LCA: Life Cycle Assessment
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) It is a systematic method for assessing a product’s environmental impact—across its entire lifecycle: from raw material extraction, through production, transportation, and use, to the end of the product’s life. It is conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, which establish international standards for methodology, scope, and reporting of results.
What sets LCA apart from other tools is, above all, scope of environmental impact categories. LCA is not limited to greenhouse gas emissions: it simultaneously analyzes resource use, impacts on water, air, and ecosystems, eutrophication, acidification, and other categories. It provides a multidimensional environmental profile of a product, allowing for an assessment of its impact across various categories.
LCA is primarily an analytical and decision-making tool. It allows us to identify at which stage of the life cycle the greatest environmental impact occurs and where the greatest potential for reducing that impact lies. LCA results support ecodesign, serve as the basis for verifying environmental claims to meet legal requirements, and are an essential component of developing a digital product passport (DPP).
EPD: Declaration for the Market
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) It is an independently verified document that describes a product’s environmental impact throughout its entire life cycle—in a comparable and standardized manner. It is based on an LCA conducted in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044, in compliance with ISO 14025 and the European standard EN 15804+A2 for construction products. An EPD is valid for five years.
The fundamental difference between an LCA and an EPD lies in the purpose of the document. LCA results constitute internal organizational knowledge, whereas an EPD is a public statement verified by an independent, accredited verifier that can be presented to customers, developers, contracting authorities, and regulatory bodies.
For manufacturers of construction products, the EPD is becoming mandatory. The new CPR Regulation (EU) 2024/3110, which entered into force on January 7, 2025, introduces the requirement to declare a product’s carbon footprint (GWP) as of January 8, 2026, and by 2030 extends this requirement to the full set of environmental indicators specified in the EN 15804+A2 standard. Environmental data from EPDs are incorporated into the CE marking and the Digital Product Passport (DPP).
For manufacturers of furniture, textiles, household chemicals, and finishing materials, EPDs are increasingly required by retail chains, developers seeking LEED, BREEAM, or DGNB certifications, as well as through green public procurement. At the same time, EPDs provide a reliable basis for environmental communication—in compliance with legal requirements regarding communication free of greenwashing.
Product Carbon Footprint
Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) This is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated throughout a product’s life cycle, converted to CO₂ equivalents. Unlike LCA, it focuses exclusively on a single category of environmental impact—climate. It therefore addresses the needs of many business partners and financial institutions for whom greenhouse gas emissions are a particularly important environmental concern.
A product's carbon footprint can be calculated in two ways. Cradle-to-gate (from the procurement of raw materials until the product leaves the plant) is an approach more commonly used in B2B models. Cradle-to-grave (covering the entire life cycle, including transportation to the end user and the end of the product's life) is the recommended approach for companies operating in the B2C model and for planning decarbonization efforts.
Business partners, retail chains, and financial institutions are increasingly requiring documented emissions calculations as a condition for cooperation or access to financing. For companies with a broad and diverse product portfolio, it is crucial to design their emissions calculations with automation in mind—so that the carbon footprint is available on an ongoing basis, rather than just for a one-time project.
How do these three tools work together?
Understanding the relationship between LCA, EPD, and a product’s carbon footprint is important from a practical standpoint—it helps avoid duplicating work and makes full use of data that has already been collected.
LCA is a source-based method – Once conducted, it serves as the foundation for everything that follows. From its results, one can derive the GWP (Global Warming Potential) indicator, which is the product’s carbon footprint. These same results, supplemented with the required format and independent verification, become an EPD.
In other words: a product’s carbon footprint is one of the results of an LCA, and an EPD is its formalized, publicly available version. A company that has conducted an LCA thoroughly has all the data needed both to calculate its carbon footprint and to develop an EPD. The differences between these tools are functional rather than methodological:
- LCA This is an internal analysis—it provides a comprehensive, multi-category picture of a product’s environmental impact and serves as the basis for strategic decisions and all subsequent steps.
- Product Carbon Footprint This is a specific climate indicator derived from an LCA. It answers one specific question and allows for the reporting of emissions in the supply chain and the planning of reductions as part of decarbonization efforts.
- EPD It is an external, verified declaration addressed to the market—to customers, building certification bodies, contracting authorities, and regulators. It is a formal document confirming that the manufacturer is aware of the environmental impact of its product and is able to document it.
When should you use which tool?
The answer depends on the goal the organization wants to achieve.
If the goal is understanding a product's full environmental impact, identifying the areas with the greatest environmental impact – The starting point is an LCA. The results of the analysis will also serve as the basis for the carbon footprint, EPD, CSRD reporting, and product communication.
If business partners or retail chains require data on the CO₂ emissions of its products, or the company is planning decarbonization measures – Calculating a product’s carbon footprint precisely addresses these needs. For companies with a large, diverse portfolio, it’s worth designing this calculation with automation in mind.
If products are used in construction projects seeking LEED, BREEAM, or DGNB certification; if compliance with the new CPR regulation is required; or if an organization needs a formal, verified environmental document for communicating with the market – The right step is the EPD.
In practice, these three paths often run parallel. An LCA conducted once provides input for all three applications simultaneously —this is the most effective way to build reliable knowledge about the environmental impact of products, meet regulatory and market requirements, and at the same time have a solid foundation for communication without the risk of greenwashing.
Three tools, one approach
LCA, EPD, and a product’s carbon footprint do not compete with one another but rather complement each other. They address different questions: internal (where does the impact lie and how can it be reduced?), operational (how much does our product emit?), and market-related (how can we document that the product meets environmental requirements?).
At MATERIALITY, we provide practical support to companies in calculating and communicating the carbon footprint of their products, as well as in preparing LCAs and environmental declarations. Our approach always begins with a question about the purpose: why is this data needed, and how will it be used? This starting point allows us to select the right tool and avoid unnecessary work. Please feel free to contact us.
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