3 Companies Move the Needle On Environmental Product Declarations

3 Companies Move the Needle On Environmental Product Declarations
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These three companies are focused on improving eco-leadership actions with EPDs.

Check out our full list of 2024 Eco-Leaders by downloading our July-August issue here. The following are program runners-up. All three have big plans for EPD implementation. 

LG Electronics

LG_LogoThis company is actively pursuing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) to fast-track its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy and achieve net-zero emissions across all scopes by 2030. 

Having EPDs enables LG to optimize its manufacturing processes and deliver on the three tenets of its ESG strategy: carbon neutrality, circularity and clean technology. For example, LG has identified that the product use stage accounts for 80 percent of its total emissions. As a result, it has implemented highly efficient eco-friendly technologies to reduce those emissions.

Building on this approach, LG has already secured multiple EPDs for its refrigerator and air purifier product lines, with plans to further expand its EPD library. This focus on EPDs is part of a long-standing commitment, as the company has been conducting life cycle assessments (LCAs)—a key component of EPDs—on its products since 1995. 

Oldcastle APG

Old Castle logoAs a major manufacturer in the outdoor construction products industry—specializing in mortar, concrete and grout—Oldcastle APG has a wide customer base, and those customers have a definite desire to know how those products are made. At the same time, the company likes to keep tabs on where and from whom its raw materials are coming. This makes EPDs almost second nature to the Atlanta-based company.

According to Jamie Douthit, Oldcastle’s sustainability analyst, the company is updating EPDs across its footprint. Oldcastle has published 18 masonry and 2 dry mix EPDs, and has a tool that allows generation of masonry EPDs as needed. 

“We have decided to pursue obtaining EPDs for our North American footprint because we value data transparency and believe that it is an important factor in helping to drive sustainability goals and initiatives—both internally and also for our customers,” Douthit notes. “We aim to be a market leader with the top-quality products that we offer, and we understand that EPDs play a key part in that.”

Having EPDs has helped Oldcastle select the best mix designs and raw materials for its products and find inefficiencies in its production facilities, Douthit adds.

YKK AP America

YKK_Logo1This is the first facade manufacturer to voluntarily provide third-party verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for all its products. With more than 75 EPD-backed products spanning seven product categories, YKK AP America’s dedication to fostering EPD adoption and promoting transparency is undeniably impressive.

The company is committed to supporting suppliers on their EPD journey and collaborating with industry partners to increase EPD visibility. For example, YKK AP America partnered with cove.tool to upload its products, facilitating earlier engagement with design teams during the product selection process.

YKK AP America’s adoption of EPDs aligns with its broader sustainability strategy, “Evolution 2030,” which aims to optimize manufacturing processes to achieve zero waste and reduce carbon emissions, among other environmental initiatives. The company aims to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040 while also making progress against Scope 3 emissions. 

EPDs offer a natural path to achieve these ambitious goals by enabling YKK AP America to identify inefficiencies and make improvements. For example, the company procured lower-carbon aluminum as a direct result of insights provided by EPDs.