In UK Construction, the term Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) refers to third-party verified declarations of the environmental impacts associated with the manufacture, use, and end-of-life of construction products. EPDs are the outputs of Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) carried out on products in accordance with EN 15804, the European standard introduced in 2012 to provide the rules for companies and industries to assess environmental impacts and develop EPDs.
The driver for EN 15804, and LCA in general, was the need for true comparisons between similar products, but also between very different products performing the same functions. Achieving this is a huge task and hence, under EN 15804, additional Product Category Rules (PCRs) were introduced to provide a further level of detail. EPDs can cover the whole life cycle of products: Cradle-to-Grave. In EN 15804, this is modules A to C. Within each life cycle module there are subsets such as A4 (transport to site) or B4 (replacement of used product). When comparing EPDs, designers must ensure that the EPDs they are using cover the same modules and are both functionally equivalent.
MPA Masonry worked closely with sustainability consultants One Click LCA on developing a life cycle assessment template for the purpose of producing verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for blocks in accordance with BS EN 15804 +A2. The template developed is robust and accurate but also user-friendly for manufacturers of any size. The One Click LCA tool has an extensive list of hundreds of material inputs covering all the commonly used aggregates, cements, reinforcements, and admixtures.
The tool has been externally verified by the International EPD® System and a number of generic EPDs across MPA Masonry are currently being developed for the sector and by members of MPA Masonry.
This is not the first EPD project for MPA Masonry. Back in 2016, MPA Masonry published two EPDs as part of a similar project with thinkstep (part of Sphera) and published with the German IBU EPD scheme. These EPDs are currently being updated but can be found below.
The product covered in this EPD is a generic 1m³ of precast aerated concrete blocks. Aerated concrete blocks, commonly referred to as Aircrete, are lightweight, autoclaved, thermal insulation blocks. Aircrete is normally used as internal masonry but is also used in external, cavity, foundation and separating party walls in houses and other buildings. The precast concrete blocks studied in this EPD range in density from 460 - 760 kg/m³ with the value used in carbonation calculations set at 600 kg/m³. Concrete blocks are manufactured to a range of dimensions, 440 x 215 x 100 mm taken as the dimensions for this EPD. This is an association declaration which uses average data from member companies of the Aircrete Products Association. It is based on data covering a period of 12 months (From January to December 2014). All data was collected from UK factories. The type of EPD is Cradle to Gate with all options declared – This equates to a cradle to grave EPD without the inclusion of module D. The modules considered in the Life Cycle Assessment are modules A1-C4 inclusive.
Interrogation of the LCA results show that the cradle to grave GWP impact of a 1m³ of precast aerated concrete blocks is 122.2 kgCO2e (Modules A1-C4). For GWP, A1-A3 accounts for 137% of the lifecycle impact with carbonation in the use phase and post-demolition, reducing the overall impact of the Aircrete blocks. Carbonation in the use phase alone reduces the GWP impact by 45%. Further analysis of the GWP figures show that the largest contributors to this value are cement (41%), utilities (30%) and the aggregates and powders used in production (24%).
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The declared product is a generic 1m² of concrete blocks. Concrete blocks are used in a variety of applications including both interior and exterior load bearing and non-load bearing walls. The concrete blocks studied in this EPD range in density from 750 - 2100 kg/m³ with the value used in carbonation calculations set a 1425 kg/m³. Concrete blocks are manufactured to a range of dimensions, 440 x 215 x 100 mm taken as the dimensions for this EPD. This is an association declaration which uses average data from member companies of the Concrete Block Association. It is based on data covering a period of 12 months (From January to December 2014). All data was collected from UK factories. The type of EPD is Cradle to Gate with all options declared – This equates to a cradle to grave EPD without the inclusion of module D. The modules considered in the Life Cycle Assessment are modules A1-C4 inclusive.
Interrogation of the LCA results show that the cradle to grave GWP impact of a 1m2 of concrete blocks is 10.6 kgCO2e (Modules A1-C4). For GWP, A1-A3 accounts for 123% of the lifecycle impact with carbonation in the use phase and post-demolition, reducing the overall impact of the blocks. Carbonation in the use phase alone reduces the GWP impact by 38%. Further analysis of the GWP figures show that the largest contributors to this value are cement (59%), transport (14%) and the aggregates used in production (15%).