The Partnership will work to Catalyze EPD Transparency, Standardization on a Global Scale

Building Transparency, a nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools to help reduce embodied carbon emissions and foster a better building future, and ECO Platform, a Europe-based nonprofit focused on streamlining digital environmental product data affordably and effectively, announce today their partnership to harmonize product-related data efforts globally, ensuring collective alignment and cooperation across the sector.

Through this partnership, Building Transparency and ECO Platform aim to align on technical aspects, including standardizing data format and quality, and strategic-level needs, including driving further awareness and understanding of the need to reduce the environmental impacts of our built spaces.

“ECO Platform has long been focused on mobilizing transparency across the building sector and partnering with Building Transparency is a natural continuation of this effort,” said Christian Donath, Managing Director of ECO Platform. “This partnership enables us to further promote shared standards and processes and work to harmonize to one standard digital data format for building material environmental disclosure. This is key to affordability and comparability of life-cycle assessments globally.”

This partnership will include a pilot to focus on harmonizing the ILCD+EPD format with the openEPD standard. The ILCD+EPD data format was developed by European Stakeholders based on the ILCD format of the European Commission and is a technical means for transporting information associated with an EPD in a structured way. Through this pilot, Building Transparency and ECO platform aim to test linkages and translation between the ILCD+EPD and openEPD standards, aligning global efforts to decarbonize our buildings.

“It’s critical that we work towards a global standard for how we report the environmental impacts of building products and materials to adequately address embodied carbon’s role in climate change,” said Stacy Smedley, Executive Director of Building Transparency. “Beyond providing consistent data for the comparison and specification of low-carbon options, this also ensures that policymakers have accurate and uniform data to inform their efforts. Ultimately, these coordinated global efforts have the significant opportunity to drive widespread change and incentivize more transparency and carbon-conscious purchasing and decision making.”

Learn more about openEPD at the following link: https://www.buildingtransparency.org/openepd/.

Learn more about the ILCD+EPD format at the following link: https://www.eco-platform.org/eco-epd-40.html.

About Building Transparency

Building Transparency is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that provides open access data and tools that support broad and swift action across the building industry in addressing embodied carbon’s role in climate change. Formed in 2020, Building Transparency hosts, manages and maintains the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) tool, which provides thousands of digitized EPDs in a free, open-source database, and Tally, the nonprofit’s Life Cycle Assessment Tool. Building Transparency strives to provide the resources and education necessary to promote adoption of the EC3 tool, including through the official materialsCAN program, and works with global policymakers to shape a better building future.

About ECO Platform

ECO Platform is an International Non-Profit Association established by International EPD Programme Operators as well as supporting members from Industry in the construction sector, Green Building organizations, Tool Operators and LCA Practitioners. The organization aims to contribute to the sustainable development, including a low-carbon economy and resource efficiency in the construction sector, by coordinating the development and provision of credible and scientifically correct data from products. ECO Platform sets out to mainstream life-cycle assessments (LCA) for buildings and infrastructure projects by providing reliable product data in an affordable and effective way.

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