Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)
Verified Lifecycle Impact for Sustainable Products
What is an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized, third-party verified document that reports the environmental impacts of a product across its full life cycle – from raw materials and manufacturing to transport, use and end-of-life. Based on a robust Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, an EPD provides transparent, comparable and reliable data that aligns with recognised international standards such as EN 15804 and ISO 14025.
Benefits of an EPD:
- Stronger sustainability credentials backed by independent verification
- Improved performance in tenders and green building certifications
- Clear insight into carbon hotspots to support net-zero strategies
- Greater trust and transparency for clients and procurement teams
- Future-proofs your products as carbon disclosure becomes the norm
- EPDs are essential for Whole Life Cycle Assessments (WLCA), which are increasingly being demanded from the UK construction industry
- Helps to comply with embodied carbon legislation, including schemes such as Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
Our EPD Consulting Services
Arthian’s EPD consultants manage the full lifecycle of your Environmental Product Declaration – from early scoping through to final verification and publication. Our EPD consultants support manufacturers and suppliers across the construction and industrial sectors – from building materials, components and systems to engineered products and equipment. Whether you’re a manufacturer, distributor or product company needing verified data for procurement, WLCA compliance or broader environmental reporting, our consultants provide the expertise and guidance to deliver a robust, fully compliant EPD.
1. Product Scoping & Product Category Rules (PCR) Assessment
We begin by defining the product or product family requiring an EPD and identify the correct Product Category Rules (PCRs) aligned with EN 15804. Getting this stage right is essential – it sets the boundaries, methodology and structure your EPD must follow.
2. Data Collection Support
Data gathering is often the most challenging stage for manufacturers, so we make it as straightforward as possible. We support you to collect all necessary primary data, including material composition, energy consumption, water usage, waste streams, transport data and packaging information. We ensure the data is complete, consistent and verification ready.
3. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA for EPD) Modelling
Using industry-recognised LCA for EPD software and high-quality databases, our consultants model your product environmental impact across the required life-cycle stages. We identify hotspots, confirm system boundaries and ensure full alignment with EN 15804. This technical modelling forms the core component of your EPD and directly influences its credibility.
4. EPD Documentation Development
Once the LCA is complete, we translate the results into a fully compliant and clearly structured EPD documentation. This includes outlining the methodology, assumptions, scenarios, system boundaries and all mandatory environmental impact indicators. The document is prepared in the exact format required by your chosen programme operator, ensuring a smooth path to verification.
5. Independent Verification & Publication
Arthian coordinates the entire verification process with approved third-party verifiers and recognised Programme Operators. We respond to technical queries, make any required adjustments and ensure the EPD meets all compliance requirements. Once verified, we oversee registration and publication, so your EPD is ready for use across procurement, design and ESG reporting.
Why Choose Arthian?
Choosing Arthian means gaining a partner that removes complexity, reduces risk and delivers a smoother, faster route to a fully verified EPD. Our consultants combine technical expertise, industry-approved tools and hands-on support to make the process easier for your team while ensuring every element meets the highest standards.
- No licensing fees – Our EPD consultants work with fully licensed, industry-approved LCA and EPD creation platforms, meaning you benefit from robust, compliant tools without needing to purchase your own software. EPD development typically requires specialist platforms that come with significant upfront costs and annual subscription fees – but through Arthian, these tools are already built into our service. What this means for you:
- No software licences to buy or maintain
- Immediate access to trusted, verification-ready modelling tools
- Confidence that your EPD is created using recognised, standards-aligned systems
- Lower overall project costs and fewer internal resource demands
- Guidance and upskilling throughout – Our experienced EPD consultants support you at every stage of the process, providing clear explanations, practical guidance and hands-on advice. We help your team understand what data is needed, why it matters and how it feeds into the final declaration. Where useful, we upskill your staff in data readiness, life cycle understanding and carbon reporting fundamentals – leaving your organisation more knowledgeable and better prepared for future EPD or sustainability requirements.
- Faster, smoother process – Because our EPD consultants work with EPDs and LCAs every day, we know exactly what information verifiers expect and how to structure data from the outset. This prevents back-and-forth, eliminates unnecessary administrative effort and streamlines the entire process. As a result, your EPD progresses more efficiently, avoids delays and reaches verification sooner.
Streamlined Sustainability
At Arthian, our team of EPD experts is well-versed in the challenges these projects face to get to the finish line, and we can help your team mitigate them. We offer:
- Accurate, compliant results – We ensure your EPD meets the strict EPD requirements of EN 15804 and ISO 14025. From system boundaries and impact categories to data quality and documentation, we align every step with global best practice. This gives you a technically robust declaration that clients, designers and procurement teams can trust.
- Reduced risk of errors – Many EPD projects face setbacks such as missing data, incorrect assumptions, outdated PCRs or inconsistent boundaries — all of which can cause verification challenges. Our EPD consultants ensure your EPD is built correctly from the start and preventing costly revisions or verification failures later on.
- Full management of verification – We handle all communication with independent verifiers and programme operators, coordinating submissions, answering technical questions and implementing any adjustments required for approval.
- Less internal resource demand – With Arthian managing the technical modelling, documentation, liaison with verifiers and overall project delivery, your internal team is free to focus on core business priorities. You benefit from a high-quality, fully verified EPD without needing to divert staff time, hire specialists or learn complex LCA software.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an EPD?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized, third-party verified document that reports the environmental impacts of a product across its full life cycle – from raw materials and manufacturing to transport, use and end-of-life. An EPD reports the key environmental impacts of a product across its full lifecycle. These typically include:
- Carbon footprint – greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change
- Resource use – consumption of energy, minerals and fossil fuels
- Water use – how much water is used throughout the lifecycle
- Waste generation – hazardous and non-hazardous waste produced
- Pollution indicators – impacts linked to acidification, eutrophication and smog formation
What standards and guidance are used to develop an EPD?
EPDs are created using a strict set of international standards to ensure they are consistent, comparable and trusted. The key standards and guidance include:
- ISO 14025 – defines how Type III Environmental Declarations (EPDs) must be developed and verified
- EN 15804 – the core European standard for construction product EPDs, outlining required indicators, lifecycle stages and reporting rules
- ISO 14040 & ISO 14044 – the standards that define how Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) must be carried out
- Product Category Rules (PCRs) – product-specific rules that detail how the LCA and EPD must be conducted for a particular material or product group
- Programme Operator rules – additional guidance set by EPD programme operators (e.g., the International EPD System, BRE) to ensure consistency and quality
Together, these standards ensure that every EPD is transparent, reliable and comparable across products and manufacturers.
Do I need an EPD for every product I sell?
Not always. Many manufacturers benefit from producing a product family EPD or a representative model, rather than creating individual EPDs for every product. Our EPD consultants will assess your product range, market requirements and client expectations to recommend the most cost-effective, credible and strategic approach. This ensures you meet industry needs without unnecessary expense or complexity.
How long does it take to develop an EPD?
Most EPDs take 8–16 weeks depending on data availability and product complexity. We provide a clear roadmap from day one.
Can you help if I already have some data or an existing LCA?
Absolutely. If you have partial data, internal calculations or a previous LCA, we can pick up from where you are and build on it. Our consultants will validate your existing work, identify any data gaps and ensure everything aligns with EN 15804 and ISO 14025. This avoids duplicated effort, reduces costs and accelerates the path to a fully verified EPD.
What’s the difference between an EPD and Life Cycle Assessments (LCA)?
Although closely related, Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) serve different purposes. Think of it as a two-step process:
1. LCA = the technical assessment (your product’s environmental performance is analysed in detail).
2. EPD = the verified declaration (the LCA results are standardised, third-party reviewed and published).
Without an LCA, you cannot produce an EPD. An LCA alone is not enough for most UK compliance or procurement processes. An EPD is what makes your environmental data credible, comparable and specification ready.