How does the International EPD System relate to the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) Initiative?

Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is a European method for calculating the life cycle environmental impact of products. It is inspired by, but does not aim to be fully compliant with, among others, the international standards for

Life Cycle Assessment (ISO 14040/14044) and 

Type III environmental declarations (ISO 14025). 

PEF is one part of the "Single market for Green products" recommendation by the European Commission released in April 2013, which shares much of the same vision as the International EPD System: enabling verified, transparent and comparable information about the life-cycle environmental impact of products. The intended application and communication format of PEF remains to be decided. 

The PEF was in a pilot phase between 2013-2018, where twelve so-called PEFCR documents were finalised, with rules for conducting PEF studies of different product categories. Also, various aspects of the methodology and format of communication were investigated. The Secretariat and members of the Technical Committee participated in different ways in the pilot phase to ensure that knowledge developed during the long history of the International EPD System, and its vast experience manifested in the extensive PCR library, were taken into account in this testing and revision of the draft methodology.

Following the pilot phase, the transition phase runs 2018-2024, where several more PEFCRs are developed. Also, the European Commission will take stakeholder feedback on what European policies may benefit from the work done until now. During the transition phase, the International EPD System provides input when possible to contribute to harmonisation and to help broaden the use of environmental declarations on an international market. To prepare for any upcoming policies, companies could start assessing and communicating the life cycle environmental impact of their products, for which EPD is a functional and established tool. 

For harmonisation between PEF and existing standards for construction products, EN 15804 was revised in 2019 – the new version is more aligned with, but does not fully comply with, PEF. Where there are potential synergies between existing PCRs and the finalised PEFCRs, the PCR Moderators and PCR Committees are encouraged to contact the Secretariat to discuss the next steps. 

For further questions, please contact the Secretariat. More information about PEF is also available on the European Commission website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/smgp/index.htm.