This guide provides insight into what Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are, how they are structured, and how they can be used. An EPD is a standardised document that outlines the environmental performance of a product. This performance is based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and is intended to communicate the environmental impact of products in an objective and transparent manner.
EPDs can serve as a valuable source of information for integrating the environmental performance of products and services into procurement processes. However, since EPDs can differ in terms of system boundaries, calculation methods, and background data used, a high level of expertise is required to use EPD’s in tendering procedures.
The Asset Tool has been developed to make it easier to include the environmental performance of assets in procurement processes. The tool ensures that all bidders within a tender use the same assumptions, environmental data, and methodologies. This results in a fair and comparable outcome. Within this framework, EPDs provide evidence for the use of sustainable materials. The Asset Tool assigns fixed environmental values to these materials, which may only be used by bidders if these are substantiated with a valid and appropriate EPD.