EPDs: A tool to decarbonise your lighting

In this article, we'll explore what an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is, why it matters, and how EPDs can help businesses to align with sustainability goals and stakeholder expectations

As the UK, like all global communities, grapples with the pressing challenges of environmental degradation and resource depletion, there is a growing imperative on manufacturers, government, and consumers to understand and minimise the environmental impacts associated with the products they produce, regulate, and consume. This pursuit of environmental sustainability has sparked a heightened demand for reliable and transparent information that can guide informed decision-making towards more environmentally conscious choices.

For stakeholders and customers of the UK lighting industry, the situation is no different. Manufacturers, designers, installers, specifiers - they are all looking for that holy grail of a single, understandable, and reliable method to guide their decisions.

However, quantifying and comparing the multifaceted environmental footprints of products across various impact categories, poses a formidable challenge. The intricate web of supply chains, manufacturing processes, and disposal or re-use methods that underpin the lifecycle of a product makes it exceedingly difficult to accurately assess and compare the environmental implications of different products and their alternatives. The need for assessing environmental impacts has indeed led to a proliferation of green labels, circularity scores, and sustainability rating methods aimed at simplifying the comparison of products. However, reducing the complex matter of evaluating various environmental impacts to a one-dimensional, simplified rating system or a single logo is problematic and can be misleading.

Enter EPDs

As sustainability becomes an increasingly vital consideration in architectural and construction projects, Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) serve as essential tools for navigating the myriad choices available. First, what is an EPD?

An EPD is a standardised document that provides comprehensive information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. This includes data on raw material extraction, production, usage, and end-of-life disposal, ensuring that this is a source of information that is transparent, reliable, and comparable across similar products. EPDs provide invaluable insights into a product's environmental impact throughout its life cycle, offering data on energy consumption, carbon emissions, and resource usage. By utilising EPDs, consultants and architects can make informed decisions that align with their sustainability objectives, ultimately contributing to greener and more eco-conscious designs. EPDs are derived from Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), which consider all stages of the product life cycle including raw material extraction and transport, product manufacturing and delivery including installation, operation, disposal and recycling.

EPDs v/s other regulations

As a steppingstone towards full EPDs, the UK’s Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) developed a Technical Memorandum in 2021: TM65/TM65.2, “Embodied carbon in building services: A calculation methodology”, which basically is a narrowed-down EPD focusing on carbon footprint only. TM65/TM65.2 simplifies but builds on international ISO standards that have been developed by experts over the years. As such, it is a half-way step towards a practice where full EPDs are being created to demonstrate all environmental impacts of products throughout their lifecycle. By TM65, the UK lighting industry is being pointed towards more robust and complete calculation methods. It should also be noted that TM65 states that if a product EPD exists then the TM65 assessment does not need to be applied.

In 2021, CIBSE introduced TM66, that sets out what designing and manufacturing to comply with circular economy principles entails and includes a checklist, a method of assessing a product’s circular economy performance, and real-world examples of good practice. TM66 was created to address an immediate need that was emerging in the lighting industry. Manufacturers were seeking ways to make their products more sustainable, create circular designs, explore re-manufacturing and substantiate their green claims. Likewise, customers and specifiers were seeking independent evidence of claims made, and a simple scoring system to compare at least some of such product claims was more than welcome. The TM66-CEAM tool was useful for filling that gap.

EPDs on the other hand, offer a comprehensive assessment across a product's entire life cycle covering all environmental aspects, following standardized formats, and undergoing independent verification. In some cases, a product might have both an EPD and a TM66 report, providing an even more in-depth look at its environmental impact. Think of an EPD as a detailed environmental biography of a product, while TM66 is a specific chapter focusing on its end-of-life potential. Use an EPD for a comprehensive environmental impact assessment across any product category. Use TM66 for a quick assessment of a lighting product's circularity characteristics, particularly embodied carbon (manufacturing emissions).