UmweltProduktdeklarationen

Umweltproduktdeklaration (UPD), often aligned with the English term Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), is a type III environmental declaration that communicates quantified environmental performance of a product or product system over its life cycle. UPDs are based on life cycle assessment (LCA) results and are prepared according to international and national rules, primarily ISO 14025 for type III declarations and product category rules (PCRs). For building products the EN 15804 framework is commonly used. The declaration presents a functional unit, system boundaries, and a set of environmental impact indicators such as global warming potential, ozone depletion potential, acidification, eutrophication, resource use, and water use, typically per unit of functional use.

Content and structure: A UPD includes a product description, the declared unit, the life cycle stages covered (often cradle-to-grave or cradle-to-gate), data sources, data quality, and verification status. Results are normally verified by a certified third party or a program operator. The data are intended to be transparent and reproducible, enabling external validation of the LCA results.

Purpose and usage: UPDs aim to provide transparent information for procurement decisions, design optimization, and policy development. They are most common in the construction sector but are used in other industries as well. They allow comparison of products when the functional unit and system boundaries are identical and the PCR is appropriate.

Limitations: UPDs do not automatically guarantee environmental superiority; differences in scope, data quality, allocation methods, and modeling choices can affect results. They do not address social impacts or non-environmental factors and should be interpreted within their declared boundaries.