KORE are thrilled to announce the publication of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for KORE products EPS70 White, EPS70 Silver, EPS100 White, EPS100 Silver, EPS150 White, EPS200 & EPS300. KORE’s Environmental Product Declaration is registered in Ireland by the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC), and in Europe by Eco Platform. Life Cycle Analysis Consultant: Peter Seymour, Eco Review, Kilkenny. LCA Software used: EcoChain. Independently verified by Jane Anderson of Construction LCA Ltd.
What is an EPD?
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a verified (and registered) document that communicates transparent and comparable information about the life cycle environmental performance of your products. In Europe, they must conform to the European Standard, EN 15804, which ensures that EPD for construction products use a common methodology, report a common set of environmental indicators and have a common reporting format. This means that EPD can be integrated into building level assessment, and used to compare construction products in a building context
What does an EPD measure?
KORE’s EPD measures the complete life cycle of the product,from raw materials when they leave country of origin, through the complete manufacturing process, to when the product leaves the gate. All EN 15804 EPD report the same environmental impact indicators. These are:
- Global Warming Potential (GWP)
- Acidification (AP)
- Eutrophication (EP):
- Stratospheric Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP):
- Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP):
- Abiotic Depletion (Elements) (ADPE):
- Abiotic Depletion (Fossil Fuels) (ADPF):
In addition, EN 15804 EPD report the amount of primary energy used within the product (as feedstock, for example for plastics and wood) and to manufacture the product (as energy). Primary Energy is also broken down into energy from renewable sources, such as hydro-electricity and biomass, and from non-renewable sources – fossil fuels and nuclear energy. They also provide information on the amount of secondary (recycled) material used and the amount of recovered material, fuel or energy produced at end of life. (Reference Irish Green Building Council, 2019)
Why did we produce an EPD for our products?
- Using Products with an EPD can get additional credits in Building Sustainable Assessment schemes like the Home Performance Index, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method).
- Sourcing products with EPD is one way to demonstrate Green Public Procurement
- In Europe- EPD provide information to enable Building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) – assessing the LCA for buildings and ensuring it is below limit values is now mandatory for all houses and offices over 100 m2 in the Netherlands; mandatory for all large publicly funded new buildings in Germany; and France is currently piloting a new Regulation incorporating Building LCA.
KORE’s Environmental Production Declaration meets ISO 14025 and EN 15804 + A1. For more information please visit EPD Ireland or the Irish Green Building Council.