New Memorandum of Understanding with SuMPO

A MoU between Japan EPD Program by SuMPO and The International EPD System has been signed. Hiro Iwashita, Director of the program, explains what the memorandum means and what he sees for the future of EPDs.

The Japanese EPD Program was established in 2002 as EcoLeaf* after a trial project by METI (the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), which makes it Japan’s only EPD Program Operator and the second oldest program in the world. SuMPO is a group of environmental and sustainability experts with more than 30 years of experience and knowledge in the field of LCA. Fairness and neutrality are valued highly, so full independence is maintained as a non-profit.

What does this MoU mean for SuMPO?

It means a lot. This MoU is an agreement between the two of the world's oldest EPD programs, and it means that we share the same value and work together towards the same goal. Of course, there are some differences between us. However, The International EPD System and SuMPO, have been operating the programs based on the same international standards, ISO14025, so we are already harmonized in many ways.

We believe that EPDs are the most transparent, comprehensive and consistent environmental data of products among all the products' environmental footprint/labeling schemes. Over 20 years of operation and hundreds of thousands of active declarations around the world are proof for that. We are excited to work together with EPD International to make EPDs go even further.

Can you describe the Japanese EPD market?

EPDs are attracting a lot of attention in the Japanese market and the number of EPDs have been growing rapidly. This year, we introduced new system that accelerates development of high-quality PCRs, and it's been very successful so far.

What's special about Japanese EPD is, just like EPD International, that there are many PCRs and declarations for products in a wide range of sectors. There is no doubt that the construction sector is a core sector for EPDs in EU and is one of our focuses too, but other sectors are equally important to us and have been utilizing EPDs for years in Japan.

Any forecasts for the future of EPDs?

There is no doubt that more EPDs will be issued in a variety of sectors because the needs for reliable and comprehensive environmental data, LCA results with third-party verification, of products will continue growing globally regardless of industry. We’ve been working closely with industries including electronics, automotive, apparel/textile, and food/agriculture, and we are seeing increased attention to EPDs in those industries.

*Previously operated by JEMAI