Find out how EPD (documentation) provides answers about environmental impact in Norway

Do you want an accurate description of how a part, material, product or service affects the environment? Then you can check whether it has an environmental declaration, an EPD.

EPD is an abbreviation for Environmental Product Declaration. In Norwegian we like to say environmental declaration. In short, an EPD shows what something is made of and how it affects the environment. It is done in an objective and standardized way, in line with international guidelines.

EPD on steel

More and more people are concerned about the environmental impact a product has throughout its entire life cycle. Environmental declarations can also be found on steel, which we at Nordic Steel use to make products for our customers. EPD on steel is stated in the number of kilograms of CO2 emissions per kilogram of steel.

An EPD will, for example, show how much recycled material the steel plates we buy are made from. The climate emissions from remelting used steel are much smaller than from producing completely new steel and will therefore have less environmental impact.

- We work with wholesalers and works all over the world and can obtain materials with EPD when our customers want it, says Line Steinnes, purchasing and logistics manager at Nordic Steel.

Advantages of EPD:

• Approved by independent third party
• Comparable, because they are developed according to standards
• Published and publicly available at epd-norge.no
• Can be used as a basis in environmental accounting for larger projects
• Gives purchasers and environmental advisers a better basis for assessing the environmental impact when purchasing goods and services
• Provide a better basis for decision-making in strategic processes in connection with product and environmental development

With an EPD, you get standardized information about the entire life cycle of the material. Various conditions such as extraction, production, distribution and use are considered. If, for example, a developer wants complete documentation of the total environmental impact of a building, this information can be obtained in EPDs for various building materials, such as steel, concrete and wood.

EPD and environmental accounting

An EPD on steel shows what the steel plates we use are made of and how it affects the environment. If it is difficult to obtain an EPD, an environmental report can be a supplement to, or replace, the environmental declaration.

An environmental account contains figures and documentation of which resources have been used for materials and energy, both with direct and indirect emissions from the company. The environmental accounts usually consist of figures from the company's production and energy consumption, what are called direct emissions. It can also include indirect emissions, such as travel, transport and consumption.

Nordic Steel can obtain steel with environmental declarations and process this for our customers. We can also offer environmental accounting to document our climate emissions. Feel free to ask us for more information.

‍ Sources: EPD Norway, Norwegian Steel Association, Sintef, Stiftelsen Miljøfyrtårn

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Also read Nordic Steel's sustainability strategy

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