An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a verified, standardised report of a product’s environmental performance across its life cycle. For construction products it is built on ISO 14025 and EN 15804. Manufacturers increasingly need comparable life-cycle data for green building schemes, public tenders and building databases; the revised Construction Products Regulation is also bringing environmental performance into the regulatory framework.
What happens between “we need an EPD” and a published declaration, and who does what along the way? Here is our workflow under the International EPD System’s General Programme Instructions (GPI) and the construction products PCR 2019:14. Other EN 15804-based programmes follow the same logic under their own rules.
At a glance: Scoping → Data collection → LCA model → EPD draft → Independent verification → Publication → Annual follow-up.
Two services, kept strictly apart
Amstelfy offers two distinct EPD services:
- LCA and EPD development: we gather data, build the life-cycle model, write the LCA background report and draft the EPD.
- Third-party EPD verification: as an accredited certification body listed by the International EPD System, we independently verify declarations prepared by manufacturers or their LCA consultants.
We never develop and verify the same EPD. Programme rules and ISO/IEC 17029 impartiality requirements require independent verification. If we develop your declaration, an independent approved verifier checks it. If another practitioner develops it, we can act as verifier. The workflow stays the same; your starting point changes.
Step 1 — Scope the product and select the PCR
We establish the product or family, manufacturing sites and whether a single-product, multi-product or average EPD is appropriate. For construction products, PCR 2019:14 is the main Product Category Rules document, sometimes supplemented by a product-specific complementary PCR (c-PCR). We check the applicable version and its validity before verification.
The default scope covers A1–A3 (raw materials, transport and manufacturing), C1–C4 (end-of-life processes) and D (potential benefits and loads beyond the system boundary). Omission of C and D is only permitted when all the programme’s stated conditions are met: the product cannot be physically separated at end of life, loses its identity through transformation, contains no biogenic carbon and is not used in consumer communication. A4–A5 and use-stage B modules can be added where relevant; a full cradle-to-grave declaration requires a functional unit and the relevant c-PCR. We also choose a declared unit, such as 1 kg, 1 m², 1 m³ or one item.
The EPD is registered in the programme’s portal at this stage, reserving its unique registration number.
Step 2 — Collect production data
Data quality determines much of the work and timeline. Manufacturing-stage modelling uses site-specific primary data, normally from a full year of production. Our data collection template helps your production, purchasing and environmental teams assemble:
- Bill of materials, suppliers, transport distances and modes
- Plant energy and water consumption
- Packaging, production waste and emissions
- Product losses and relevant installation or end-of-life scenarios
Upstream processes such as raw material production, electricity and fuel supply are modelled with recognised background databases. Sources are documented so a verifier can trace every material figure.
Step 3 — Model the LCA and prepare the background report
The life-cycle assessment follows ISO 14040/14044, EN 15804+A2 and the applicable PCR rules for boundaries, allocation and cut-off. Energy carriers and losses are assigned to their respective modules; results remain modular rather than being collapsed into a single life-cycle total. The EN 15804+A2 indicator set includes climate change (fossil, biogenic and land-use), acidification, eutrophication, resource use, water use, waste and output flows.
The resulting LCA background report is not published, but it is central to verification. It documents the goal and scope, data sources and quality, assumptions, sensitivity checks and interpretation.
Step 4 — Draft the declaration
The EPD sets out the product description and technical characteristics, content declaration (including relevant REACH Candidate List substances), declared unit, system boundaries, scenarios beyond the factory gate, module-by-module results, additional environmental information, version history and references. The draft is checked against the GPI and PCR before it reaches the verifier.
Step 5 — Independent third-party verification
An approved individual verifier or accredited certification body listed by the programme examines the LCA, results and EPD against the GPI, PCR and EN 15804. Checks cover data collection, inventory and impact methods, unit processes, documentation consistency and plausibility. The verifier may request access to the model or supporting datasets.
Verification is a documented dialogue, not a rubber stamp. Comments identify their location and type, the proposed action, the practitioner’s response and the verifier’s conclusion. Once findings are closed, the verifier signs the required verification report. The signature date is normally the EPD version date, and declarations are generally valid for five years from that date, subject to programme rules.
For manufacturers issuing many declarations, the programme also offers EPD process certification, under which an accredited certification body audits the manufacturer’s EPD process. Ask us whether this route suits your portfolio.
Step 6 — Register and publish
The EPD and verification report go through the EPD Portal for the programme operator’s review and publication on environdec.com. Under programme rules, a declaration cannot be called a published EPD until the operator publishes it. It can then support tenders, building certification and construction-works LCAs, including machine-readable use in building LCA databases.
Step 7 — Keep the EPD representative
The EPD owner reviews at least annually whether the declaration still represents the product, ideally within an existing quality or environmental management process. Changes to raw materials, energy, production or design that increase any declared indicator by 10% or more, or substantial changes to product information or the content declaration, call for an update and re-verification. Editorial corrections can be handled without re-verification under programme rules; a re-verified update can restart the five-year validity period if the PCR remains valid.
We can support this annual follow-up so the EPD stays current rather than being revisited only when it nears expiry.
What we need from you
How quickly production data can be gathered is usually the largest variable. Before kick-off, it helps to have:
- Technical data sheets and a complete recipe or bill of materials
- Twelve months of site production, energy and waste records
- Supplier locations for the main raw materials and packaging specifications
- Existing EPDs for raw materials, where available
Timing depends on data completeness, product complexity, verifier availability and the programme operator’s review. We will agree a project schedule after scoping rather than promise a fixed lead time.
Talk to us
Whether you need a declaration developed from scratch, an independent verifier for your consultant’s work or help renewing an existing EPD, contact us to discuss the right route for your product.
