Back to the EPD-Online overview
Your product knowledge, specialist life cycle assessment work and independent verification together form the basis of your EPD. Assigning responsibilities early helps your team collect the right data and direct questions to the right people. Here is how you can organise collaboration for your first EPD.
Your tasks as a manufacturer
You know your products and how they are made. Gather the necessary product and production information and appoint contacts for technical questions. Together with the specialists involved, define which products and sites the planned EPD should cover.
For practical preparation, appointing an internal project lead is recommended. This person coordinates contributions from production, purchasing, product management and other relevant teams. Agree who supplies data, who reviews information internally and who tracks deadlines and outstanding issues.
Prepare the data and documents for your EPD
The LCA specialist’s contribution
Qualified specialists within your company or an external consultant can carry out the life cycle assessment. When commissioning the work, clarify whether the agreed scope also includes the background report, EPD text, data entry and responses to questions raised later.
Before collecting data, agree on the required format and reporting period. This helps your team provide the information needed. Even with external support, your product knowledge and explanations of operational data remain essential contributions.
Plan the life cycle assessment for your EPD
IBU’s role as programme operator
IBU operates the EPD programme, provides its governing documents and organises verification and publication. The IBU office is your contact for programme participation and administrative matters. IBU does not prepare your life cycle assessment.
Explore the EPD creation process
Independent review by a verifier
After submission, IBU assigns an independent verifier to your EPD. You do not select this person yourself. The review covers the EPD and its supporting documents. Questions and inconsistencies are returned to those preparing the EPD for clarification or revision.
The verifier’s role is to review the work and does not permit consultancy on its preparation. Plan for your LCA specialist to remain available to help address questions during verification.
Working together in EPD-Online
Manufacturers and appointed consultants can collaborate on an EPD in EPD-Online. Permissions control access. Agree in advance who will edit each part, bring the documents together and prepare the submission.
For example, your product management team could supply the product description, production specialists could explain manufacturing data, and the LCA specialist could contribute the assessment content. A designated person could coordinate the final review. Adapt this arrangement to your project and the permissions assigned.
Organise collaboration and permissions
The right contacts for questions
Questions about formulations, quantities or manufacturing processes belong with the relevant specialists in your company. Discuss assessment methods, assumptions and calculation results with your LCA specialist. Contact IBU about the programme or administrative process.
During verification, maintain a shared overview of outstanding issues. Assign each question to a responsible person and coordinate related changes before passing on revised content.
Your next steps towards your first EPD
Appoint an internal project lead and assess whether your company has the necessary LCA expertise. Then agree the scope of work with the specialists involved and plan data collection. This establishes responsibilities before editing begins.