Sustainable building design can benefit from EPDs

ASSA ABLOY has voiced its commitment to creating and promoting Environmental Product Declarations. Universally known as EPDs, these product-specific documents can offer assistance in the design of sustainable buildings.

For ASSA ABLOY, sustainability is a key consideration. Its investment in EPDs, which are yet to be established in the construction industry, demonstrates its commitment to the cause.

Throughout its sustainability journey, the group has invested in over 250 product-specific EPDs. Through its own development of the documents, its hopes to show contractors and architects that EPDs can be used to deliver added value to their construction projects.

EPDs

Sustainable building design can benefit from EPDsASSA ABLOY’s published EPDs cover a range of access control solutions, including mechanical locksets, door closers, floor springs and multi-point locks.

The company believes that these product declarations will be critical to sustainable building design going forward.
Before publication, all EPDs must be independently researched by a third party, to ensure compliance with ISO 14025 and EN 15804. They can then be verified by Germany’s Institut Bauen und Umwelt (IBU).

These steps ensure that each document offers a high level of detail, which accurately reflects the environmental performance of the product it discusses.
This information can offer architects and contractors a better understanding of a product’s long-term ecological credentials and environmental impact.
For example, a recently published EPD for SMARTair wireless escutcheon details all necessary information: from the embodied carbon of the product, to the impact of carton and foam packaging.

It also discusses the recycling potential of the system’s steel and zinc content.