Carbon Footprint & the 101 on EPDs: What Every Cabinet Maker Should Know
A conversation with Borg Sustainability Manager, Katrina Boyd
Industry can be transparent on the environmental impacts of the materials they use. Borg Sustainability Manager Katrina Boyd explains the essentials of Environmental Product Declarations, EPDs.
Why Carbon Footprint Matters
Timber products can have a negative upfront embodied carbon value. This means it stores more carbon than it emits during harvesting, transport and manufacturing. The biogenic carbon is more than the fossil fuel and land use change impacts. “So how do you calculate that?” says Katrina. “It starts with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), which provides the data used to create an EPD.”
What Is an EPD?
An Environmental Product Declaration is like a nutrition label for building materials. It provides independently verified data, not opinions or ratings. The data calculates climate change (carbon footprint), air, water and soil pollution and resource depletion.
EPDs are verified to the international standard ISO 14025 and based on EN 15804. You can access them freely at EPD Australasia and EPD International databases. Over 2,000 EPDs are now available. More than 1,000 were added last year to EPD Australia.
Why This Matters to Cabinet Makers
More specifiers and customers are beginning to request EPDs as part of their standard documentation. “You don’t need to be an expert,” says Katrina. “EPDs show your materials have been through a high standard of review, and that’s valuable to specifiers and customers.” EPDs also contribute points in certifications like Green Star, WELL, NABERS and LEED. Material manufacturers first EPD will be a learning curve. The next ones give many opportunities to continuously improve.
Getting Familiar with the Terms
Here’s a quick reference guide:
- LCA (Life Cycle Assessment): A science-based review of a product’s environmental impacts across its lifecycle.
- EPD (Environmental Product Declaration): A verified summary of LCA results.
- PCF (Product Carbon Footprint): Just the carbon component, less comprehensive than an EPD.
Katrina shares, “Think of an EPD like a full nutrition label, a PCF as one item on that label, and an LCA as the whole recipe.”
This handy diagram adapted from EN 15978:2011 shows the breakdown of an EPD module. A1, A2 and A3 are typically grouped as A1-3.
MECLA Dictionary – Supply Chain Sustainability School Limited
Let’s Do a Quick Example
The GWP – Total is the most requested number from an EPD document. Say you purchase moisture resistant particleboard, 16mm thick and 2400 x 1200mm (0.04608m³). If the EPD shows a GWP- total (A1–A3) of –637 kg CO₂ equivalent/m³:
0.04608 x -637 = -29.35 kg CO₂ equivalent
That’s negative upfront embodied carbon -29kg of the cradle to gate.
Comparing EPDs
- Make sure the base units are comparable (e.g. m³, m², kg, T)
- Check that you’re comparing the same scope lifecycle stage (e.g. A1–A3)
- Watch out for geography e.g. AU is Australia which covers all impacts here. Else it may be excluding or assuming impacts for raw materials, transport and manufacturing.
- Understand assumptions: some EPDs show average data, while others offer product-specific values and some have scaling tables.
“A single carbon number doesn’t tell the whole story, “Says Katrina. “Chain of custody, local sourcing, water use, recycled content, health and social impacts all matter too.”
Final Thoughts
Knowing EPDs exists is a good start on your journey. It’s emerging to become part of the standard toolkit of information we have on our products. In Katrina’s words: “An EPD gives us the language and transparency to continue sharing wood is good.”
Links:
What is an EPD? | EPD Australasia
MECLA Dictionary – Supply Chain Sustainability School Limited
