Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 163
The Government should encourage development of a centralised national database of EPDs and, through its...
Recommendation
The Government should encourage development of a centralised national database of EPDs and, through its own procurement practices require the collection and publication of EPDs. The EPD database should be digital, freely available to end users, and user-friendly.
Government Response Summary
The government is considering evidence from a Call for Evidence on how an emissions reporting system should be designed and implemented, and is participating in the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI), which encourages the use of consistent reporting standards. The IDDI launched an emissions disclosure pledge at COP26.
Paragraph Reference:
163
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
In the Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy, we committed to developing a range of policies designed to support the market for low carbon goods, including a proposal for an improved emissions reporting system for industrial products. In December 2022, we launched a Call for Evidence: ‘Towards a market for low emissions industrial products’, where respondents were asked to share views on how such an emissions reporting system should be designed and implemented. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and EPD databases were referenced by several respondents as examples of ongoing emission reporting and product differentiation activity in industry. We are considering this evidence as we prepare to consult on a range of domestic measures, including emissions reporting and disclosure, by the end of 2022. Meanwhile, at an international level, a coalition of governments and organisations led by the UK and India launched the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI) under the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) in June 2021. At COP26 in November 2021, the IDDI launched an emissions disclosure pledge which brought together campaign members to begin requiring the disclosure of embodied carbon emissions of structural materials, such as steel, cement, concrete, used in major public construction projects, starting no later than 2025. Members of the pledge are encouraged to promote the use of consistent reporting standards. EPDs could provide a solution, if they are created and used in a standardised way.