Environmental Product Declaration: The Complete 2026 Guide
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An environmental product declaration (EPD) is no longer a nice-to-have badge for sustainability teams. It is fast becoming a commercial prerequisite. In 2025, the International EPD System surpassed 18,000 valid and registered EPDs, and the system experienced strong growth in both the number of published declarations and the diversity of industries and geographic regions represented. Behind that growth lies a convergence of tightening regulation, procurement requirements, and a market that increasingly treats verified data as the baseline. This guide explains exactly what an EPD is, how it is structured under ISO 14025, when it is mandatory, and what a practical path to obtaining one looks like for brands and manufacturers.
Key Takeaways
- An environmental product declaration is a standardised, third-party verified document that presents a product’s life-cycle environmental data in a comparable format, governed by ISO 14025 and based on an ISO 14040/44 LCA.
- EPDs are a transparency tool, not an ecolabel. They do not certify that a product is “green”; they provide the verified numbers that allow buyers, specifiers, and regulators to make that judgment themselves.
- With the introduction of the revised EU Construction Products Regulation and the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, verified EPDs and life-cycle data are increasingly becoming a legal requirement for market access across the EU starting in 2026.
- EPDs qualify products for credit towards buildings under LEED v4.1, LEED v5, and other procurement systems, and can help a manufacturer become a preferred supplier for designers and architects who specify for green building projects.
- The LCA that underpins an EPD is also the most powerful tool for identifying where environmental impact actually sits across a product’s life cycle, and that picture is rarely where companies expect.
What Is an Environmental Product Declaration?
An environmental product declaration is a Type III environmental declaration in accordance with the ISO 14025 standard. It provides objective, transparent, and third-party verified information about the environmental performance of a product or service throughout its life cycle.
The distinction from other environmental labels matters for B2B teams. Unlike ISO 14024 Type I third-party certified ecolabels and ISO 14021 Type II self-declared environmental claims, an EPD is grounded in verified data on the environmental performance of a product in relevant life-cycle stages. In practice, this means that an EPD cannot be written by a marketing team: it requires a full LCA study conducted according to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, followed by independent verification before publication.
EPDs are a transparency tool and do not certify whether a product can be considered environmentally friendly. They are primarily intended to facilitate business-to-business transactions, although they may also benefit environmentally motivated retail consumers when choosing goods or services.
Understanding what the LCA actually reveals is where most of the value lies. For more on that methodology, see our Life Cycle Assessment: The Complete Guide (2026).
The Standards Behind an EPD: ISO 14025, EN 15804, and PCRs
Three layers of rules govern how an EPD is built.
ISO 14025 sits at the top. It sets the global rulebook for Type III Environmental Product Declarations, defining what an EPD is, how programs operate, and tying EPDs to LCAs built on ISO 14040 and 14044. A new edition is in the works as ISO/DIS 14025 in 2025, which will replace the 2006 version once finalized.
EN 15804 adds sector-specific depth for construction products. Think of ISO 14025 as the operating system and EN 15804 as the construction app. EN 15804 sets core rules for building products so two gypsum boards or two pavers are reported the same way, and the A1 to A3, C1 to C4, and D modules organize the life cycle to ensure apples-to-apples results across EPDs published by different operators.
Product Category Rules (PCRs) provide the third layer. PCR criteria include a description of the product category, the goal of the LCA, functional units, system boundaries, cut-off criteria, allocation rules, environmental impact categories, and information on the product’s use phase. The goal of PCRs is to help develop EPDs for products that are comparable to others within a product category. Without a PCR, two manufacturers could produce EPDs for identical products using different methods, making comparison meaningless.
The Three Types of EPD
Not every declaration carries the same weight.
Third-party verified EPDs are the most widely recognized type, required by many regulations and certification schemes. They are published by an EPD program operator in compliance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804, and are valid for 5 years unless the parameters change.
Some EPD program operators offer Variant EPDs that are based on an already published third-party verified EPD. Variant EPDs must be similar in manufacturing process, raw materials, and function to the EPD they are based on, and are also in compliance with ISO 14025.
Project EPDs are created for a specific project or contract. They are non-published documents verified internally rather than by external program operators. Project EPDs are crucial for companies aiming to manage the environmental impacts of specific projects or tendering processes internally.
For most manufacturers seeking market access and green building certification credits, a full third-party verified EPD is the relevant target.
Why the LCA Behind the EPD Matters More Than the Document Itself
Here is where the story gets interesting. Many teams treat the EPD document as the end goal. The smarter approach is to treat it as the output of an LCA that already tells you something strategically important: where your impact actually is.
Take a wood stool. Intuition might place the biggest environmental burden in the factory. Devera’s benchmark data tells a different story: for a typical stool, raw materials account for 52.7% of the median carbon footprint of 21.57 kg CO2e (range: 8.34–44.83 kg CO2e), with manufacturing contributing just 24.6%. The spread from best to worst performers is enormous: a product at the low end of the range at 8.34 kg CO2e emits roughly one-fifth of what a product at the high end carries. An EPD built on a rigorous LCA reveals that gap precisely, and gives a manufacturer the data to document a genuine material-sourcing improvement.
A similar insight emerges in textiles. A typical cotton t-shirt carries a median of 3.01 kg CO2e (range: 2.12–4.12 kg CO2e). Manufacturing dominates at 60.1% of total impact, but raw material sourcing still accounts for 23.5%. For a fashion brand developing an EPD to substantiate claims about sustainable cotton sourcing, that phase breakdown matters: it shows buyers and procurement teams exactly where in the supply chain the intervention occurred. See our Textile Industry Decarbonization Roadmap: A 2026 Guide for more on how brands are using this data to drive supplier engagement.
The broader lesson is that product carbon footprint calculation and EPD preparation are not compliance exercises in isolation. They are the mechanism by which a brand moves from a narrative claim to a verified number.
Regulation: When Does an EPD Become Mandatory?
No global treaty or single national statute says every product must carry an environmental product declaration. Instead, requirements appear in project specs, procurement policies, and certification schemes. That said, the regulatory pull is intensifying fast.
In the EU, the picture is clearest for construction products. Regulation (EU) 2024/3110 replaced CPR 305/2011, entered into force on January 7, 2025, and becomes applicable from January 8, 2026 for most construction products. EPDs remain the gold standard for communicating quantified environmental impacts under EN 15804, and the new Declaration of Performance and Conformity requires life cycle-based sustainability performance explicitly tied to applicable product category rules, which aligns with EPD practice.
For buildings, the timeline extends further. A delegated regulation now defines a common EU method to calculate whole-life global warming potential for new buildings, creating direct demand for product-level carbon data that EPDs supply. Member states must report GWP for new buildings over 1,000 m² from 2028 and for all new buildings from 2030, with results shown on energy performance certificates.
In the United States, the picture is patchwork rather than federal. California’s Buy Clean law has demanded EPDs for structural steel, glass, mineral wool, and rebar on state-funded projects since 2021, with updated lower-carbon benchmarks published in July 2024. Colorado, New York, and Minnesota have passed similar statutes, each naming its own material list and cut-off dates.
For green building certification, the incentive is direct. EPDs qualify for up to two points following the LEED v4.1 Materials and Resources credit for building product disclosure and optimization. In LEED v5, EPDs contribute to the Material and Resources Credit Pre-Requisite to Quantify and Assess Embodied Carbon.
Beyond construction, the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is pulling other sectors in the same direction. Expected delegated acts will focus initially on priority product groups like textiles, furniture, iron, steel, aluminium, and energy-related products. The EU Green Claims Directive posits that companies must substantiate environmental claims using accurate, holistic, externally verified LCAs like EPDs.
How to Get an Environmental Product Declaration: The Step-by-Step Process
Building an EPD follows a consistent sequence regardless of product category.
1. Define goal and scope. Start by clearly defining the purpose of the EPD, the target audience, and the product or product group it will cover. Determine the functional unit, system boundaries, and key assumptions to guide the process.
2. Identify the relevant PCR. Select the appropriate PCR for the product type, as PCRs outline specific rules for conducting the LCA and compiling the EPD, ensuring consistency and comparability within the same product category. If no PCR exists for your product category, one must be developed before the EPD can be registered.
3. Conduct the LCA. Carry out a comprehensive LCA that includes data on raw materials, manufacturing processes, transportation, use, and end-of-life stages. Analyze environmental impacts such as carbon footprint, energy use, water consumption, and emissions. This is the most data-intensive step. For a deeper look at methodology, our Essential Guide for Calculating the Carbon Footprint of Products walks through the key decisions.
4. Compile the EPD document. Using the results of the LCA and following the chosen PCR, compile the EPD. The document should include detailed environmental impact data, product information, system boundaries, and data sources in a clear and standardised format.
5. Independent third-party verification. Independent third-party verification is not optional. ISO 14025 requires verification of the EPD against the applicable PCR and LCA rules before publication, which program operators implement through accredited verifiers and quality reviews.
6. Register and publish. After verification, the EPD is registered within a recognised programme such as the International EPD System. All EPDs registered in the IES are publicly available and free to download via the EPD Library.
7. Plan for renewal. A third-party verified EPD is valid for 5 years unless the parameters change. If there are significant changes in key parameters such as raw materials used, manufacturing processes, supply chains, or energy consumption, the EPD may no longer reflect the product’s true environmental impact and would need to be updated and re-verified.
What an EPD Actually Contains
Typically, an EPD contains a brief overview of the company, product and production methods, and environmental impact data for the product. Text and illustrations are intended to be easily understood, and the environmental impact information can be found in one or two tables. Input data, LCA calculations, and any commercially sensitive information are included in a background report, which is reviewed by the third-party verifier but not typically published.
The public document therefore presents verified results in a standardised format, while proprietary details about manufacturing processes or supply chain partners remain protected.
EPDs and the Anti-Greenwashing Imperative
One of the most commercially significant arguments for an EPD is defensive as much as promotional. Vague sustainability claims are under regulatory and reputational pressure on multiple fronts. EPDs provide fact-based, third-party verified environmental data, eliminating greenwashing and ensuring stakeholders receive reliable sustainability information.
This matters increasingly in procurement. In markets where carbon reporting is required on projects, a product without a product-specific EPD often forces pessimistic assumptions that can hurt competitiveness. In other words, the absence of a declaration is not a neutral position. It leaves buyers with no choice but to assign a conservative estimate, which may disqualify a product from a specification entirely.
Our post on Green Claims: How to Make Them and Actually Back Them Up covers the full landscape of substantiation requirements for brands making public environmental claims.
EPD Databases and Where to Find Published Declarations
EPDs are available directly from manufacturers or hosted on EPD databases, typically owned by the programme operators through which EPDs are produced, verified and published. The usefulness of data stored within an EPD is proportional to how easily it can be accessed and analysed; however, database owners have been slow to modernise platforms, and most require users to download individual PDFs to view and compare the data.
The major programme operators include EPD International (the International EPD System), IBU in Germany, EPD Norge in Scandinavia, and regional operators such as EPD Australasia and EPD North America. EPD Australasia emerged as the largest contributor among licensees in 2025, accounting for 2,739 EPDs (29.2%), underscoring the region’s advanced uptake of EPDs.
For construction products, the EC3 (Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator) tool maintained by Building Transparency aggregates EPD data and allows product-level carbon comparison directly in procurement workflows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Type III environmental product declaration under ISO 14025? A Type III environmental product declaration is a standardised document that presents quantified environmental data about a product based on a life cycle assessment, governed by the ISO 14025 framework and verified by an independent third party. Unlike Type I ecolabels or Type II self-declared claims, Type III EPDs report verified numbers across multiple impact categories without making a pass/fail judgment about whether the product is “green.”
How does an EPD contribute to LEED certification points? Under LEED v4.1, project teams can earn up to two points within the Materials and Resources credit category by incorporating products with qualifying EPDs. A product-specific EPD that follows ISO 14025, 14040, and 14044 with at least a cradle-to-gate scope counts towards the threshold of 20 qualifying products needed for the first point. In LEED v5, EPDs feed into a pre-requisite for quantifying and assessing embodied carbon, making them foundational to certification rather than optional.
When is an environmental product declaration mandatory? There is no single global law requiring every product to carry an EPD, but mandatory requirements are expanding quickly. The EU Construction Products Regulation (EU 2024/3110) became applicable from January 8, 2026, embedding life-cycle environmental data into compliance requirements for construction products. Several US states, including California, Colorado, and New York, already require EPDs on state-funded building projects. Green building schemes such as LEED, BREEAM, and DGNB all award points or credits for EPD-backed products, making the document commercially necessary in many project pipelines even where it is not legally required.
How long does it take to get an environmental product declaration, and how long is it valid? The timeline depends on data readiness and verifier availability. The LCA modeling and EPD drafting phase typically takes several weeks to a few months, depending on the complexity of the supply chain and whether primary data is available from manufacturing sites. Verification and registration add further time. Once published, most EPDs are valid for five years, provided that key parameters such as raw materials, energy sources, and manufacturing processes remain materially unchanged. Significant changes may require the EPD to be updated and re-verified before the five-year period expires.
If you are building toward an EPD and need to start with a verified, ISO 14040/44-compliant product carbon footprint, Devera uses AI-powered Monte Carlo LCA to calculate your product’s footprint with uncertainty ranges in a fraction of the time of a traditional study, giving you the rigorous data foundation that EPD verification requires.