Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, have become the standard way for manufacturers to publish verified data on the environmental impact of building materials. When a forest products company released updated declarations for softwood lumber, plywood, engineered lumber, and panel products in 2024, the documents gave builders and architects a fresh look at the carbon footprint of the wood they specify. EPDs are not marketing brochures; they are standardized, independently validated summaries of a product’s lifecycle impacts. Rating systems that publish green building brand rankings lean on this data, and construction teams that can read an EPD gain a real advantage in procurement and design. For construction teams, the ability to read these documents separates measured performance from marketing claims.
What an Environmental Product Declaration Contains
An EPD is a standardized report based on a lifecycle assessment (LCA). It describes the environmental impacts of making a product, using rules set by a product category rule (PCR) so that declarations from different manufacturers can be compared side by side. Third-party verification, in this case by UL Solutions, confirms the data was gathered and calculated correctly.
EPDs follow international standards, mainly ISO 14025 and EN 15804, which define how data is collected, calculated, and presented. PCRs are developed by committees and reviewed publicly, and they specify everything from the functional unit to the allocation rules for co-products such as sawdust and bark. That standardization is what makes one manufacturer’s declaration comparable to another’s.
The Core Sections of an EPD
- Product description and functional unit: what is measured and in what quantity
- System boundary: which lifecycle stages are included
- Impact categories: global warming potential, ozone depletion, acidification, smog, eutrophication
- Material composition and recycled content
- Verification statement and program operator
Cradle-to-Gate vs. Cradle-to-Grave
The system boundary determines what the numbers cover. Cradle-to-gate includes raw material extraction, transport, and manufacturing, ending at the factory gate; cradle-to-grave adds distribution, use, maintenance, and end of life. Most building product EPDs are cradle-to-gate because that is where manufacturers have the most data and control. The 2024 update covered cradle-to-gate data for all six product families, meaning the numbers include forest regeneration, harvesting, transport to the mill, and manufacturing, but stop before distribution and installation.
Builders who want the full background before comparing declarations can start with the basics of understanding PCRs and EPDs, which explains how the rules and reports fit together and which questions to ask a supplier.
Embodied Carbon and Why It Matters
Embodied carbon is the sum of greenhouse gas emissions from extracting, manufacturing, and transporting a material. Operational carbon comes from heating, cooling, and powering a building over its life. As energy codes push operational emissions down, embodied carbon accounts for a growing share of a building’s total footprint; in high-performance buildings, the embodied share can reach half the lifetime total. Because concrete and steel carry heavy manufacturing emissions, substituting wood in even a few structural members moves a project’s total footprint.
How Wood Products Compare
Reading the Global Warming Potential Number
The headline number in any EPD is global warming potential, expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per functional unit, for example per cubic meter of lumber or per 1,000 square feet of panel. Lower is better, but only within the same product category and functional unit, which is why cross-material comparisons need care.
| Product | Embodied Carbon Profile | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Softwood lumber | Low manufacturing impact; stores carbon | Renewable with sustainable forestry |
| Softwood plywood | Low to moderate | Common sheathing and subflooring |
| LVL and I-joists | Moderate but fiber-efficient | Replace larger solid members |
| Hardwood plywood | Depends on adhesives and sourcing | Interior panels and cabinetry |
| MDF | Higher per unit than solid wood | Uses recovered fiber |
| Concrete and steel | High per unit | Common baseline for comparison |
The table is a directional guide, not a substitute for the declarations themselves. Actual numbers vary by mill, by forest type, and by the adhesives used in engineered products, so the EPD for the specific product you buy is the number that counts.
Wood products differ from concrete and steel in one important way: growing trees pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and that carbon stays stored in the finished product. The updated declarations for softwood lumber, plywood, LVL, I-joists, hardwood plywood, and MDF each document the manufacturing side of that balance, giving specifiers numbers instead of slogans.
How EPDs Support Green Building Ratings
Green building systems reward products with verified declarations. LEED and similar programs award points for materials with EPDs, and public agencies increasingly require them in bids. The practice has spread beyond structural wood: the product declarations for windows and doors published by one Passive House supplier show how far EPD-style reporting has reached across the building industry. Rating programs also reward whole-building lifecycle assessment, where EPD data feeds a full building model, and some incentive programs tie rebates to embodied carbon thresholds.
Wood Products Covered by Modern EPDs
The 2024 update covered six product families: softwood lumber, softwood plywood, LVL, I-joists, hardwood plywood, and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Each family serves a different part of the building, and each has its own manufacturing footprint.
What Each Product Family Is Used For
- Softwood lumber: framing, decking, and general construction
- Softwood plywood: wall, roof, and floor sheathing
- LVL: beams, headers, and rim board
- I-joists: floor and roof framing
- Hardwood plywood: cabinetry and interior panels
- MDF: trim, millwork, and furniture components
Lumber and plywood dominate residential framing, while LVL and I-joists carry the engineered floor and roof systems in many new homes. Hardwood plywood and MDF show up mainly in interiors, where their manufacturing footprint is a small part of a project’s total.
Why Manufacturers Refresh Their EPDs
Declarations age. EPDs typically carry a five-year validity period, and manufacturers update them when processes change, when kilns and presses become more efficient, or when new products join the lineup. The 2024 documents replaced the company’s first EPDs, published in 2018, with fresh cradle-to-gate data for the full product range.
The updates also arrive at a moment when embodied carbon is reshaping residential construction, as codes and standards updates begin treating lifecycle data as a design input rather than an optional extra.
How Builders and Architects Put EPDs to Work
EPDs earn their keep in specification and procurement. A builder can compare two brands of the same product on global warming potential, choose the lower-impact option, and document the decision for a client or rating program. The comparison works best when functional units match; two declarations measured in different units, such as cubic meter versus board foot, yield numbers that cannot be compared.
Five Ways to Use EPD Data on a Project
- Compare products within the same category on equal terms
- Document compliance for green certification programs
- Meet procurement requirements on public projects
- Communicate embodied carbon trade-offs to clients
- Track improvement from one project to the next
Questions to Ask Before Relying on an EPD
- Is the declaration independently verified?
- Which PCR and functional unit apply?
- What is the system boundary?
- How recent is the data?
- Does it cover the exact product you are buying?
One common mistake is treating a single number as the whole story. Global warming potential is the most quoted metric, but the same EPD reports acidification, smog formation, ozone depletion, and water use, and a product that wins on carbon can lose on water.
Documentation is becoming a routine expectation. The building codes and standards updates that every home builder should track increasingly reference lifecycle documentation, and having EPDs on file makes plan review and certification audits smoother.
Getting the Data: EPD Databases and Digital Tools
Verified declarations are public documents. Most manufacturers publish current EPDs on their websites, and independent libraries collect them by product category, so a specifier can pull comparable data for dozens of products in one session.
Where to Find Verified Declarations
- Manufacturer websites and product pages
- Program operator libraries run by UL Solutions, ASTM, and NSF
- Industry association collections for wood, concrete, and steel
- Building material databases such as EC3 and mindful MATERIALS
Program operator libraries are the most reliable source because verification is documented there. A declaration posted only on a manufacturer’s site should name its program operator and verification date before you treat it as current.
Digital Delivery and Automation
EPD data moves through the same digital channels as the rest of construction information: machine-readable files, BIM libraries, and automated document management. The pattern mirrors what is happening across the industry; Volvo Trucks has been automating remote updates for construction fleet management, and the same remote-delivery logic now applies to material data, keeping specifications current without manual chasing. BIM libraries now carry EPD fields as standard properties on material objects, so an architect can compare embodied carbon while the model is still being drawn instead of waiting for a separate spreadsheet.
For the average builder, none of this requires a sustainability degree. Start with the declarations for the products you already buy, compare the global warming potential numbers, and keep copies in the project file. The workflow mirrors fleet management, where automated remote updates for construction fleet management keep vehicles on current software; builders who check EPD libraries on the same schedule stay ahead of data that changes every few years.