Application Contexts and Emerging Practice: EPD, PCF, Circularity, DPP and Automation
Where results are consumed
- EPD - Type III declarations under ISO 14025 with sector PCRs; EN 15804+A2 for construction, reporting modules A1–A3, A4–A5, B, C and D separately.
- Product carbon footprint - ISO 14067 or the GHG Protocol Product Standard; fossil, biogenic and land-use-change emissions reported separately under a stated GWP version.
- PEF - EF 3.1 with 16 impact categories and prescribed modelling rules; the reference for EU policy-facing claims.
- Circularity - ISO 59020 and indicators such as the Material Circularity Indicator; keep mass balances distinct from impact results.
- Digital product passports - the EU ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) and Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 require machine-readable, verifiable product data with a unique product identifier; LCA results increasingly feed these records.
- Automation - openLCA IPC, Brightway APIs and EPD generators enable many variants; pin versions and keep a regression case.
Worked example
A client wants a product carbon footprint for an aluminium component. ISO 14067 requires all relevant greenhouse gases characterized with a stated IPCC GWP set (AR6 in current practice), separate reporting of biogenic CO2 and direct land-use change, and a cradle-to-gate scope with declared cut-offs. Reusing an EPD's module totals is possible, but module D credits and the EN 15804 boundary must be reconciled to the PCF boundary first.
Traps
Mixing PAS 2050 and ISO 14067 rules; netting module D credits into the headline figure; assuming EPDs of the same product type are comparable across PCR versions; ignoring the granularity and verifiability a passport requires; automations that silently pin a stale database version.