Environmental Product Declaration
EPD & life cycle assessment
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for our chipboard, esb boards and life cycle assessment for our natural wood panel VITA
As a member of the Association of the German Wood-Based Board Industry (VHI), our chipboards and esb boards are provided with an EPD. The VHI works together with the Institute for Building and Environment (IBU) for sustainable building. The VHI and its members have drawn up Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for the various product groups in the form of an Association EPD.
What is an EPD?
An EPD is a multi-page document that describes the environmental impacts of building products based on a life cycle assessment with quantitative data. It is used for the sustainability assessment of buildings. It is prepared by the manufacturer and checked at the IBU by independent verifiers on the basis of the ISO 14025 and EN 15804 standards and then published. An EPD serves to provide transparency about the environmental impacts of products to the public.
What are the benefits of an EPD?
An EPD provides credible and comparable information on the environmental performance of products. For example, different product groups can be compared with each other.
Who is the EPD aimed at?
The EPD addresses many audiences with its statements on environmental performance: Planners, architects, construction companies, real estate companies, facility managers and, of course, companies involved in the value chain from raw materials to the building with production and services.
Where is the EPD required?
EPDs play an important role in the context of sustainable building certification. EPDs help to make the environmental impact of a building measurable and comparable. The positive environmental impact of a building influences the price, resale value and return on investment of a property. For example, certified green buildings accounted for EUR 5.3 billion of individual commercial properties in 2014 (total volume EUR 27.9 billion).
What are the most important sustainability certification systems?
The following certification systems use EPDs for building certification:
BNB: Assessment System for Sustainable Building
DGNB: German Sustainable Building Council
BREEAM: Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Get to know our branded products
Construction and sawn timber
Fresh wood –
Raw chipboard
elka
Strong Board esb
