Product-related sustainability information
Building on the success of recent years, the Institut Bauen und Umwelt e.V. (IBU) plans to expand its service area in 2019. In addition to the established and internationally successful EPD system for building-related products, going forward, the institute intends to prepare product-related sustainability information in line with the requirements of national and international building assessment systems.
With its EPD online tool, the IBU already provides detailed environmental and health-related information on building products and components as well as base materials and preliminary products in the form of Environmental Product Declarations (EPD). These declarations form the basis for the “ecological pillar” in the sustainability assessment of buildings. The EPD online tool does not include a detailed evaluation of the information or even an assessment or certification of the products from a sustainability aspect.
The new product information system is intended to collate product data, which can subsequently be examined by sustainability evaluation systems during an audit according to their catalogue of criteria. The data from the building product manufacturers is used for the purposes of recording, evaluation and certification as specified by the various assessment and certification systems for sustainable construction, including DGNB, BNB and LEED. This will enable the IBU to provide planners and auditors with product-related data that goes beyond the LCA information.