product data in form of verified environmental information of construction products, in particular type III declarations called EPD (Environmental Product Declarations) is preferred as data input for building and construction LCA. To close gaps of missing data, for early design stages or product-neutral assessments, generic data is required. ECO Platform aims for consistency of both data categories. The goal is to establish an open international digital data network for building and construction LCA data.

To achieve the overall goals, ECO Platform has defined four main fields of activity and related Mission Statements:

• Advocate of the building & construction LCA Stakeholders
• Quality Manager of verified product data
• Data provider
• Enabler of success

The International EPD® System is an approved programme to use the ECO Platform logotype on its EPDs for construction products compliant with EN 15804. As a member of the ECO Platform, the International EPD® System recognizes that EPDs that carry the ECO Platform logotype fulfil the same quality of the verification process as EPDs in the International EPD® System.

From January 2021, all EN15804 compliant EPDs published in The International EPD System will automatically carry the ECO Platform logo without additional cost.

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ECO Platform

InData - International Open Data Network for Sustainable Building

InData was founded as a network aiming at the initiation of an international LCA data network structure for construction products based on EPD information.

Sustainable considerations are of growing interest in the construction sector and are even recommended by the European Construction Product Regulation (CPR).
Based on that development the InData Working Group was founded in order to provide a platform for exchanging experience and harmonization of ongoing activities.

InData is an informal, non-profit working group of interested stakeholders who support the mission of InData. This is to establish an open web-based international data network structure for EPD/LCA data using a common data format and open source software; primarily for construction products based on EPD information, open for other products.

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InData

GLAD - Global LCA Data Access Network

GLAD was initiated in 2014 with the primary purpose to develop a vision, guiding principles and an approach for implementing a voluntary international network to promote LCA data accessibility, interoperability and applications. GLAD was officially launched in April 2018 as an open-source web application.

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GLAD