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Exploring EPDs
What they mean for manufacturers, housebuilders and their customers
Working towards a net-zero future is a priority for many industries, particularly the fenestration and cellular PVC industry. A step towards this is the introduction of Environmental Product Declarations( EPDs). But what are EPDs? How will they help businesses achieve their sustainability goals? And why should manufacturers care? We caught up with Dave Osborne, Technical Manager at Swish Building Products, to find answers to these questions, as well as discuss the wider implications of EPDs.
FIRSTLY, WHAT IS AN EPD?
An Environmental Product Declaration( EPD) is a standardised, transparent document that communicates the environmental impact of a product or material throughout its entire life cycle. It provides a comprehensive assessment of a product’ s environmental footprint, allowing for informed decision-making and promoting sustainable practices.
At its heart, an EPD is based on a thorough Life Cycle Assessment( LCA), which analyses the environmental effects of a product throughout its life cycle. These assessments are defined by three options:
CRADLE TO GATE
This considers all aspects of a product from raw materials( including extraction, refinement, and delivery), and the energy and resources required to process the finished article before it’ s despatched from the manufacturing plant.
CRADLE TO GATE WITH OPTIONS
This takes the above and expands on the delivery and use of a product, including pre-processing, secondary energy and resource use during the installation phase, potential maintenance and replacement cycles, and final disposal where known.
CRADLE TO GRAVE
This holistic approach considers the complete end to end process, including fully managed recycling options at the end of a product’ s‘ service life’.
The key output is the Global Warming Potential( GWP) which defines the embodied CO ² equivalent / kg of product. In the case of Swish, which holds EPDs for cellular profiles and rainwater products these are reported as: Cellular PVC = 2.26 kg CO ² eq / kg of product and Rainwater = 1.71 kg CO ² eq / kg of product.
EPDs are developed in accordance with International Standards( ISO 14025 and EN 15804) and are fully verified by an independent third party to ensure credibility of the data. This ensures they provide an impartial way of comparing the environmental performance of different products within the same category.
The aim? To help manufacturers, designers, and consumers understand the environmental impact of a product, from raw material extraction to end-of-life management.
Once created, EPDs impact multiple domains including building design and construction, product development and manufacturing, as well as public procurement and marketing strategies.
56 NOVEMBER 2025 CLEARVIEW-UK. COM