IRISH GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL say why we need EPDs and clearer environmental labelling on all products.

WHY WE NEED EPDS AND CLEARER ENVIRONMENTAL LABELLING ON ALL PRODUCTS

Around 11% of all greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the production of building materials. In Ireland, UCD estimates that figure to be closer to 14%1. The products we use today come to us neatly packaged in boxes or on pallets with only the performance information you need to know included – there is no requirement to tell you the environmental impact of production.

It is impossible to look at two steel beams and know which contains recycled steel and which is all virgin material harvested at great energy cost. It is also hard to tell which was produced in a coal fired blast furnace and which came from an electric arc furnace running on renewable energy. The difference these kinds of details make to greenhouse gas emissions is huge yet remains invisible. If that information were disclosed and attached to a product, light would be shone on our industrial practices, and we could begin to address them. It could be done with a QR code, or even a stamp.

More information would allow the market to choose less impactful products and therefore influence how products get made. In the absence of this information being a requirement, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) recommends you ask manufacturers for it yourself via an EPD.

EPDs are Environmental Product Declarations, documents that are created by carrying out a Lifecycle Analysis of a production process. Put simply, they tell you the environmental impact of producing that concrete block, insulation panel or anything else. Think of the nutrition labelling of food – the EPD is similar, but the information refers to the effect on the environment rather than the effect on you. It would be useful if at least some of the data from EPDs were printed on the packaging to help informed choice - see example below.

Many companies choose to produce EPDs to demonstrate their commitment to the green agenda and to differentiate themselves in the marketplace; there are extra credits available for buildings that use materials with EPDs in certification schemes such as LEED, BREEAM and in the forthcoming revision of

Ireland’s Home Performance

Index, so in some cases, there is a reward for specifiers choosing them. Furthermore, as part of our campaign, over 40 major specifiers of construction products operating in Ireland have already committed to asking for EPDs and giving preference to them wherever possible 2 .

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Most of us are already familiar with Building Energy Rating (BER) certificates and how they indicate the efficiency performance of a building in use.

A voluntary organisation in the UK, the London Energy Transformation Initiative (www.leti.london), has developed a similar certificate for quickly understanding the embodied carbon impact of a building. It demonstrates the emissions that occurred to produce each square metre of the building. If each material carried data from its EPD on its packaging the market could make better informed choice. This would encourage manufacturers to improve production processes to win business and move the market. The scale and impact of our building practices mean this could make a significant contribution to reducing our spiralling greenhouse gas emissions.

Where do I find out more about EPDs?

If you are a manufacturer, you can begin your EPD journey at EPDIreland.org. EPD Ireland is the national programme for helping manufacturers produce EPDs. Operated by the Irish Green Building Council, it can guide manufacturers through the process and advise on finance available from Enterprise Ireland to support the costs.

If you are a stockist, we encourage you to ask manufacturers to supply EPDs so your customers can make better informed choices. Ultimately, all markets respond to the demands of clients. Until we see greater regulation, only demand will influence supply.

For the full article on why this is so important and examples of the carbon impact of some common building products please visit www.igbc.ie/why-EPD.

1 www.igbc.ie/resources/whole-life-carbon-in-construction-and-the-builtenvironment-in-ireland_v3/