Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Properties
An environmental product declaration is a standardised, independently verified document that reports the life cycle environmental impacts of a specific product, calculated to a fixed set of rules so that one product can be compared with another doing the same job. It is a Type III environmental declaration under ISO 14025, and for construction products it is prepared to EN 15804 or ISO 21930. An EPD does not say a product is good or green. It reports numbers, and leaves the judgement to the reader.
An EPD is a disclosure document, not a certification. Two products can both hold valid EPDs and one can have three times the upfront carbon of the other; the EPD is what lets you find that out.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Type III declaration under ISO 14025 | Quantitative, verified, no pass or fail |
| Core rules, construction | EN 15804+A2, or ISO 21930 | Sets modules, indicators and format |
| Product-specific rules | A product category rule (PCR) | Fixes declared unit, boundary and scenarios |
| Declared or functional unit | 1 kg, 1 m², 1 m³ or a defined function | Comparison is only valid within the same unit |
| Modules reported | A1 to A3 minimum; EN 15804+A2 requires C and D as well | A4, A5 and B stages often scenario based |
| Verification | Independent third party verifier, before publication | Checks data, LCA model and declaration |
| Validity | 5 years from publication | Re-verified or withdrawn at expiry |
| Australasian programme operator | EPD Australasia, in the International EPD System | Also ASTM, UL, IBU, EPD Norge and others |
| Typical cost | about AUD 15,000 to 50,000 per EPD | Indicative industry range, scope dependent |
| Typical timeframe | 6 to 18 months | Data collection is the long pole |
What an EPD contains and what makes it credible
An EPD reports the results of a life cycle assessment of a defined product, over defined modules, against a defined set of environmental indicators. Global warming potential in kgCO2e is the indicator most people read, but an EN 15804+A2 declaration also reports ozone depletion, acidification, eutrophication, photochemical ozone formation, abiotic depletion of fossil and mineral resources and water use, alongside resource use and waste flows.
Three things make it comparable rather than merely informative. The underlying assessment is carried out to ISO 14040 and ISO 14044. It follows core rules, EN 15804 in the European and Australasian systems or ISO 21930 internationally, which fix the module structure described in the embodied-carbon entry, the cut-off rules and the reporting format. And it is verified independently before publication. Without all three, a document is a marketing sheet with numbers on it. Look for the programme operator, the registration number, the PCR used, the verifier’s name and the issue and expiry dates.
Programme operators and product category rules
A programme operator runs an EPD system: it publishes or adopts the product category rules, approves verifiers, registers declarations and maintains the public library. In Australia and New Zealand the operator is EPD Australasia, the regional programme of the International EPD System, and declarations registered through it are recognised internationally through that system. Other operators a specifier will meet are the International EPD System itself, UL Solutions and ASTM in North America, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt in Germany, EPD Norge, INIES in France and BRE in the United Kingdom. Their declarations are broadly interchangeable where the EN 15804 version and the PCR match, and mutual recognition agreements exist between several of them.
A product category rule is the second layer, specific to a product family. It fixes the declared unit, the reference service life, the system boundary, the scenarios for transport, installation and end of life, and any additional indicators. Two EPDs for cladding panels are only comparable if they used the same PCR. For cement-based products the rules sit under the concrete and cement categories; for composites the applicable PCR depends on how the product is classified, and is worth confirming before an assessment starts.
How a specifier reads one
- Scope: is the panel declared, the panel and its frame, or a kilogram of raw material? An EPD for a material is not an EPD for a system.
- Declared unit: convert everything to one basis before comparing, usually kgCO2e per square metre of installed facade.
- Modules: an A1 to A3 figure is not comparable with an A to C figure, and module D is reported separately and never subtracted.
- Version and rules: which EN 15804 version, A1 or A2, and which PCR.
- Geography: an EPD models a specific factory or a regional average, and the electricity grid dominates most manufacturing results.
- Representativeness: product specific, manufacturer specific across several plants, or an industry average. A sector average will not differentiate one supplier from another.
- Expiry date: EPDs are valid for five years.
- Reference service life: it drives the replacement assumptions in the B modules.
Where a rating tool requires an EPD the requirement is procedural: Green Star Buildings and LEED both award points for the number of products with verified EPDs and for reductions against a reference case calculated from that data. A supplier without one cannot contribute to those points even where the product performs well. See green-building-credits.
What an EPD costs and how long it takes
The work has three parts. Data collection is the largest: factory energy and water, raw material inputs and their supply chains, transport distances, waste streams and production volumes, usually over a full twelve-month period so the figures are representative. A practitioner then builds the model in LCA software against a background database and the relevant PCR, and an approved verifier reviews the model and the draft declaration before the programme operator registers and publishes it.
Indicative costs are around AUD 15,000 to 50,000 for a single product EPD and six to eighteen months from decision to publication, the slow step almost always being how quickly a manufacturer can produce clean, complete production data. These are indicative industry ranges, not quoted figures. Manufacturers with a range of similar products often scope one EPD to cover a product family using a representative product and a stated variation, which is cheaper than declaring each item but must be agreed with the verifier and is constrained by the PCR.
ShapeShift’s position
ShapeShift Technologies does not currently publish an environmental product declaration for ShapeShell-RT, ShapeShell-RC or ShapeShell-RG.. Where a project needs declared environmental data for a facade package, raise it at tender stage rather than at submittal stage, because the lead time for a verified declaration is measured in months and cannot be compressed into a construction programme.
The data that does exist for the ShapeShell systems is mechanical and fire performance data: published flexural and tensile values, the AS 5637 Group 1 classification from AWTA Product Testing and the AS 5113 full-scale facade test pass at BRE Global for ShapeShell-RT, and the AS/NZS 1530.1 Not Deemed Combustible result from Ignis Labs for ShapeShell-RC. None of that is environmental data and none of it substitutes for an EPD. See embodied-carbon and life-cycle-assessment.
Standards and references
- ISO 14025 Environmental labels and declarations: Type III environmental declarations, principles and procedures
- EN 15804+A2 Sustainability of construction works: core product category rules for construction products
- ISO 21930 Core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products and services
- ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 Life cycle assessment, principles, framework and requirements
- EN 15978 Assessment of environmental performance of buildings, calculation method
- EPD Australasia programme instructions, and the International EPD System General Programme Instructions
- Green Star Buildings and LEED v4.1 materials and resources credits referencing EPDs
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
Is an EPD a certification that a product is environmentally friendly?
No. An EPD is a verified disclosure of quantified environmental impacts. It contains no pass mark and makes no claim of superiority. Two products can both hold valid EPDs with very different results.
Who issues EPDs in Australia?
EPD Australasia, which operates the Australasian regional programme of the International EPD System. Declarations from other operators such as the International EPD System, UL, ASTM, IBU and EPD Norge are also widely accepted where the same EN 15804 version and product category rule apply.
How long is an EPD valid?
Five years from publication. After that it must be re-verified with updated data or withdrawn. Always check the expiry date on a declaration supplied with a submittal.
How much does an EPD cost and how long does it take?
Indicatively around AUD 15,000 to 50,000 per EPD and six to eighteen months from decision to publication, with data collection the slowest step. These are indicative industry ranges, not quoted prices.
Does ShapeShift have an EPD?
ShapeShift does not currently publish an EPD for any ShapeShell product. If a project requires one, raise it at tender stage, because a verified declaration takes months to produce.
If your project requires verified environmental data for the facade package, raise it with us at tender stage so the evidence pathway can be agreed before it is needed. Talk to us about project requirements
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.