Environmental declarations and environmental labels are tools that serve similar purposes but provide complementary information, depending on the purpose and target audience of the information. Both are voluntary instruments based on international standards and independent verification.
An EPD provides verified, objective and detailed information about the life cycle environmental impact of a product. Having a certified EPD does not imply any environmental advantage of the product itself, only that the presented information has been verified to comply with the rules set out in the General Programme Instructions and the relevant Product Category Rules. The reference standards are ISO 14025 for the management of a programme for type III environmental declarations and ISO 14040/14044 for the procedure to carry out a life cycle assessment (LCA).
An environmental label (type I) according to ISO 14024 is a third-party verified demonstration that the product fulfils certain environmental criteria as defined by the programme owner. The design of the programme is normally such that only a certain share of the market will fulfil these requirements, and thus intend to drive the market into a direction with a lower environmental impact.
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