Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, are documents that summarize the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) for specific products. These declarations have been compared to the nutrition label on food packaging because they present concise information to help consumers make better-informed product decisions.
EPDs describe the potential environmental impacts of a product across a specified list of environmental impact categories. The latest USGBC green building ratings program-LEED v4-includes credits for buildings that use products for which EPDs have been developed.
Health declarations-such as Health Product Declarations, or HPDs-and Cradle-to-Cradle’s Material Health Certificates were developed to expose the potential human health impacts of products used in building construction.
They attempt to provide a transparent path to divulging all of the ingredients used in products and their related health hazards. LEED v4 includes additional credits for buildings that use products for which specific health declarations have been developed. Furthermore, ASTM is in the process of developing an alternative health declaration, called a Product Transparency Declaration (PTD).
The American Iron and Steel Institute provides EPDs for free download.
Updated October 15, 2021: The Steel Framing Industry Association (SFIA) has released a new Environmental Product Declaration for Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) Framing, the latest tool for contractors, building owners, architects and others who strive to deliver advanced building designs that meet the latest LEED™ and other sustainable rating systems, programs and standards. Learn more about the EPD for CFS framing.