ISO 14025 and Type III declarations: the framework behind an EPD

EN 15804 gets all the attention when preparing an EPD, but the standard that defines what an EPD is is ISO 14025. EN 15804 says how an EPD for construction products is calculated; ISO 14025 defines who may publish an environmental declaration and under what rules.

Three types of environmental label

The ISO 14020 series splits environmental declarations into three. Type I (ISO 14024) is an ecolabel awarded to products meeting criteria set by a third-party programme — it works on a pass or fail basis. Type II (ISO 14021) is a self-declared claim; verification is not mandatory but it must not mislead.

Type III (ISO 14025) is different: there is no passing grade. An EPD does not say a product is good or bad; it presents quantified environmental data in a standard format and leaves interpretation to the reader. That is both the EPD's strength and the thing most often misunderstood about it.

The role of the program operator

ISO 14025 requires Type III declarations to be published within a programme. The program operator does three things: develops or approves the product category rules, accredits verifiers, and publishes declarations so they are publicly accessible. Without that structure a document is not an EPD, however well calculated.

No PCR, no EPD

Product category rules (PCR) ensure products in the same category are calculated on the same assumptions: functional unit, system boundary, cut-off rules, scenarios and the indicators to report. That is where comparability comes from. Two EPDs are comparable only if prepared under the same PCR.

• A product category can have more than one PCR — it varies by operator
• PCRs have validity periods, and EPDs are reissued when they are updated
• If a product fits no existing PCR, a new one has to be developed
• PCR compliance is the first thing checked in verification
• Comparing EPDs prepared under different PCRs is a methodological error

Verification and validity

ISO 14025 makes independent verification mandatory. The verifier checks the calculation's PCR compliance, the data quality and the report's completeness. A published EPD is typically valid for five years; if the production process or input mix changes significantly within that period, an update is expected before expiry.