Presentation on research and practical applications of Environmental Product Declarations and what they may mean for asphalt pavements in California.

1. Environmental Product Declarations:
the Who, What, Why, How
John Harvey
University of California Pavement Research Center
California Asphalt Pavement Association/Caltrans
EPD webinar
January 8, 2019

2. What is an EPD? ISO 14025
• EPD = Type III environmental declaration
– environmental declaration providing quantified
environmental data using predetermined
parameters and, where relevant, additional
environmental information
– Predetermined parameters are based on ISO
14040 series standards, which are comprised of
ISO 14040 and ISO 14044

3. - Pavement vehicle
interaction
- Other
interactions during
use
Pavement Life Cycle Assessment
Materials
Acquisition and
Production
Construction /
Maintenance &
Rehabilitation
Use End-of-life
- Material
extraction and
production
Transport - Equipment Use
- Transport
- Traffic delay
R R
- Recycle
- Landfill
From: Kendall et al., 2010
R : Recycle
3
Transport

4. Four Key Stages of Life Cycle Assessment
Interpretation
Goal
Definition
and Scope
Life Cycle
Inventory
Assessment
Impact
Assessment
Define questions
to be answered
(sustainability
goals) and
system to be
analyzed
The “accounting”
stage where
track inputs and
outputs from the
system
Where results
are translated
into meaningful
environmental
and health
indicators
Figure based on ISO 14040, adopted from Kendall
Where the
results of the
impact
assessment are
related back the
questions asked
in the Goal
Critical Review

5. • Global warming
• Stratospheric ozone depletion
• Acidification
• Eutrophication
• Photochemical smog
• Terrestrial toxicity
• Aquatic toxicity
• Human health
• Abiotic resource depletion
• Land use
• Water use
US EPA Impact Assessment Categories
(TRACI – Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and other
environmental Impacts)
Impacts to people
From Saboori Image sources: Google
Impacts to ecosystems
Depletion of resources
Most EPDs are using a subset of TRACI and other impacts in FHWA LCA Framework

6. ISO Standards and FHWA Pavement
LCA Framework Document
• International Standards
Organization (ISO)
standards for LCA are
generic for all materials
• FHWA guidance specific
to pavements published in
2016

7. What and Why EPDs?FHWA EPD Tech Brief
• Standards used by producers to define performance of products
– Result of a stakeholder process regarding measurement and reporting
– Same applies to environmental performance
• EPDs are published by product manufacturers to communicate
potential environmental impacts of a product or process
• The ISO has established processes that use life-cycle assessment
(LCA) methods to declare the environmental impacts on
product labels (Type III declarations = EPDs)
• EPDs are a preferred method for communication because:
– Provide high level of confidence to customers and other stakeholders
that production and organization of the information has followed a
standardized and transparent scientific process

8. What happens if industry does not
produce EPDs?
• EPDs are for communication of verifiable and accurate
information that is not misleading, stimulating fair and
transparent market-driven continuous environmental
improvement
• If you don’t produce EPDs, someone will estimate the
environmental impact of your product for you
• How they want and with whatever information
they can find

9. Development of Environmental Product
Declarations (EPDs)
9
Product Category Rule (PCR)
“Set of specific rules, requirements, and guidelines for
developing Type III environmental product declarations
for one or more product categories” (ISO 14025)
PCR: the framework
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
“Compilation and evaluation of the inputs, outputs and
the potential environmental impacts of a product
system throughout its life cycle” (ISO 14040)
LCA: the analysis
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
“Providing quantified environmental data using
predetermined parameters and, where relevant,
additional environmental information” (ISO 14025) as
defined in a PCR which is based on LCA
EPD: the declaration
Adapted from N. Santero

10. • Stakeholder engagement
– Manufacturers within the industry developing PCR
– Other industry associations, including competing industries
– LCA practitioners (e.g., LCA consultants)
– Government agencies (e.g., FHWA, state DOTs)
– NGOs
• Subject to critical review, relative to ISO and other
standards of importance to customers
PCR Development Steps
10
PCR
proposal
Draft
creation
Open
consultation
Panel
review
Approval
and
publication
Adapted from N. Santero

11. • Facilitated by a program operator
– Hosts the PCR
– Verifies EPDs
– Registers EPDs
• Each industry sets up, operates, or chooses operator, for its own
PCR/EPD
• Currently some differences in US between PCRs: conflicts in rules
• In Europe generally reviewed by government coordinating
committees, peer pressure used to resolve conflicts in PCR rules
PCR Development Steps
11
Adapted from N. Santero
PCR
proposal
Draft
creation
Open
consultation
Panel
review
Approval
and
publication

12. The LCA for the EPD FHWA Tech Brief
• To publish an EPD, an LCA must first be developed for a
product or group of products that falls within the product
category of the PCR
• The LCA must follow the instructions in the pertinent PCR
• An industry group will often conduct an initial national
industry-average or regional-average LCA that uses typical
values from across the country or region following the PCR
• The industry group engages an independent third party to
perform a critical review and verification of the LCA and EPD
against the PCR, after which the Program Operator issues the
average EPD

13. Environmental Facts
Functional unit: 1 metric ton of asphalt concrete
Primary Energy Demand [MJ] 4.0x103
Non-renewable [MJ] 3.9x103
Renewable [MJ] 3.5x102
Global Warming Potential [kg CO2-eq] 79
Acidification Potential [kg SO2-eq] 0.23
Eutrophication Potential [kg N-eq] 0.012
Ozone Depletion Potential [kg CFC-11-eq] 7.3x10-9
Smog Potential [kg O3-eq] 4.4
Boundaries: Cradle-to-Gate
Company: XYZ Asphalt
RAP: 10%
Adapted from N. Santero; photo S. Muench
Example LCA results
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD): Concise,
quantitative information

14. The LCA for the EPD FHWA Tech Brief
• Initial industry-average LCA assembles all of the
information needed to produce EPDs and makes it
available to manufacturers to use for their initial
EPDs
– Individual companies produce EPDs for their company or
plant-specific products later by just adjusting the mix
design for the specific product and making other changes
needed to make it relevant to the specific product
• EPDs can only be produced for those stages of the
life for which the EPD developer has information

15. Types of EPDs EN 15804
Cradle to Gate
Design-Bid-Build
Cradle to Laid, Design-Build
Cradle to Grave, Design-Build-Maintain and Beyond
Agency LCA of full life cycle for planning, design and asset management

16. Some definitions ISO 21930
• Functional unit
– quantified performance of a product system for a
construction product or construction service for use as a
reference unit in an EPD based on LCA that includes all
stages of the life cycle
– For cradle to gate, not total life cycle, but must define
performance standard that product at gate is meeting
• Unit process
– smallest element considered in the LCI for which input and
output data are quantified

17. Data Types
ISO 21930• Foreground data = Primary data
– quantified value of a unit process or an activity obtained from a direct
measurement or a calculation based on direct measurements at its
original source
• Background data = Secondary data
– indirectly measured, calculated or obtained quantified value of a unit
process or activity and related information within a product system or
organization, not based on specific original source measurements
• Specific data
– data representative of a construction product or construction service,
provided by one supplier, either from multiple plants or based on multiple
similar construction products of the supplier
• Average data
– data based on a fully representative sample for a construction product or
construction service, provided by one or more suppliers, either from their
multiple plants or based on multiple similar construction products of the
supplier(s)

18. Materials Stage Data Gaps
• Life Cycle Inventory data for North American materials
is sparse
• Proprietary sources of data may be high quality, but
costly
• Not regionally applicable, extensive use of older
European data
• May not be up to date
Photo: D. Jones

19. Agency LCA of FDR-Cement, Asphalt Overlay
Without EPDs

20. Agency LCA of FDR-Cement, Asphalt Overlay
Using EPDs

21. Recommended 3 Stage Approach for
Implementing EPD Requirements
from FHWA EPD Workshop Report (2016)
1. Develop rules and then require reporting, move
towards standardization of EPDs (1-2 years)
2. Develop standardization, rigor, review process,
level playing field, appropriate applications (3 to
5 years)
3. If desirable and have made sufficient progress,
consider using for procurement
– Defining principle: Must take into account equivalent
performance

22. What is coming?
• Asphalt Institute: asphalt binder industry-average EPD in
2019
• Caltrans
– Implementation of AB262 and EPDs for pavement, bridge
materials
– Use of EPD data in LCA to support decisions
• Now: policy evaluation studies, asset management (PaveM)
• Future?: design?, planning?
– Procurement in the future?
• AB 262 type implementation?
• Incentive/disincentive like quality specifications?
• Federal LCA Commons Life Cycle Inventory database
– Many federal agencies, lead by US EPA
– Goal: curated, “free” non-commercial data, potentially
including EPDs
– Pavement is the pilot (farthest along) through current US
DOT/FHWA project

23. What is coming?
• One PCR? FHWA EPD Workshop 2016
– Industry and their advisors are working toward a potential “one
PCR” that covers all civil materials
– One PCR covers parts that are common to all materials (80%)
and each industry then has an addendum covering the part their
parts that are unique (20%)
– Part of ongoing move toward consistent standards
• Tools under development
– FWHA pavement cradle to gate LCA spreadsheet tool
• Under development, expected in 2020
• Will accept EPD input
– eLCAP web based California specific pavement LCA tool
• Not an official Caltrans software tool, funded by UCPRC funds and
Caltrans Research
• Full life cycle, being beta tested now
• Will accept EPD input, currently uses purchased commercial
(thinkstep) and free data

24. Further
Information
• FHWA Towards More Sustainable Pavement Reference Document (2015)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/sustainability/hif15002/hif15002.pdf
• FHWA Pavement LCA Framework (2017)
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/sustainability/hif16014.pdf
• FHWA Tech Brief on Pavement LCA:
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/sustainability/hif15001.pdf
• FHWA/Industry Workshop on EPDs (2016):
http://www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu/PDF/FHWA_EPD_Workshop_Report.pdf
• ISO Standards for LCA and EPDs
– ISO 21930:2017 Sustainability in buildings and civil engineering works -- Core rules for
environmental product declarations of construction products and services (specifics of
ISO 14025 for civil materials)
– ISO 14025:2010 Environmental labels and declarations — Type III environmental
declarations — Principles and procedures
– ISO 14044:2006 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Requirements
and guidelines
– ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management — Life cycle assessment — Principles and
framework
• European Standards for Civil Works EPDs:
– CEN/TR 15941:2010 Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product
declarations - Methodology for selection and use of generic data
– CEN 15804:2012 amended 2013: Sustainability of construction works - Environmental
product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products

25. Further
Information
• Pavement LCA Conference websites:
– 2010 Davis, CA: http://www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu/p-lca/
– 2014 Davis, CA: http://www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu/p-lca2014/
– 2017 Champaign, IL: http://lcasymposium.ict.illinois.edu/
– Coming in 2020 Davis, CA
• FHWA tech briefs coming in 2019:
– Data Needs for Pavement LCA: What Agencies Need to Know
– Environmental Product Declarations: How Industry Communicates to
Customers
• PCRs and national EPDs
– National Asphalt Pavement Association
– Asphalt Institute
• PCR and EPD (coming 2019)
• Strategic Asphalt Research (STAR) report
https://bookstore.asphaltinstitute.org/STAR17report
– National Ready Mix Concrete Association
https://www.nrmca.org/sustainability/EPDProgram/
– Portland Cement Association
https://www.cement.org/structures/manufacturing/environmental-impact-
reporting

26. jtharvey@ucdavis.edu
www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu
www.ucprc.ucdavis.edu/ccpic
Thank You