Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 162
There is a lack of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) data for a wide range of...
Conclusion
There is a lack of Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) data for a wide range of materials, limiting the ability of developers to choose low-carbon materials. The UK is falling behind European counterparts where EPD data is far more widely available, resulting in developers choosing European materials over locally sourced UK products. The lack of EPD data makes conducting whole-life carbon assessments more laborious and expensive than necessary.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the lack of EPD data and highlights the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy and the Call for Evidence to develop policy proposals for low emissions industrial products, with a consultation planned by the end of 2022.
Paragraph Reference:
162
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, published in March 2021, sets out how the manufacturing sector can decarbonise in line with net zero, whilst remaining competitive and without pushing emissions abroad. Policies that help grow the market for low emissions industrial products, such as product standards and labelling (‘demand-side’ policies), can support the construction sector to make green procurement decisions by helping them to distinguish between low and high emissions construction products. The Government has committed to developing policy proposals in this area, beginning with the Call for Evidence: ‘Towards a market for low emissions industrial products’, which closed in February 2022. The Call for Evidence gathered evidence from a broad range of manufacturers and buyers of industrial products and other experts, to enable development of proposals that work for the whole of the UK. We received 59 responses to the to the Call for Evidence, with several responses referencing Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) as an example of ongoing emission reporting and product differentiation activity in industry, specifically in the construction products sector. A summary of responses to the Call for Evidence is due to be published this summer. Building on this evidence, we are preparing to consult on a range of domestic measures, including emissions reporting, defining low emissions products, product standards, and a potential Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism by the end of 2022.