Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs)

We offer EPDs for a range of our glasswool products.

Measuring the environmental impact of our products at every stage of the life-cycle.

As part of our sustainability strategy, Knauf Insulation is committed to measuring and reducing the environmental impact of our products, as well as reporting these impacts in a transparent way. With growing emphasis on environmental considerations as a priority for today’s buildings, we believe it is important to align with the needs and expectations of our customers by providing accurate environmental information about our glasswool products. This is why we have published Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

If you cannot find the EPD you are looking for, please contact sustainability@knaufinsulation.com.

What is an EPD?

An EPD is an objective, independently verified document that quantifies and communicates the environmental performance of a product, service or process based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). An LCA calculates the full environmental impact of a particular product across all phases of its life cycle from cradle-to-grave, measuring the impact of a range of factors including embodied carbon, the raw materials used in manufacturing, and the potential impact on biodiversity and soil toxicity.

EPDs follow standardised methods and are verified by a third-party to ensure that only objective, accurate data is published, making it easy for consumers to compare the environmental impacts of products from different manufacturers.

By publishing EPDs, we are helping specifiers, architects and building planners make more informed and sustainable choices about the products they are using by cutting through the sustainability claims and presenting the verified facts and data.

Why are EPDs important?

EPDs are the industry standard for measuring the environmental impact of a product. As reducing embodied carbon becomes a key focus for the construction industry, having access to verified data about the environmental impact of a product across all stages of the lifecycle – raw material collection, processing, transportation, use and end-of-life – enables companies to evaluate and monitor the environmental performance of their operations. And as regulations are increasingly introduced into markets around the world, EPDs will continue to become increasingly critical for companies to demonstrate compliance.

Customers can trust that by using EPDs to compare products, they are using the most up-to-date, evidence-based data, allowing them to make more informed and sustainable choices. For companies with favourable EPDs, this can help differentiate themselves and appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.

What’s in an EPD

A standard published EPD will contain the following sections:

Programme-related information and verification –Contains introductory information about the document owner, who it has been verified by, and the standard it follows.
General information – Offers an overview of the publishing company and product materials used.
Product information – Details technical information and characteristics about the relevant product being assessed.
LCA information – Provides functional information about the LCA methodology used, system boundaries and life cycle stages assessed.
Environmental Performance –
- Potential environmental impacts: Calculated environmental impacts of 13 categories – including embodied carbon (known as ‘global warming potential’ (GWP) in an EPD), ozone depletion, water depletion, etc.
- Use of resources: Calculated results of the renewable and non-renewable energy and resources used across the product life cycle.
- Waste production and output flows: Output of hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposed, materials for recycling and energy exported.
- Additional impact categories and indicators: Calculations of the additional impacts not covered previously across the lifecycle and the biogenic carbon content results.
LCA interpretation – Provides a summary of the major impacts and identifies the stage delivering the highest impact for each category.
References

How to read an EPD

An EPD contains A LOT of information, and it can be hard to identify what to focus on to correctly interpret and use the document.

Follow these steps to use the environmental information providing effectively:

Check the Programme-related information area to identify whether the EPD is third-party verified and valid and has been published to the EN15804+A2 standard.
Ensure you are viewing the EPD for the correct product in the Product information area.
Use the LCA information area to understand the declared unit of measurement (e.g per kg or ) to ensure accurate comparisons and review the system of boundaries being followed (what stages of the life cycle are being examined).
Use the Environmental performance area to view the data, focusing on the environmental impact indicators most relevant to your project requirements.
View the LCA interpretation for a quick summary of the greatest impact stages for each category.

How to Compare EPDs

In order to make informed decisions about a product’s environmental performance, it is essential to focus on key factors when making comparisons between EPDs.

1. Ensure the functional units declared are consistent across EPDs.
2. Check the scope of the EPDs are the same (All Knauf Insulation EPDs are cradle-to-grave).
3. Check that the EPDs are product specific and updated to the EN15804+A2 standard.
4. Understand the system boundaries.
5. Ensure that the environmental impact categories used are the same and comparable.
6. Compare the environmental impact indicators directly.
7. Consider the impact of the entire lifecycle, instead of just the individual stages.
8. Ensure all EPDs are independently verified to ensure credibility.