Rakennustieto EPD

An EPD declaration provides comprehensive, externally verified information on a product's environmental impact, from the use of various natural resources in its raw materials and manufacturing to its final disposal and recycling.

EPD environmental declarations help building contractors, developers, and designers better understand the environmental issues associated with building products and materials. An EPD environmental declaration is a Type III environmental label. Various environmental classification programs award points for the use of materials with EPDs.

The EPD itself does not take a position on the fitness of the product, but it provides transparent and verified standardised information on the magnitude of various impacts and enables the calculation of the life cycle of buildings or building components. By providing reliable information on the environmental impact of a product, manufacturers can influence development in a more environmentally friendly direction.

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Why Choose Rakennustieto as your EPD Publisher?

The Only Finnish EPD Publisher

Flexible and specialised service in Finnish

Rakennustieto Oy is owned by the Building Information Foundation RTS and is part of the RTS group.

Revenues are directed through the activities of the Building Information Foundation to the development of the entire property and construction sector – for the benefit of the entire industry.

Nordic Mutual-Recognition

An agreement on mutual-recognition of EPDs has been made among Nordic EPD publishers, including Rakennustieto, EPD International, EPD Norway, and EPD Denmark. This allows the environmental product declarations to be published in the systems of more than one publishing operator. Systems may have requirements, such as that transport in module A4 is calculated and declared according to the requirements of another publisher as well.

The agreement also allows for the utilization of product category-specific PCR documents from another publication program. The benefit is that these documents provide suitable and consistent assumptions for EPD statements, making the information in the statements more comparable.  

If you want to use a product category-specific PCR document made in other systems covered by the agreement in your Rakennustieto EPD environmental declaration, please contact us so we can examine and approve the PCR document.

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Product Information

Product Information is the world's first place where CO2 data is combined with the GTIN-coded product level. We deconstruct your EPD into a structured format, extracting about 20 data fields and making your information available to the entire industry through Product Information searches, management services, and interfaces. With Product Information, your product stands out in the market from competitors and is discoverable by purchasers and designers. The information is also effortlessly transmitted to contractors and clients. Product Information multiplies the benefits of publishing an EPD and ensures that the EPD is genuinely used.

Product Information is a solution for the entire construction industry for life-cycle product information management. It facilitates design, decision-making, supervision, and required documentation. For more information: Tuotetieto.fi

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A Reliable Operator

We are responsible for the verification of the EPD and the management of our publishing platform, as well as for developing and/or identifying existing product class rules required by the EPD.

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ECO Platform

When you publish an EPD in Building Information, it is also automatically published in the ECO Platform, which is the umbrella organization for European EPD program holders in Europe.

‍The EPD Programme of Building Information has been audited and approved into the ECO Platform system.

The holder of an Rakennustieto EPD declaration has the chance to add the EPD information into ECO Platform portal and add ECO Platform logo to the declaration.

ECO Platform has changed the search engine provider and from October 2020, all EPDs published by the Program Operators will be noticed in the new ECO Portal in ILCD format. To publish in the EcoPortal, please send EPD information in ILCD+EPD format as an XML file or ZIP file and excel-file (EN15804:2019).

Additional information on ECOPlatform is available at www.eco-platform.org.

How to Apply

Life cycle analysis (LCA) and LCA consultants

The information in the EPD is based on an LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), so obtaining the declaration begins with collecting data and performing an LCA. At this point, it is good to already know where you want to publish the EPD so that the LCA calculation takes into account the publisher's specific instructions (PCR) and the required information. The next step is to present the information in accordance with the EN 15804 standard and PCR guidelines in the form of a declaration, which is verified by an external verifier. The verified declaration is published in Rakennustieto.

LCA-consults‍‍

Material suppliers can conduct life cycle analysis (LCA) and prepare Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) themselves or utilize the expertise of external consultants in their EPD projects. This page lists LCA and EPD practitioners with whom we have collaborated and who have consented to share their contact information here.

• A-Insinöörit ‍
• Civitta ‍
• Ecobio ‍
• Etteplan ‍
• Granlund ‍‍
• ‍LCA-Support ‍
• Nordic Impact ‍
• Ramboll ‍
• Sitowise ‍
• Sustinere ‍
• Sweco Finland ‍
• Vesta Consulting

Engaging a consultant can often streamline and expedite the process while enhancing the quality of the outcome, as conducting an LCA is not straightforward and quick. The tools used for LCA are licensed products, so acquiring them and learning to use them may not be feasible for all companies. A well-executed LCA provides comprehensive information about products, enabling the examination of their environmental impacts and sources for the impacts.

LCA and EPD can be prepared by internal company experts as well as practitioners other than mentioned here.

Are you working in this field and interested in having your contact information here? Contact epd(at)rakennustieto.fi!

Apply via Portal

All applications are submitted through the application portal. You log in to the application portal with your personal credentials, which are created the first time you log in.  

By submitting an application, the applicant agrees to pay Rakennustieto Oy the valid classification fee and any other fees related to the granting of the classification.  MUUTA LINKKI

You can apply for an Rakennustieto EPD by submitting an application. Please send us the EPD application with attachments at least 3 working days before the meeting, so that the application and the attachments can be checked. The next meeting dates are listed on the front page of the application portal.

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For a company to apply for Rakennustieto EPDs, they must attach the following information:

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• signed environmental declaration that contains similar all the information presented in the sample declaration
• verification report
• verification checklist
• project report communication report (between author of the EPD and verifier)
• product information sheet
• instructions of use
• preferably EPD information in ILCD+EPD format as an XML file or ZIP file and excel-file (EN15804:2019) for publishing in the ECO Platform ECO Portal

Note! If the application is missing attachments, it will not be handled by Rakennustieto EPD technical committee. The process will be started only after all the necessary attachments are received.

Read more about the environmental declarations and the application process in Rakennustieto EPD Guideline. You can download the Guideline here

Rakennustieto EPDs are approved by a technical committee set up by Rakennustieto. The TC ensures that the declaration, the verification certificate and the application contain all essential information. We notify the company of the approval, after which the company has the right to use the Rakennustieto EPD logo in conjunction with the declaration.

The approved declarations are listed on the our website where one can search for EPD. Furthermore, companies have the possibility to get the Rakennustieto EPD listed in Building Information’s product information service (Rakennustiedon Tuotetieto) and publish the carbon footprint information there.

Rakennustieto together with EPD International, EPD Norway, and EPD Denmark have agreed on secondary publishing of an EPD already published by one operator. You can read more about that on the page "Why choose Rakennustieto".

Please see the Rakennustieto EPD publication fees

Product group EPD

When products are sufficiently similar in their manufacture, they can be published as a group (together or in several) in an EPD statement. This can save significant costs by grouping products. For example, concrete pillars, beams, and wall elements manufactured at the same production facility can be grouped, even though the products require different output tables. Their production is so similar that their information can be well presented with a single background document.

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Component EPD

For manufacturers who have wide product ranges with variety, producing EPD requires a significant amount of work. Component EPD offers a cost-effective solution, where the EPD information is generated once for product parts that are repeated as identical components within a product. This facilitates the creation and verification of accurate product-specific EPD reports for a broad range of products.  

Once EPD data has been created for product components in a modular tool, it can be used to produce more precise product-specific EPD reports for product variations. The information contained in the Component EPD tool is verified by a verifier accepted by Rakennustieto before the tool is implemented. After this, the EPDs produced using the modular tool go through a simplified approval process by Rakennustieto before publication.

Ask for more information and for publishing fees with email epd@rakennustieto.fi. Get a quote for publication package deal.

More information about the modular tool developed by Granlund and approved by Rakennustieto can be found here.

EPD tools

Tightening environmental requirements for products and construction require faster ways to calculate the environmental impacts. The purpose of EPD tools is to reduce the time spent on calculating environmental impacts and to promote the EPD use.

EPD tools provide manufacturers with environmental impact information from the entire manufacturing process to the final disposal. The purpose is to utilize up-to-date information on the environmental impacts of raw materials and processes. With the tools companies can e.g.

• Refine the product development
• Develop products with better environmental impacts
• Compare information on building and building component level

Tool verification

The verification of EPD tools differs from the verification of independent EPD’s. The appendix A specifies the differences and requirements for verification of an EPD tool, SAMPLE EPDs’ and Rakennustieto EPDs’ created using an EPD tool. In practice, the following information is required for the approval of an EPD tool:

• Description of the tool (applicable product groups) and name, as well as the users
• Description of the process and the background data sources
• Three different sample EPDs from the tool (three different extreme cases from the tool)
• Three different verification reports completed (tool, PRE EPD and three sample EPDs)
• PRE EPD printed from the tool
• Three sample EPDs from the tool Log of the tool changes
• Reference EPD prepared
• Communication report between the tool user and verifier

Simplified verification

The Rakennustieto EPDs composed with an EPD-tool are verified. After the tool has been accepted it helps in the creation and verification of new EPDs for similar products. EPD from an accepted tool can be verified with a simplified verification process. This means that only the information that has been entered is verified. The verifier needs to sign the EPD. The EPD made with the tool is valid for 5 years from the verification.

The accepted tools can be searched on our website with search term “tool”. In the beginning of year 2023 we had 10 accepted tools.

Pre-EPD for products that do not fulfill the one year production requirement

As of 2021 it is possible to apply for Rakennustieto EPDs for products that do not fulfill the one year production requirement.

The product in the pre-EPD must be similar enough compared to a sibling product that has been in production for at least one year, and the LCA for the pre-EPD can be calculated based on the sibling product. The actual consumption of the raw materials (not theoretical), as well as the losses in production must be known for the pre-EPD. The verifier must ensure that the results are reliable. One must clearly state that the EPD declaration is a pre-EPD.

Pre-EPD is valid for 1,5 years after the verification date. After this the Rakennustieto EPD must be updated and verified again and base the calculations on the production data of the pre-EPD product itself. The owner of the pre-EPD must re-apply for the Rakennustieto EPD status by submitting the EPD application form. The applicant must clearly state that it is about renewal of a pre-EPD.

See the classification fees for pre-EPDs here.

Declaration template and protocol for Rakennustieto EPD

What is an RTS PCR and how is it used?

In order for a company to be able to draw up an EPD, by itself or together with an external expert, the company must have both the standard EN 15804:2019 and the protocol EPDs (EPD) published by the Building Information Foundation RTS sr: General instructions for drawing up EPDs (RTS PCR). The standard can be easily acquired from SFS, while the RTS PCR is available in the  Materials page. Please notice requirements for data quality ( Data quality – EN 15941 )

The protocol (RTS PCR) contains all supplementary and explanatory information that is not included in the standard. Both documents must always be followed when preparing Rakennustieto EPD information. The standard provides basic information on preparation of EPDs, while the RTS PCR provides information about the following topics, which are needed for Rakennustieto EPD:

• information modules to be declared (A, C and D), as well as additional modules and the associated information
• additional information about the allocation of product, material and energy flows
• additional information about the procedure for allocating reuse, recycling and other recovery
• additional information about transport to construction site
• additional information about modules B6 (Energy use) and B7 (Water use)
• additional information about emissions of dangerous substances into indoor air
• product description

RTS PCR information is updated as needed. The PT42 RT EPD Committee appointed by the Building Information Foundation RTS sr is responsible for updating the information as well as for developing PCR and EPD operations.

Dowload the RTS PCR from our Materials page.

What is a declaration template and how can it be used?

The Building Information Foundation RTS sr publishes the Rakennustieto EPD declaration template as an example of a declaration containing all information required as an attachment to the RTS PCR. The EPD prepared by the company must contain all information presented in the declaration template.

The declaration template contains all information required by the standard, from product description to company information and signatures. The author of the EPD can use the declaration to make sure that the company’s declaration contains all necessary information. All information presented in the declaration template is mandatory, unless otherwise specified.

Download the Rakennustieto EPD declaration template from our Materials page

Pricing

Rakennustieto EPD publication fees

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‍Publication fees for Rakennustieto Oy. Pricing policy after January 1,2025, no annual fee:

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If the products are similar enough to be presented with in one declaration, those can form a product  groups:

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Component EPD tool approved by Rakennustieto. The tool is valid for 3 years for drawing together EPDs for publication and for results for project deliveries. Invoicing is possible to be agreed for the three year period. Packages for publishing the EPDs can be purchased also afterwards.

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EPD tool and 3 EPDs approved by the principal committee 42:

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EPDs compiled using approved (principal committee 42/18) EPD tool:

Pre-EPD for product that does not fulfill theone year minimum production period.

Pre-EPD publicationis 55 % of the normal price of the same type of publication (see above). ThePre-EPD is valid for 1,5 years.

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Included in the EPD publication fee:

• Publishing in the Eco-Portal
• Certificate in one language. The certificate can include several product names (e.g. all products in the product group). Certificate fee 150 € for additional language versions.

• The publication of the EPD with one language. Publishing of additional language versions 180 € each.

Additional fees:

• Changes that need workgroup meeting 150 € for a time
• Changes that do not need workgroup are included in the price (e.g. changes in names, contacts, other ext changes not affecting the LCA and results)

Fees for mutual recognition publication within the Nordic EPD Programs

• Dual     registration to EPD International System: 300 €
• Dual     registration to EPD Denmark: 333 €
• Dual     registration to EPD-Norway: 285 €
• Dual     registration to Rakennustieto: 325 €

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Rakennustieto Oy is registered for VAT purposes. Value added tax is added to invoices if applicable. In case of invoicing VAT registered customer located in other EU member state, the invoice is VAT 0% and reverse charge applies. In case the customer is located outside the EU and is considered as taxable person, the invoicing is VAT 0%. Rakennustieto Oy reserves the right to change the fees.

Using Rakennustieto EPD

Uses of EPD information

An EPD for construction materials can be drawn up for many different applications.

The manufacturer of a construction product can make a declaration

• For the company’s own use, in order to raise awareness about the environmental impacts of products.
• An EPD can also be made for other companies, in which case the declaration provides the essential information from the point of view of the information needs of other companies.
• An EPD can also be made for consumers. In this case, the most technical information can be left out to focus exclusively on what is essential for the consumer (e.g., carbon footprint and energy consumption). This type of EPD is not following the standard EN 15804

Rakennustieto EPDs are made primarily for “business-to-business” use. The declarations are Type III EPDs, i.e., they provide quantified environmental information about the life cycle of a product to enable comparison between products that perform the same function at the building level. The life cycle assessment has been carried out in accordance with EN ISO 14044 and the construction sector-specific amendments contained in EN 15804 (e.g., system boundaries, modularity, etc.).

EPDs contain all the information that, according to the EN 15804 standard, must be presented in EPDs in communication between companies. They can be produced by one or more organisations for one product or a product group containing similar products. Product information and environmental impact calculations are presented in EPDs as defined in the standard.

What are the uses of EPD information?

The quality and quantity of environmental information vary considerably. EPDs guarantee companies a reliable source of environmental information on construction products. All product declarations bearing the Rakennustieto EPD code are verified by a third party. The verification ensures that the information is

• reliable
• consistent
• comparable at building level
• compliant with up-to-date standards
• easy to process further and readily available

Environmental information of products can be used for comparisons at the building level during planning, when the products are fulfilling the same functional and technical requirements. It is important that the building’s entire life cycle be taken into account in all comparisons at the building level. In this case, primary EPD information includes technical and functional properties and related requirement levels as well as environmental information.

Rakennustieto EPD information is needed when defining:

• harmful substances contained in the product
• suitability of the products for recycling
• suitability of the products for reuse
• suitability of the products for disposal
• resource efficiency of the products
• material efficiency of the products
• the carbon footprint of the products and construction and other environmental impacts

The information declared in Rakennustieto EPDs can be used as source of information for purposes such as RTS Environmental Classification, LEED, BREEAM, DGNB and other assessment, certification and quality control tools for buildings.

Are Rakennustieto EPDs suitable for international use?

Yes. All Rakennustieto EPDs have been drawn up in accordance with EN 15804:A2 2019 (or EN15804: 2012), RTS PCR and product group-specific standards. Therefore, they can be used within the EU. The EN standard differs slightly from the corresponding ISO standard, so Rakennustieto EPDs do not necessarily cover all aspects of information that is needed in e.g. Japan and USA. However, for example, LEED v4 also approves EPDs according to EN 15804.

The EPD operation of Building Information have been audited by ECO Platform and meets all the requirements se for the operation.

Where the information is published?

Rakennustieto Oy is publishing the EPDs in its website. In addition to that, the EPD information can be published in ILCD+EPD dataformat in the ECO Platform ECO Portal.

Companies have also the possibility to get the Rakennustieto EPD listed in Building Information’s product information service (Rakennustiedon Tuotetieto) and publish the carbon footprint information there.

Search for Rakennustieto EPDs

You can search Rakennustieto EPDs from below. Mobile version can be found here

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Materials

Rakennustieto EPD general rules ‍

Rakennustieto EPD fees_2023

Rakennustieto EPD Guideline (updated 18.2.2021)

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Protocol for the preparation of environmental declarations

NEW: RTS PCR Protocol for drawing up Environmental Product Declarations of building products (SFS-EN 15804:2012 + A2:2019/AC:2021, version 121124)

Protocol for drawing up Environmental Product Declarations of building products (RTS EPD) Version 260820
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Samples

Rakennustieto EPD Sample for Plaster (SFSEN15804:2019, version 260820)

Rakennustieto EPD Sample for Wood (SFSEN15804:2019, version 060820)

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Verification documents

Application for verifiers (updated 4.11.20)

Verification checklist

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EPD-tool verification

Rakennustieto EPD Guideline – Appendix A – Verification of EPD-tools (updated 26/08/20)

EPD-tool verification checklist

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Rakennustieto c-PCR-documents

c-PCR 001 Ventilation components

c-PCR 002 Electrical cables and wires

c-PCR 001  Photovoltaic modules

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Frequently asked questions

Can I publish an Rakennustieto EPD in several languages? 

EPD can be published as translation to several languages, but the publication needs to be done either in Finnish or in English.

Is there an annual fee on the Rakennustieto EPD?

The publication fee is the only fee that you pay to Building Information Ltd for the publication of an EPD. The EPD is valid for five years (pre-EPD is for one and half year). There are no annual fees or similar continuous charges. If the data changes so much that it needs reapproval from the technical committee, there is a charge on that.

Can I include several products in one Rakennustieto EPD?

It is possible to report more than one product with one EPD. This can be done either with several result tables or with a set of scaling factors (for example different dimensions of the same material). If there are several products in one EPD, the readability can suffer, and one choice is to publish more than one EDP document from the same study and background report. If you are wondering, please, contact us at epd@rakennustieto.fi .

When does a change in the dataset requires Rakennustieto EPD to be re-verified (and reapproved in technical committee)?

Cases where for example there are changes in the process equipment, raw material or energy source (for example from national average to green energy) that change the GWP total A1-A3 is more than ±10 % (as said in the EN 15804: “An EPD shall only be reassessed and updated as necessary to reflect changes in technology or other circumstances that could alter the content and accuracy of the declaration”). In these cases, there might be several changes in the indicator tables, but the validity dates remain the same and it is considered as one approval in the technical committee.

When does a change in the dataset require Rakennustieto EPD to be re-approved (without a re-verification)?

cases where for example theamount of recycled material changes in raw material (as said in the EN 15804: “An EPD shall only be reassessed and updated as necessary to reflect changes in technology or other circumstances that could alter the content and accuracy of the declaration”). In these cases, there might be several changes in the indicator tables, but the validity dates remain the same and it is considered as one approval in the technical committee.

What changes can be made without re-approval of the technical committee?

During the five years validity time there can happen a lot. For example new contact persons and contact details, changes in company or product names. This type of update is done free of charge, at the moment.

Product grouping 

If the products are from the same production site and the differences are quite small between the products, you have some options. 

a)     The first option of grouping is that you calculate and declare an average of the products. This way the allocation for example electricity on the production and the amount of side products is minimal, sometimes those are measurable only at the production line or even at the site level (A1-A3 GWP total needs to be within ±10 % in this case).

b)     The second option would be to choose a representative product and calculate all production by that and state in the EPD the reason this has been selected (for example ‘this product is XX % of all production’). This already needs some more allocations, and the results should be within ±10 %. 
c)  One possible option could be to use the worst-case of all products (by selecting the worst values for each indicator), this can also include higher variation of results.

Can I use our company graphical guidelines in Rakennustieto EPD?

EPD can follow graphical guidelines of company or from the tool. The contents of the EPD are defined in the standard and in the PCR document, but the graphical design can be chosen freely. Sometimes the EPD goes through graphical design after it has been approved to be published.

I have a private label product. Can it have an EPD for it?

It is possible to publish an EPD for a private label product*) based on the EPD for the original manufacturer of the product. The EPD of the original / branded product needs to be published by us in Rakennustieto and the private label EPD will share the same expiration date. For the private label EPD we give a discount on the publication fee.
*) A private label product means a product that is manufactured (and quite often marketed as original brand) by another company than yours.

Mass balance approach (MBA) and the EPD

MBA is not allowed to be used in the Environmental Product Declarations at the moment. There is not yet consensus over the issue and discussions are ongoing in both CEN TC350 WG3 and ECO Platform about this. You can read more about this from the ECO Platform position statements https://www.eco-platform.org/position-statements.html

Mass balance approach means calculation, in which some raw material flows with specified characteristics (for example recycled content, biobased material etc.) of a product are allocated to the products not by the tracked average content nor by the tracked physical content at the moment of the production but on a theoretical basis, resulting part of the production with a higher content than would be possible otherwise. This theoretical basis is called the “mass balance model: credit method” in ISO 22095, which describes various chain of custody approaches.

Here is an example how MBA works: a site has, as an example, only 5% of its input with the specified characteristic which physically is actually spread across all products equally.  Using the MBA it would be possible to allocate this 5% theoretically so that 5% of its production has 100% of the specified characteristic, and 95% of the production has 0% of the specified characteristic.  

How to treat a NEW packaging containing biogenic carbon in the EPD?

Scenario 1: Wooden pallet/wood-based packaging enters into the system under study as a new pallet and is to be re-used as a packaging material:
When it enters the system (in A3 as packaging), the packaging carries 100% of all burdens of the manufacturing of the pallet. It has full biogenic CO2 content (-kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content (+MJ).

As it exits the system in A5 (as a packaging to be reused), it releases the entire biogenic CO2 content (+kgCO2e) and the full renewable energy content needs to be balanced here (-MJ) as Primary Energy resources (PER) used as material. Also the transport to the next use should be here.
In module D of the EPD it should show the net benefits of pallet which will replace a new pallet and also some burdens from the repair of the earlier used pallet to replace a new pallet are included (0-5% from burdens of manufacturing of a new pallet, thus resulting  at least 95% savings for manufacturing for the next life cycle).
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Scenario 2: Wooden pallet/wood-based packaging enters into the system under study as a new pallet and is to be recovered by its energy content in the next life cycle:
When it enters the system, the packaging carries 100% of all burdens of the manufacturing. It has full biogenic CO2 content (-kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content (+MJ).

As it exits the system in A5, it releases the full biogenic CO2 content (+kgCO2e) and the full renewable energy content needs to be balanced here (-MJ) as Primary Energy resources (PER) used as material (chipped for recovery). The transportation to the energy recovery and burdens from the chipping/other processing belong to here.

In module D of the EPD, it should show the net benefits of energy recovery. The full Biogenic CO2 content (expressed as -kg CO2eq/kg) is inherited again back to wood material, meaning that the release of Biogenic CO2 content in energy production will be resulting net zero Biogenic CO2 emissions.

If there is a share ending to landfill (i.e. pieces broken beyond reparation), similar reasoning as in scenario 2 applies.

The so called "1/10" rule is from PEF method, it is not in line with EN 15804+A2, meaning that all impacts from manufacturing of e.g.  a new wooden pallet should be addressed to it = i.e. attributional LCA/cut-off approach.

How to treat a RE-USED packaging containing biogenic carbon in the EPD?

Scenario 1: Wooden pallet/wood-based packaging enters into the system under study as re-used  and is to be re-used again as a packaging material in the next life cycle:
When it enters the system, the packaging carries 0-5% of all burdens of the manufacturing (the possible repairs, see question about new packaging). It has full biogenic CO2 content (-kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content(+MJ).

As it exits the system in A5 (as a packaging to be reused), it releases the full biogenic CO2 content (+kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content needs to be balanced here (-MJ) as Primary Energy resources (PER) used as material. Also the transport to the next use should be here.

In module D the EPD should show only minor benefits of the reused pallet which will replace a re-used pallet and also some burdens from the repair of the earlier used pallet to replace new pallet are included (0-5% from burdens of manufacturing of a new pallet).

Scenario 2: Wooden pallet / wood packaging enters into the system under study as re-used and is to be recovered by its energy content in the next life cycle:
When it enters the system, the packaging carries 0-5 % of all burdens of the manufacturing. It has full biogenic CO2 content (-kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content (+MJ).
As it exits the system in A5, it releases the full biogenic CO2 content (+kgCO2e) and full renewable energy content needs to be balanced here (-MJ) as Primary Energy resources (PER) used as material (chipped for energy recovery). The transportation to the energy recovery and burdens from the chipping/other processing belong to here.

In module D the EPD should show the net benefits of energy recovery. The full Biogenic CO2 content (expressed as -kg CO2eq/kg) is inherited again back to wood material, meaning that the release of Biogenic CO2 content in energy production will be resulting net zero Biogenic CO2 emissions.

If there is a share ending to landfill (i.e. pieces broken beyond reparation), similar reasoning as in scenario 2 applies.

How do I acquire an  EPD?

Quite often companies use an LCA practitioner on the EPD project. The tools usually used in the LCA are not on open access and it is not trivial to use them at the first time. We at Rakennustieto have a list of LCA practitioners we have worked with, but it is not comprehensive.

It is good to select the publisher already in the beginning, so that the instructions given in the Product Category Rules (PCR) can be followed from the start. The PCR documents give more specific instructions than the standard, as the standard needs to be so general that it works in all the situations with all possible products. Quite often the PCR contains instructions about the possible scenarios to use in some situations (like transportation on module A4 or on the energies to use in the calculations).

After the LCA is ready, the EPD itself and a project report are prepared from the LCA. The project report is for the verification and it is not published but used by the verifier to see the quality of the data sources and that the standard and PCR are followed.

After the verification the EPD (and accompanying documents) are sent to us via application portal for publication. We at Rakennustieto make a final check on the EPD before publishing it on our website and on the ECO Platform.

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