The Reporting of End of Life and Module D Data and Scenarios in EPD for Building level Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

This paper identifies the need for Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) to provide End of Life (EoL) and Module D data for products for use in building level Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Although the provision of data for EN 15804 Modules A4-D is not currently mandatory for EPD, many currently report some or all of these. This paper provides an overview of the existing reporting of the end of life (Modules C1-4) and Module D and the types of scenarios used in European EPD. Using examples from existing EPD for two product groups, this paper examines the variation in approaches to scenarios for Module C and D. It explores the difficulties brought by this variation and discusses benefits from using default national scenarios at end of life, but additionally considers the advantages of providing alternative EoL scenarios for products to promote the circular economy.