Navigating the future of product documentation: A guide for sustainable building decisions

by tanya_martins | February 13, 2025 1:56 pm

By Jeff Terry

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In the ever-evolving landscape of sustainable construction, product documentation has become a crucial tool for informed decision-making. This article explores two key types of product documentation: Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs). These documents provide valuable insights into the environmental and health impacts of building materials, respectively. Typically prepared by product manufacturers, both EPDs and HPDs often involve third-party verification to ensure accuracy and credibility. Independent certification bodies play a significant role in this process, particularly for EPDs, which require external validation.

The article will examine these documentation types, their significance in the roofing industry, their evolution, and their role in shaping the future of sustainable construction. It will also highlight a notable marketplace trend: the shift from industry-average EPDs to product-specific declarations. This transition reflects the growing demand for more precise and tailored environmental impact information in the construction sector.

An EPD is a standardized, third-party verification of a product’s environmental impacts throughout its lifecycle. This type of documentation was first introduced in the late 1990s to address the growing demand for product transparency, specifically regarding environmental concerns.

EPDs are based on life cycle assessments (LCAs) and provide objective, comparable data on a product’s environmental performance, including factors such as global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion, acidification, and energy use. For example, one roofing manufacturer’s product-specific EPDs are critically reviewed and certified by NSF in accordance with ISO 14025, ISO 14044, and ISO 21930.

Today, EPDs have become an essential tool for manufacturers, architects, and builders to communicate and make informed decisions about product selection to reduce the environmental impact of construction projects. The number of published EPDs has grown exponentially in recent years, with approximately 17,000 EPDs published globally by the beginning of 2023.¹

Similar to EPDs, HPDs are standardized documents that provide transparent information about the potential health impacts of building products. They focus specifically on a product’s material contents and associated health implications, helping architects, designers, and building professionals make informed decisions about selecting materials that promote occupant health and wellbeing.

HPDs can also help roofing projects meet sustainability and health-related requirements for green building certifications. LEED, for example, is a globally recognized program that provides a framework for creating healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings.

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Evolution of EPDs and HPDs in the roofing industry

EPDs and HPDs have gained significant traction in the roofing industry over the past few years, likely driven by the growing emphasis on sustainability and health in commercial construction and the adoption of green building certifications. Roofing manufacturers have responded by increasingly developing and publishing both product-specific and industry-wide EPDs, providing transparent information about the environmental impacts of their products throughout their lifecycle. The evolution of EPDs and HPDs in the roofing industry is marked not by the mere increase in quantity but by their ability to provide architects and owners with actual product and system-specific information, enabling better decision-making related to the full life-cycle impacts of their buildings.

EPDs are particularly valuable for comparing different roofing materials and systems. A specifier might use EPDs to compare the environmental impacts of asphalt shingles, metal roofing, and concrete tiles. These EPDs would provide data on the raw material extraction, manufacturing processes, installation, use phase, and end-of-life scenarios for each roofing option. This information can help architects, builders, and property owners make more sustainable choices based on factors such as embodied carbon, durability, and recyclability of roofing materials. Additionally, EPDs can contribute to achieving green building certifications and meeting sustainability goals in construction projects.

Similarly, HPDs have become more prevalent, offering detailed insights into the material contents and potential health impacts associated with roofing products. This evolution has not only improved transparency in the industry but has also spurred innovation, encouraging roofing manufacturers to develop more sustainable and health-conscious roofing solutions to meet the growing demand for environmentally responsible building materials.

Some manufacturing facilities have been committed to recycling or reusing as much waste as possible for years. For example, as part of its sustainability commitments, a manufacturer can pursue certification of recycled content of thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO)—a roofing material for low slope and flat roofs—through a third-party such as GreenCircle Certified. TPO products can include as much as 4 to 10 percent pre-consumer recycled content, which may seem small, but those scraps are put back into the process and represent tons of saved scrap that is ultimately diverted from landfills.

Its manufacturing facilities have been committed to recycling or reusing as much waste as possible for years. Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) is a roofing material for low-slope and flat roofs. As part of its sustainability commitments, the manufacturer pursued a recycled content certification for the products through a third party, GreenCircle Certified. Now, its TPO products include 4 to 10 percent pre-consumer recycled content, which may seem small, but those scraps are put back into the process and represent tons of saved scrap that is ultimately diverted from landfills.

Roofing manufacturers have several opportunities to enhance sustainability and transparency in their products and processes. Companies can pursue third-party certification for recycled content in their TPO, PVC, and polyisocyanurate (polyiso) insulation products. Manufacturers can also expand their product lines to include more items contributing to green building certifications, potentially offering hundreds of Stock-Keeping Units (SKUs) that meet these criteria.

Tools such as LCA generators can also support ongoing product development efforts and help companies consider product lifecycle when exploring new materials and products. By providing comprehensive and transparent information about the environmental impacts and material contents of their products, manufacturers can address the increasing demand for information about sustainable building material options and improve transparency in the roofing industry. These efforts cater to market demands and position companies as leaders in sustainable roofing solutions.

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What is next?

The future of product transparency in the roofing industry must focus on widespread adoption and standardization to achieve sustainability goals. Manufacturers should strive to develop EPDs and HPDs for their product portfolios, providing transparent and comparable information about the environmental impacts of their roofing materials.

Product-specific EPDs are critically important in this endeavor. Industry-average EPDs, which are based on LCAs conducted using industry-average data for a product category, are also valuable. However, EPDs alone cannot accurately represent individual products’ environmental impacts.

As manufacturers incorporate sustainable improvements and optimize their products’ life cycle impacts, product-specific EPDs will become increasingly crucial. Companies can set concrete and clear goals to prioritize transparency through avenues, such as aiming to conduct comprehensive lifecycle assessments for their product portfolio or securing EPDs for all core products. These EPDs allow for meaningful comparisons against industry averages and showcase the true environmental benefits of innovative roofing solutions. Optimized EPDs highlight improvements in full LCAs of a product, representing advancements in mitigating global warming potential, eutrophication, toxicity, end-of-life management, and various other factors.

As concerns around the impacts of climate change grow, these declarations will become increasingly important in guiding the project teams toward more sustainable roofing solutions.

Notes

¹ To learn more, visit ecochain.com/blog/environmental-product-declaration-epd-basics/

Author

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Jeff Terry is vice president of corporate social responsibility and sustainability at GAF—North America’s largest roofing and waterproofing manufacturer. In his role, Terry is responsible for overseeing the company’s sustainability and social impact strategies. He helped spearhead the development of GAF’s Sustainability Promise and 2030 Planet Goals, reinforcing the company’s commitment to reducing its impact and protecting the communities where employees live and work. With more than 30 years of experience in CSR and sustainability, Terry has become a nationally recognized speaker on sustainability issues and has presented at the United Nations, Climate Week and other global conferences. With a strong academic background in applied economics from Clemson University, he continues to advocate for integrating sustainability into core business strategies to foster both economic growth and environmental stewardship.

Key Takeaways

Out of the approximately 42 percent of annual global carbon emissions generated from the built environment, more than 27 percent stem from building operations. The rest is due to the embodied carbon of products and materials used in the building. Understanding the environmental and material health impacts of materials is increasingly important as architects and specifiers look for opportunities to reduce emissions. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declarations (HPDs), and other labeling systems have long been a resource and continue evolving to help streamline project decisions to support performance and sustainability.

Source URL: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/a-guide-for-sustainable-building-decisions/

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