How to read an EPD: OneClick explains its reports
Global environmental software platform OneClick LCA has published a guide to help specifiers and lighting designers read its Environmental Product Declarations.
EPD are a standardised and internationally recognised form of environmental labelling for products. EPDs provide detailed information about the environmental impact of a luminaire.
They are derived from Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), which consider all stages of the product life cycle including raw material extraction and transport, product manufacturing and delivery including installation, operation, disposal and recycling.
The on-line guide helps specifiers understand what to look for in an EPD document and how to properly compare different EPDs.
An environmental product declaration (EPD) is a document that transparently reports the environmental impact of a product or material throughout its lifecycle.
EPDs support carbon emission reduction targets by making it possible to compare the impacts of different materials and products in order to select the most sustainable option.
Manufacturers are able to measure, analyse, and optimise the impact of their products and market their carbon transparency.
Sustainability managers, engineers, and lighting designers use EPDs to help them choose the most sustainable material for their products.
An EPD is usually valid for five years, and is generated according to the relevant standards. Construction EPDs are based on the ISO 14040/14044, ISO 14025, EN 15804 or ISO 21930 standards.
Recolight recently teamed up with One Click LCA to streamline the process of measuring a light fitting’s carbon impact.
Recolight’s strategic partnership with One Click LCA follows the recent launch of One Click LCA’s Luminaire EPD Generator, a specialised tool creating EPDs for lighting products.
The strategic partnership will harness the industry-leading position of both One Click LCA and Recolight, to offer expertise, guidance, and world-leading LCA and EPD technology to the lighting industry.
By generating LCAs and EPDs, lighting manufacturers will better understand the carbon impact of their products and satisfy increasing specifier and client requirements for achieving green certifications like Breeam, LEED, Net Zero, and more.
By partnering with One Click LCA, Recolight says it can offer its members and other industry stakeholders access to world-leading software — already used by several lighting brands — that simplifies the process of creating accurate and credible LCAs and EPDs for their products.
Recolight says the benefits of the partnership include simple EPD generation, as the intuitive software automates the process, helping lighting manufacturers to save time and resources.
EPDs will help lighting manufacturers stand out in a competitive market by showcasing their products’ environmental performance.
- Read the guide HERE
- Diary date: Circular Lighting Live 2024, Recolight’s flagship conference and exhibition, which takes place on Wednesday 9 October 2024 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Free to specifiers, Circular Lighting Live 2024 will feature leading experts, specifiers and policy makers who will share their insights into forthcoming standards and legislation, emerging technologies and new business models. More info: www.circularlighting.live
